Academy City

Jackson saw the men come in the arcade, and he could tell they were not there to play games. When he saw them talking to Kanno he hurried over. "Ah, Kanno I went through my coins by now. And it is getting..." Jackson's voice trailed off as he neared the group. He looked to the man that spoke Chinese, not the he could understand anything other than he was speaking Chinese. "Ah, hello. Is Kanno is trouble?" Jackson made every attempt to make himself sound like he only recently came from America; and needless to say, he did so flawlessly. Although he had the uniform to the same school as Kanno, since they did welcome transfer students at the school it wasn't impossible for him to be fresh from America. Speaking all American English made it that much more convincing. "Ah," Jackson exclaimed and bowed like a foreigner with only basic knowledge of Japan would, "My name is Jackson." Jackson did everything he could to make himself seem like he was used to the country. His hopes were that maybe making it seem that he was new to the country would make things easier on Kanno later. Also he hoped Kanno would catch on to what he was doing so he wouldn't end up looking like an idiot for doing all this.

Kanno watched Jackson being making a fool of himself before her father and was puzzled as to why he would do so. Jackson had already proved to her he knew Japanese and how to conduct himself while in Academy City. It finally occurred to her that he was trying to help ease the blame off of Kanno and on to him. Her father glanced over at her and asked " Who is this and does he know Japanese?"

While she appreciated his efforts, Kanno had long learned that lying to her father would only dig a deeper hole for herself, but perhaps she could get away with a little. " His name is Jackson Del McHolanway, and he does know Japanese as well as you know English. He goes to my school and I had asked him to take me around today, so I didn't have the opportunity to answer any calls that were made to me. I believe he is new here so he doesn't understand all the customs.

Her father nodded and then switched to English to humor Jackson.

" Forgive me for interrupting your...time together. Kanno didn't come home and ah... take out the trash I was worried and I located her here. I am Director Hsu , her father whom she may have told you about. I must thank you for taking her out tonight, but it is getting late and she'd best be getting home.

As he turned to walk away, he realized that McHolanway sounded familiar, then remembered they were researchers that had been recalled for an experiment he was sponsoring.

" That's right, you're the sole son of the Dr. McHolanways. I do remember them saying something about having a son. The institute we are both a part of happens to be throwing a celebration, and I don't think they'll mind me extending an invitation to you. I believe that you may be the first friend Kanno has ever had. I do hope you'll consider it and talk to them about it. Anyways,we must depart, good night."

Kanno followed her father out the door and was ushered into the bulletproof car her father traveled in. As the car started up and began to move, her father looked out the window and said, " I'm sure you've seen the practical aspects of his ability today. However, the Void is both unique and also very powerful in the right hands. That boy can be very useful in the future, and might even be able to help you if you wish. There are always ways to get people to do what you want. We'll be following him tonight so you can observe his abilities; we can discuss your failure to answer the calls later."

With that the car pulled off the road and waited for Jackson to leave the arcade.

As the car drove off Jackson took a quick look around; seeing no one he commonly hung out with he decided to make his leave. Jackson made mesh-like portals under his feet and around his torso under the jacket. Using this he lifted himself off the ground and into the air. Although he only went high enough to be able to go over most people without notice. Jackson started down the street opposite of where he lived. "I think I'll check out those thugs I saw yesterday. Make sure they aren't causing trouble again."

As he came close to his destination Jackson lifted himself higher into the air. The are here was on the news a few days ago for some thugs that were harassing the residents. Although, rumor has it someone beat them up pretty bad and they hadn't done anything since.

However, as a typical low-life, they clearly didn't learn their lesson. This time they were harassing a couple girls, likely trying to hook up with them.

Jackson lowered himself around the corner so he could get a good surprise on them. And it worked, as seen when he came around the corner and they still didn't notice him. "It seems you need another lesson huh?" The thugs whipped around to see Jackson standing there.

"This time we have an advantage," one of them said as they pulled out knives, k-bars, and chains.

Jackson let out a sigh, wishing he didn't have to obviously use his ability like last time. "I'll show you why that won't make a difference." Jackson flattened his hands and quickly moved them downwards. At the same time as his hands came to a sudden stop his void ability made two blade-like extensions come down. They were as black as the night sky and came to a very fine point. "Don't worry these won't do much more than give a few broken bones at the most."

Although the thugs seemed to know they were still at a disadvantage they clearly were going to try to win anyway. One of the thugs with a k-bar came running in bar ready to come swinging down. As he started to swing the bar down to hit Jackson, Jackson swung his left arm upwards and cut the bar just above the thug's hands. This was quickly followed by his right arm which hit the thug in the side. This time the 'bladed' hand acted more like a bludgeoning weapon than a cutting one like before. Along with the collision came a crescent shaped wave that pushed the thug to the wall with a audible thud. The other thugs started to move little by little to try and get closer to Jackson. They way they spread themselves out you could easily see there were still 12 more to deal with. Thankfully with the thugs focusing on Jackson now the girls were able to make a break for it.

Kanno watched Jackson take on the multitude of thugs with nothing more than what seemed to be two bludgeons. He seemed to be taking measures to prevent fatalities, even through the thugs clearly wanted him dead. It would seem to her that Jackson seemed to believe himself to be some kind of hero or ally of justice. A nice guy, but so idealistic.... Against 12 skill-outs armed with actual weaponry, she wasn't sure if he stood an actual chance if he wasn't willing to kill any of them.

"Seems like he's in a little bit of a ..pinch." her father remarked. Kanno glanced at him and wondered if he had hired the skill out thugs himself. It wouldn't surprise her considering what else he had done before. " Alas it would seem he doesn't want to show the full extent of his abilities right now, but those are some of the combat abilities of his power. Would you like to make sure your first friend doesn't die?"

Kanno sighed and weighed the options; of course she didn't want Jackson to die, but if she would rather not risk him recognizing her later on during her "job". She was still in her school uniform after all. " Depends, do you have at least my head gear ? I would rather that he doesn't find out who I am for now."

Her father smiled and motioned to one of his men to open up a case and the man threw the full helmet to her. " Of course. I would take care not to show the full extent of your ability either, especially your trade mark ability. He might be able to put two and two together before we want him to. You may dispose of the Skill-outs however you please, just don't leave too large of a mess."

With a grunt of acknowledgement, Kanno left the car and booted up the software-recognition device in her helmet. In the worst case scenario, she could manipulate the oxygen or photons in the air and make sure no one left the area alive. One of the thugs noticed her arrival and attempted to call to his comrades, but was cut off by Kanno suddenly rushing at him and chopping him in the throat. She picked up a fallen knife and made it "harder". Spinning it in her hand she made ready to take them all on, or at least the ones stupid enough to try and kill her. Making sure that the voice filter was on, she invited them to take her on. " Which one of you fine fellows wants to experience a wonderful night?"

Seeing a newcomer arrive, seeming on his side, gave Jackson a slight smile. "You guys are definitely outmatched this time." Without hesitation Jackson rushed two of the thugs at high speeds. His own speed normally wouldn't allow him to move so fast, but thanks to his power he could glide across the ground and move a lot faster. All it really took was portals on the bottoms of his feet and some around his body. The two thugs didn't really have the time to react, not that being distracted by the unknown fighter helped them in that regard.

As Jackson went by the two thugs he quickly hit them and sent them flying into another thug. This effectively knocked out three more of the thugs no problem. Seeing how out matched they were four of the thugs ran off, giving up completely. From the original 13 there were now only four thugs left.

"I'll take two you take two, sound good?" Jackson asked the late arrival with a smile. "Show these thugs they should really stop coming around. Just don't kill them, teaching them a lesson with some bruises and a broken bone or two should be more than enough." Even though these thugs clearly wouldn't have a problem possibly killing them it wasn't jackson's style to kill when he didn't have to.

Watching several thugs run off, Kanno frowned. It would be much harder to dispose of the thugs if they ran. There were 4 left that were either brave enough or stupid enough to continue to stand against two espers. As she was about to throw her knife, Jackson asked her not to kill anyone. Turning her head to Jackson, she said, " I have my orders to dispose of all those who disturb the order in Academy City. This would of course include vigilantes making too much of a ruckus."

While Jackson was indeed a vigilante operating without any permission from an organization or the Board of Directors, Kanno would rather much not kill Jackson, at least not without an explicit order from her father or another Director. He was the closest thing she had to a friend, even if they had just met, and she would like to see how far a friendship could go. Anyways, she had been techinlly told to dispose of the thugs, not kill them.

"However, I'll humor you. I won't kill them."

With that, she leapt forward at the two thugs Jackson had said were "hers". She dodged a swing from a chain and parried away another k-bar thrusted at her. Thankfully these thugs weren't very well trained, or else she would have to work a little harder. Kanno leaped into the air and dodged another sweeping blow from the chain and then landed on top of it. Te thug grunted as he attempted to pull the chain up, and she put her hand on it and increased the amount of space between the molecules that made up the chain. The chain seemed to collapse and the thug shrieked and ran back into a wall. His friend recovered from shock and attempted to continue his relentless assault. After a few trades of knife blows, Kanno managed to grab his arm and began crushing it. He dropped to the ground screaming and seemed to be out of the fight. Suddenly part of her helm was blown away and Kanno felt blood trickle down her face. Surprised she turned around to see the other terrified thug with a smoking gun. He fired again and managed to hit her left arm. It would seem to be some high caliber round if it managed to damage her helm. The program immediately began showing what photons were currently in the area and she grouped the closet ones into her into a shield. Several shots ricocheted off and she rushed forward and bashed the thug with her "shield."

Kanno sighed; she didn't want to use her trademark ability unless necessary as it would make it easier for someone to discover her identity. She looked at her arm and decided it take a while to repair, and she'd have to pass it off as some sort of injury resulting from clumsiness tomorrow.

" It would seem these thugs are well equipped if not well trained. It would seem there is someone supplying them. The Board of Directors would also prefer if you stopped these vigilante activities. It would not do well for such a unique esper like yourself to be arrested. Anyways, I will see you tomm--around."

She was becoming lax and sloppy. It would seem that not being as busy recently had made her ...weaker. Kanno walked away back torwards the waiting car, leaving Jackson to finish the thugs off by himself. She was confident she'd seem him at school tomorrow alive.

Seeing the masked person finish off her two Jackson smiled before covering himself in his portal and charging the last two. One of them also pulled out a gun and shot a few times; but thanks to his void power he was unharmed. The bullets simply hit the portal and fell to ground. He swung him arm in a horizontal arc sending a wave flying at the two thugs, knocking them out quickly.

"Hold up, let me help out your wound real quick. I have some gauze and anti bacterial stuff that can be used as a temporary fix." Jackson pulled out the material from a portal and held it out to the masked person as he used his portal to carry him over to her. If you leave something like that untreated it could get infected. "And as for my vigilante acts, well I can't just leave them be. I have the power to do something, so I should use that power to protect those that may not be able to do so themselves. As they have said in a few movies back home: with great power comes great responsibility." Jackson chuckled at this, not really expecting his new comrade to know the quote.

Kanno stopped in her tracks and turned around to face Jackson. Truly Jackson was a "hero of justice." However, she had come to believe that all heroes of justice either died or succumbed to their ideals and become broken. It would also seem that he wasn't going to let her go very easily.

She took the medical supplies Jackson offered her and applied the medicine to her face. After she was done applying first aid, she focused on Jackson. " Thank you for the medicine, but your ideals of justice won't last forever. As great as you may find it to be an ally or hero to justice or whatever, this city will grind you down. There are those like me, or even worse than me who run the underworld of this city. The Board of Director's would also be displeased if someone as special as you continued to run amok around the city. Your power puts you under greater speculation by the Board, and they would prefer you not die, even if they need to keep you in a lab if needed. Do not forget all espers belong to Academy City."

One of the thugs struggled to get back up and run during the conversation, but Kanno off handily converted light into a knife and threw it at him, and was rewarded with a scream. She'd nearly aimed to kill, but for some reason, a little nagging voice told her not to. A day ago and all 12 thugs would likely be dead. Shaking her head to clear away these thoughts, she turned back to Jackson, but oddly less cold.

" Look, if you want to try and help people, at least join Judgement. I'm sure your parents and friends would approve of that anyways. It'll take a while, but at least its legal and you won't run into any issues. Anyways, one of the directors would like to remind you of some event he reminded you, and a girl also seemed hopeful that you would come. ." As the last words left her mouth, Kanno immediately started internally beating herself; why did she even say that.

The sirens of Anti-Skill vans signified the arrival of the proper authorities, saving Kanno from any awkward moments.
" I would leave now if I were you, vigilante activity is illegal. Take care "
With that, she ran off and started to realize that she was losing feeling and use of one of her arms. It would seem the bullet had done more damage than she'd thought. Her car pulled up and she quickly got in, and they sped off towards the mansion that only a member of the Board of Directors could afford. She'd need to explain why none of the Skill-Outs had been disposed of and how she'd managed to lose an arm. Again.

"She's right, I better get out of here before they find me." With that Jackson opened a portal to his home and made his escape. Even though he was helping the community she was right, he was not doing so legally. Even so, Judgement? It would allow him to do what he was doing without getting in trouble. However, at that point he was more likely to be known as to who he was. Was that something he would want? Or would he rather stay unknown to the eyes of those he helps?

All that would have to wait for an answer on another. For now Jackson was getting a bit tired and decided it best to head to bed. After all he had school in the morning and also wanted to mention the invitation he received; if nothing else so he could get a chance to hang out with Kanno. Something about her Jackson liked, he just couldn't put his finger on it.


The Next Day

The sun rose as it always did, but Jackson felt that the day was going to be a little different than normal today. He got ready for school as normal; brushed his teeth, made sure his hair was acceptable, got dressed, and headed downstairs. As usual mom was about to leave after finishing making breakfast and leaving it on the table for Jackson. Dad was already gone and likely hard at work already.

"Hey mom. Someone calling himself Director Hsu invited me a celebration being thrown by the institute you and him are a part of. Is it cool if I come with?"

"If he invited you I don't see why not. It is tomorrow evening. Make sure your formal wear is good to go for the night." And with that Jackson's mom was out the door. He was used to it as he was commonly alone all day anyway. His parents worked long hours, but they got sundays and mondays off for family time. So all in all it was a good deal.

After Jackson ate breakfast he got his school gear and opened a portal to the school grounds. He put it in his usual spot; on the wall of the classroom. Since he came in before most students even arrived no one really was there before him. At least normally they weren't. Only the time he woke up ten minutes late was there someone there before him in the past.

The sun rose and shined into Kanno's eyes, much to her annoyance. She'd gone to sleep very late due to the injuries she had sustained during the fight with the Skill Outs last night. It had taken a while and a lot of lecturing before the bullet had be extracted from her arm and analysis of the full damage completed. The private doctor her father employed had told her it'd take at least a day or two before a replacement parts could be ordered. For now, she'd just have to pass off her arm as broken and her face scrapped as a result of falling down stairs , or whatever excuse she could come up with.

On days like these, she would dread going to school as beyond a sense of normalcy, there wasn't that much for her there. But now, she had made something of a friend with Jackson, so perhaps it wouldn't be all that bad. Kanno got dressed and walked down the ornate, spiraling stairs to the dining room where her father sat going over reports. Sometimes she forgot how big the mansion was; most times she stayed in apartments and safe houses outside unless she was invited to come home. A TV was playing a report about a magic cabal that had launched an attack against a company affiliated with Academy City. Another group had apparently shown up, declaring the possibility of co-existence and proceeded to annihilate the cabal with magic of their own and what appeared to be some much older espers.

" So, the magi are once again stirring up trouble. " her father said to her as he notice Kanno approached the dining table.

Kanno waved away a servant who was attempting to set up a spot for her and make something for her to eat. " Yes, although I don't think any of the churches are directly responsible for this. The Catholic's understood the message of what I did in Madrid. Some of the unaffiliated cabal's don't seem to accept the new order of affairs."

Her father nodded and went back to reading his report. " Well, officially anyways they aren't. It's been several decades since the Imagine Breaker ran around the world, and the churches are always trying to find ways to undermine us. There's probaly another cabal or more powerful organiztoin running around Academy City now, if what you said about the guns are true. We'll take care of them later. Ah, before I forget, don't forget we're holding a formal dance party tomorrow. So do try not to get hurt again tonight. Have fun at school. "

She understood that the conversation was over and it was time to leave. The Director was a very busy man, and he didn't always have much time to talk to her. Any amount of time was fine with Kanno. After grabbing a piece of toast and stuffing it in her mouth much to the chagrin of the chef and maids, Kanno ran out the door and managed to run into a train before it left.

After getting off the train and walking for a while, she reached the school and was suprised she wasn't almost late for once, especially with a "broken" arm. There weren't many other students there yet, but she saw Jackson already there. Of course with his portals, she wasn't particularly surprised. After assuring herself that Jackson wouldn't be able to draw the connection between her current condition and last night, she approached him and said " Good morning!."

"Morning Kanno. Hope I didn't cause you too much trouble last night." Jackson didn't even look slightly surprised with the obvious wounds Kanno had. Though since he greeted her like nothing had happened it would likely be a safe assumption to assume he didn't know who the mystery girl the last night was.

"Mind if we hang out during the celebration tomorrow? I won't really know anyone besides you and my parents most likely." Jackson figured since they were friends, at least as far as Jackson was considered, it would be more fun if they could hang out together. And talking about the activities of tomorrow would help to distract from the boredom of the coming classes.

Kanno gave an inward sigh of relief that Jackson didn't appear to suspect anything about what happened last night. If he did, then it would make both their relationship and situation more complicated. Some of the other students were whispering again, mostly the usual about her injuries, but there were a few whispered conversations about how Jackson and her were suddenly very close.

" Ah, no. I just worried by father since it was late. We just drove home and I got a lecture, nothing much. I did fall down the stairs last night so I managed to break my arm again." She brought her injured arm up for emphasis.

" Anyways, yes, of course we can hang out during tomorrows celebration. You being there would be a great change from the general stoogey old researchers and wealthy investors. I do have to warn you through, there are some researchers who will judge your every move, and even some who would very much like to kidnap you and study your powers. Of course, I'll make sure none of that happens." Kanno smiled and flexed her good arm. It was very unlikely that anyone would try something so blatantly illegal at the residence of a member of the Board of Directors, but there were always insane families like the Kiharas.

" Oh yea, did you hear about the terrorist attacks by all the magic cabals and the new group that claims to be able to combine both magic and science? What do you think?"

Jackson gave a light chuckle at the thoughts of the celebration; he hoped he might be able to get closer during the celebrations. With the mention of the terrorist attacks Jackson became a little more serious. "I thought they proved long ago that it was impossible. But who knows the guy that could nullify someone else's ability was thought to be just a rumor and that later proved to be real. For all we know the problem could have been they just couldn't figure out how to get both magic and esper abilities in one person without repercussion."

Jackson thought back on the article he read about trying to give one person both an Esper ability and magic. The result wasn't pretty apparently, but it was never really released to the public what would happen if they did give one person both types of powers.

"Either way terrorism is wrong no matter the reason. There is always a better way to go about things. Ways to make sure someone doesn't get hurt or worse. But when someone is doing wrong they need to be stopped. Kind of like that mysterious Esper that has been on the news a few times defending the people. I heard he hasn't killed a single person when he stops hose gangs." Jackson was talking about himself in his change of subject; although he brought it up in a way that made it seem to most people he was talking about someone else. He even referred to himself how the news had done so before. And he used info that had been given on the news as well. The only ones that would know the identity of the 'mysterious Esper' would be himself and Kanno; not that Jackson knew Kanno was the girl he met last night.

When Jackson started to talk about his nightly outings, Kanno suppressed a frown and a retort. Even if they were "friends", vigilantes like Jackson still made her job harder. Instead, she smiled at him and said, " Well he is doing some good cleaning up the streets, whoever he is. Still, I feel like he should join a group like Judgement. It would make it a lot easier to arrest them, and he would have additional resources." While Judgemnet could be a little annoying and obstructive, even naive, Kanno still gave them a little credit for attempting to uphold the peace without delving too deep into the darkness of Academy City. They also had nice arm bands.

Sitting at his desk looking ahead Jackson looked bored; even with his friends surrounding him. However once he heard Kanno's voice he perked up and looked over to her. He got up and walked over with a wave. "How are ya doing today? Excited for the party tomorrow?" It was evident by the tone in his voice he was glad to see Kanno. If Jackson realized who the girl was from the night before he made no hint of it.

Kanno waved her one good arm and smiled. It would seem that Jackson didn't know that she was with him in the fight last night; that was good, it meant that she wouldn't have to....tie up any loose ends. Some of their classmates and people who seemed to be Jackson's friends watched them and started whispering, more likely than not about Kanno and Jackson's sudden closeness.

" I am doing well today Jackson. I fell down the stairs last night, but other then that, I have been well. I normally would not enjoy such formal and social events, but it would seem that I shan't be suffering the dreadful event alone tomorrow night. I have never truly understood why Father enjoys holding such ....parties. What about you? "

"I am glad you are doing Fine now. My only guess for the party is that it is to keep the appearance of a friendly face." Jackson noticed the whispers about him and Kanno, but he didn't let it bother him. he sat down next to Kanno as they waited for the bell to ring. "I went to one once before. It was in America and was okay. Good food, nice setup. But I didn't get a thing they talked about; too complicated of science talk for me."

Jackson was about to continue but the teacher walked in and called the class to attention. Whatever he was going to say would have to wait until later to be said.

As the day dragged on, Kanno found it harder and harder to stay awake. After running the city with Jackson last night, then getting into a fight, and then having to get medical treatment,there had been very little time for any proper rest. The actual lessons from the teachers were also uninformative and dry; however it was also partly her fault as she had begged for the opportunity to attend school even through a Testament had already given her ample academic knowledge, just not so much social and "street" knowledge.

It was almost time for lunch and Kanno could hardly wait to get out of the stifling classroom listening to gossip and a teacher droning...just another hour and she'd finally be able to move around. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a pencil flying at her and she barely managed to dodge it in time. She realized she'd been starting to doze off and the teacher was furious and she was kicked outside the classroom holding a bucket of water. Kanno sighed; it was going to be an even longer day now.

As Kanno was sent outside Jackson did his best to hold back a chuckle. Once the teacher got back inside and resumed teaching Jackson got a mischevious idea. With a wave of his hand Jackson opened a portal under the teacher's foot. As she stepped jackson moved the portal in a bit; just enough to make the teacher trip. This made the whole class errupt into a roar of laughter. As she got up the teacher looked around to see if she could find out who tripped her. Since she was a low level telepath (not that most of the class knew this) it wasn't hard for her to find out who the culprit was for this incident.

As her eyes passed over Jackson she read exactly what he had done and sent him outside with two buckets of water; one for each hand. As he stood against the wall Jackson gave a smile to Kanno. "How ya doin'?" Jackson asked Kanno jokingly as he put portals under the buckets they were holding to support them. No sense in working harder rather than smarter he figured.

Kanno was very surprised when the teacher kicked Jackson out of the classroom too. It didn't seem very logical to get purposefully get punished to her; perhaps it was just an American thing to do. Jackson also seemed to just not give a care in the world as he very casually pushed all his work onto his power; it was a sense of freedom that Kanno felt a brief surge of jealously for.

" Ah..uh well. I'm doing well I suppose. I'm not really sure why you're out here now, but I guess it does give us more time to talk. The teacher doesn't really seem to know what she's talking about. So what exactly are you hoping to get out of your life in Academy City? Join a research organization? Make connections here? Doesn't seem like it'd fit in with the idea of being a..hero."

At first Jackson is caught off guard from Kanno line of questioning. Then he starts to peice some things together. "Is Kanno the girl from last night? No use jumping to a conclusion without proof, for now I'll hold off on the idea though." As he thought this Jackson made it look as though he was thinking of a way to word his answer. "Well I am here at school to have a chance to practice with my power before I graduate. After that I haven't really planned that far; but I want to use my power to help others in whatever I do." Jackson smiled to Kanno, knowing full well that his answer quite cheesy.

"What about yourself? What is your reason for coming to this school?" Jackson decided he would not bring up last night quite yet. Figuring it would be better to wait until he had some more proof before doing so.

Kanno watched Jackson as he answered her question. His body language and his tone had both shifted from a carefree student to someone more wary. She had a sinking suspicious that he wasn't as dumb as she had thought that he could be. More likely than not he was trying to figure out if she had been involved in the incident last night. Then again, she could just be too paranoid from years of working in the dark side.

" What a...noble goal. As for me I have been ill for a lot of my child hood, and I was also a Child Error, so there wasn't particularly much of a childhood for me I suppose. When my father ..found and adopted me, I had to go through a long stay in a hospital being treated. Even after that, I just had a private tutor of sorts, so I never have had a chance to really go out in the public nor a proper school. He's finally let me attend this year. I'm not sure what I want to do in the future if I ever get out of this hel- city. I'm sure my father has already planned out a future for me anyways."

The bell finally rang and Kanno dropped the buckets on the ground with a sigh of relief. " Well it seems we'll be free in a bit. Will you be going out with your friends?"

"Sounds like you had a tough upbringing," was all Jackson could get out before the bell rang to release them. Dropping the buckets jackson used his portals to grab his and Kanno's stuff. Kanno's stuff appeared next to her and Jackson's stuff on his body. "I have homework and need to get my outfit ready for tomorrow. I doubt I'll have the time to hang with my friends today. Might head out later tonight though; go say hi to some friends of mine." The way Jackson said friends would imply he was going to see about doing vigilantee work work again; not that anyone would know that unless they knew he was the vigilantee though.

After hearing Jackson's plans for the day, Kanno had a sneaking suspicion he'd be out doing something again tonight. However, it wasn't any of her business so she just smiled and said her goodbyes to him. She decided to walk to the laboratory to check on the status of her replacement arm. It was getting to be a pain not being able to use one of her arms--it was like so many years ago again.

As she was walking down the street, a wave of nausea overtook her. After nearly vomiting twice, Kanno was able to regain control of herself. However, now there was a tinge of red to her vision. Something was happening to her, and she wasn't sure what. Kanno stopped to let her breathing recover then continued on to the lab, more likely than not they would know what was happening. It took a while as the sun was starting to set by the time she reached the entrance to the research laboratory. It looked dingy, but she knew better; it was being funded by a Director.

After taking an elevator that descended underground, she finally reached the area where she needed. A few interns and lab technicians noticed her and tried to stop her from proceeding, but one of the researchers intervened and waved them off. " Welcome back Kanno. It's been a while since we've been together hasn't it?" The head researchers was an outwardly friendly researcher, but possessed not even an ounce of morality. She also remembered that he also competed with other organizations like the one that the McHollonways were in charge of for funding. Thanks to Kanno's success, he had won the funding war, at least for now. After realizing Kanno's disinterest in small talk, he changed the subject.

" The new cybernetic parts are almost done. It'll likely be done somewhere after tomorrow. We've upgraded it to withstand more thanks to the data you've been providing on your tasks. You know, now that I've already upgraded a fair portion of your body, it would be nice if I could also do some ocular cybernetic research. We did your teeth last time and it worked out pretty well."

Kanno gave a deathly glare at the researcher. She was disgusted by this man, although she owed her current body to him, it was very painful getting it, and he always wanted to use her as a guinea pig in more experiments. However, until her father said it was needed she didn't want to give up anymore of her body to cybernetics. The last time she had willingly agreed to replace her teeth , they had all been none too gently ripped out and replaced with boron nitride. It was then she decided to stop agreeing to anything more.

" No. Anyways, I've been under the weather lately. I have had nausea and tremors randomly lately."

The researcher just shrugged and replied, " Well I don't know why. You'll just need to go to a hospital and find out. Maybe I can give you a very thorough exam tomorrow when you come for the reintegration of your arm."

Leaving with a great deal of disappointment, Kanno left the building and realized that it was dark. It was also around the time Jackson would be roaming the streets. After a few minutes of internal debate, she decided that she wasn't going to go bother looking for him; he could do as he wanted in his spare time. Walking through the city at this time could lead her to encounter him anyways, but she decided to just leave it to fate or destiny or whatever it was people believed in.

After making his way home Jackson quickly finished up his homework and starting on his outfit for the following day. By the time he finished getting things together and finished eating dinner it was getting dark out. "Looks about time to have some fun," Jackson said to himself as he opened a portal and went through it.

On the other side he came out to a train yard with many cargo trailers. The other day he overheard some guys talking about a hiest in this train yard. Or at least this was the closest thing to what they were talking about from what Jackson knew. Sure enough there were some guys sneaking around breaking into some of the trailers. Jackson found an empty trailer and put it in the air above the thieves. They jumped out of the way before it landed on top of them thanks to Jackson using some noise to draw their attention to it. Although now they were worried and looking around for the culprit.

"There," one of the two said as he pointed up to where Jackson was floating. "He must have done that!" As far as the thieves knew Jackson was only trying to crush them. Little did they know he was the one that drew their attention to the trailer he placed above them as well. The two guys pulled out metal rods that started to buzz and glow. Jackson recognized these weapons as the same ones used against him before. These rods were able to hit him through his Void Armor technique. He would have to be careful in this fight lest he wanted some broken bones. Luckily that task could be accomplished by simply staying high in the air out of reach.

"You guys just never learn do you?" Jackson rhetorically asked as he opened a portal and sent rubber bullets flying at the thieves. This quickly got them to back down and run off. Sadly a third thief managed to get something from a container and ran off with it. Whatever it was Jackson could hear them saying they got and should get out of there. Before Jackson could make chase though the thugs vanished into thin air; almost like they had either an Esper or Mage there to help them escape.

A little dissapointed Jackson started off back home. Although he decided to walk this time. It wasn't really a bad distance, and he had pleanty of time to get home before it got too late too. Besides, it was a nice night and he finished early as well. Anyone else that might be walking around could easily spot him since he wasn't trying to be sneaky at all; not that very many people would recognize though.