01x20 - Virus Code (Final Signal)

[bunniefuu]

A Misaka Sister nicknamed "Last Order"

approached Accelerator seeking his help.

He later learned that a virus had been implanted in her head

by a man named Ao Amai.

If the virus is triggered,

ten thousand Sisters will launch an att*ck on humanity.

What is he going to do?

Wait, I don't have any scenes in this episode, either?

[Music]

Accelerator.

That's me now, but I used to have a normal name.

A first and last name...

Like everybody else.

It wasn't even a particularly unusual name.

Ridiculous.

The virus that I've isolated

is set to trigger at midnight tonight, September st...

If it does activate, it will run rampant,

spreading through the entire Misaka Network

and infecting all the Sisters...

Once that happens, there will be no stopping it...

We'll be helpless.

What...?! A man in a lab coat?!

Well... yes...

He said he was related to her...

he was an uncle or something...

so we thought it was okay to let her leave with him.

So, um...

is he an acquaintance of yours, then?

Unfortunately he is.

He did what?!

So...

the virus is designed to activate on its own, right?

If that's the case,

why would he make a move on the kid now?

That's just one question I wish I could answer.

It's possible that he's already left Academy City, isn't it?

There are any number of organizations

that would hide him.

Word is that somebody from the outside

broke through the security net.

Whoever it was then slipped into the city.

The Security Code was set at orange earlier today...

but it's been elevated to red now.

Nobody is allowed to enter or leave Academy City...

Which means that Amai should still be here somewhere.

Hotels wouldn't be safe.

He must be hiding at a friend's place.

I'd be surprised if there's anybody left

he could call a friend.

I see what you mean...

He's scum, just like me.

With the closure of the laboratory,

he's incurred quite a lot of debt.

I'd guess his friendships only last

as long as his money holds out.

Huh...

If he has nowhere to set up camp,

then he's probably still prowling around town somewhere.

And I have an advantage.

He's cornered. A lack of breathing room

tends to make peoples' actions much more predictable.

Hold on a minute...

You're not going to...

Damn it...!

Nothing's going my way tonight!

Please... just a little longer.

Just stay alive 'til the virus activates!

I have you...

Now what should I do with you?

You should take it easy, old man...

You're embarrassing yourself.

Hey, Yoshikawa... Are you there...?

Yeah, I've got the kid secured now...

Wait...

Hey... it looks like she's hooked up to some electrodes.

That's probably one of the physical exam kits

we use on the Sisters.

Can you tell me what a BC operating ratio is?

It measures the rate at which her brain is functioning...

BC stands for brain cell.

These numbers aren't looking so good.

So... do you think I can use this physical exam kit thing

to get rid of the virus...?

It could take a long time for me

to get her back to the laboratory from here.

Impossible...

We need a specialized incubator and a learning apparatus

to overwrite her mind.

Huh...? Where are you...?

Driving?

Yes.

I'm on the road right now.

Headed toward you as we speak.

I thought I could buy us some extra time this way...

It's quicker than you taking her back to the lab.

Are you done analyzing the virus code?

I'd say I'm about % there...

I'll be finished before the midnight deadline.

Honestly...

how much trouble does this kid wanna cause me...?

This is getting old, fast.

Mi... sa...

Misa... ka. Misa... ka.

Misaka. Misaka. Misaka.

Misa misa misa misa misa misa....

Um, Yoshikawa...

What the hell is going on?

Quiet a second.

Yeah, that's it, all right...

but it shouldn't be happening yet.

What is it? What's happening?

The implanted virus code...

From the sound of it, it's getting ready to execute.

I don't understand why it's happening...

We still have four hours 'til midnight.

This could mean we were fed false information.

Damn it.

Listen up, Accelerator.

It's too soon to give up...

but you've gotta move quickly, all right?

What...? You mean there's something I can do?

Before the virus is distributed throughout the Misaka Network,

it's being converted into a host command,

which none of the Sisters will be able to contradict.

That will take about ten minutes to complete...

That should be enough time...

You know there's only one thing you can do.

Dispose of Last Order.

It's the only way...

Save the world by k*lling her.

Damn.

I'm the strongest esper in Academy City...

but as powerful as my abilities are,

they're only good for altering vector directions.

What's more...

I've pretty much only used them for b*ating people up...

I don't know how to do any healing.

Sure, I can touch someone

and reverse the flow of their blood

and mess with their bioelectricity, but...

Wait... what was that?

I feel like there's an idea here...

I have to think.

Bioelectricity...

That's it!

This data stick could be the key.

It contains Last Order's personality data

from before she was infected.

Hey, listen...

What if I can get control over

the electrical signals in her brain...?

Wouldn't we be able to alter her personality data

and get rid of the virus?

What are you talking...

You don't mean...

You're suggesting that

you take the place of the learning apparatus...?

No way.

It should be simple enough for me to do, though...

I'm a master at reflecting vectors...

all I'm talking about is the next step.

Controlling them.

Fine. Let's assume that you're somehow able

to get control of Last Order's neural pathways.

That doesn't mean you'll be able to

completely eradicate the virus.

There's more than just the Sisters at stake if you fail.

In this kind of att*ck the casualties could be staggering.

The only way to avoid major loss of life at this point

is to give up on Last Order...

I know you don't like it,

but we've exhausted all our options.

Hello...? Are you listening?

I know I can do it...

Who the hell does she think she's talking to?

I can collate the pre-infection data.

Then all I should have to do is erase any excess code, right?

Okay, this should be simple enough.

Let's get started.

Poor kid...

She's already been through hell...

After all the things they've put her through...

saying "Sorry, we couldn't save her" just isn't enough.

Collating the pre-infection data now.

Object code count...

,.

I just need to erase all this nasty virus code...

and that should do it...

The kid should go back to whatever state

she was in a week ago...

before she ever laid eyes on me.

Execute command...

Delete!

Delete! Delete! Delete! Delete!

Code CIIEB.

Resist MA. .

Delta . Code ZZ.

From route A to W, VE.

Remaining code count: ,.

C.... B A I M C O R E L S H A.

How much of her memory am I erasing along with the virus?

So what if she doesn't remember any of it?

The kid's better off forgetting everything

that happened in the last week, anyway.

Remaining code count: ,.

Just ten seconds left to go...

I knew this would be easy enough to do.

Get away...

Don't interfere.

You've gotta be kidding me...

I'm doing electron microscope-level precision

work here.

I don't have any power remaining to divert to reflection.

I could take my hand off the kid

and use vector reflection to defend myself...

If I did that, he could drop a nuclear b*mb on me

if he wanted and I wouldn't get so much as a scratch.

What an idiot...

Did I actually believe this would work?

I thought I could do it.

I thought I could save somebody else

and earn a second chance for myself.

He's dead?

He's really dead!

I don't know how, but he's lying there, dead,

and I'm still alive!

Error alert. Immediate action.

Break code from .

Continuing through code .

thr*at found and eliminated.

Host command has been canceled due to illegal process.

Delivery has been terminated...

Subject ...

beginning reboot process.

It's been canceled...?

The unit's restarting...?

No! The virus failed to trigger?

What? You're alive?

I see...

That's what you did...

You managed to reflect the b*llet.

Right before it entered your brain.

That's it, right?!

But what do you think you're going to do now, huh...?

It's already too late for you.

You're beyond saving.

Oh, I know that...

I've known it for quite a while now...

Who would wanna save me, anyway...?

Like anybody'd waste their energy on scum like me...

The very idea is so ridiculous it makes me laugh.

No... I'm done with wishful thinking.

It makes me sick, the person I've become...

but that doesn't matter.

It has nothing to do with that kid, nothing whatsoever.

True, I'm responsible for k*lling

more than ten thousand of the Sisters...

but that doesn't mean I'm going to sit back

and watch the other ten thousand die because of you.

Yeah, I know...

Coming from me, you think it's just lip service...

but I promise, it's more than that...

It doesn't matter that you and I are nothing

but human scum....

or what justifications we might make.

It's not about us. It's about her.

And I'm telling you, she doesn't deserve to die!

His reflection's not working...

He's down for good this time.

That's just too bad, now, isn't it...?

Looks like playing the hero didn't work out for you.

Kudos for trying, but you didn't have the strength for it.

Not surprising...

People like us weren't built for noble deeds

and self-sacrifice.

That's just the way it is, I'm afraid.

Y... Yoshikawa...

You sh*t me...

I'm sorry about this.

It's a flaw of mine...

I never seem to follow through with anything.

I'm not being kind, here.

I'm just soft...

I didn't have the nerve to hit you anywhere vital...

but I don't think I can let you get away, either.

So I guess I've needlessly drawn out your suffering...

How ironic it is that in the end,

my softness has actually turned out to be a sort of cruelty.

I don't know what happened,

except for what I was able to hear over the phone.

But it appears that your plan didn't work out quite

like you thought it would.

Oh him...?

You don't need to worry he'll be just fine.

I have a rather talented doctor friend...

You wouldn't guess it by looking at him...

Poor man has a face like a frog, I'm afraid.

But he's so good at what he does

he's actually been given the nickname Heaven Canceller.

With my friend as his doctor,

Accelerator should pull through.

How could you...?

It doesn't make any sense...!

You're a scientist.

You make calculations and perform experiments

in a controlled laboratory environment.

You don't point g*ns at people!

See, that's the thing...

I sort of fell into this position.

I never wanted to be a researcher.

As a matter of fact, I wanted to be a schoolteacher...

and not some kind of boring lecturer...

but an instructor who could really connect...

That's what I always dreamed about...

being a good teacher.

One who remembered each of her students' faces

from year to year...

One they knew they could talk to

no matter what kind of problems they were having...

who would smile freely,

without expecting anything in return.

Who would hold back tears

when her students walked the stage on graduation day...

That's the kind of teacher I wanted to be.

At least some of that desire still lingers with me...

I still wanna do something that's good...

and not because I'm soft...

not because I'm weak but because it's right.

So now I'm acting like a teacher

who would do anything for one of her students...

That's why I'm here tonight,

pointing a g*n at your chest.

Well, Amai...

it's over.

I see you're too frightened to die alone...

and if you had to choose someone to come with you,

I'm glad you picked me...

because there's no way I was ever going to let you take

one of those children with you into hell.

This is my one good deed...

I only wish there could've been more in my life.

I have to admit, you don't seem very soft at the moment...

Unfortunately, teacher...

it won't do you any good.

I'm really alive...?

I can't believe I made it.

Of course you did, my dear.

What would you expect when I was operating on you?

I'm not questioning your ability, doctor,

but I was sh*t point-blank through the heart.

That does tend to be fatal.

To be more accurate...

you were sh*t in the artery extending from the heart.

But I'm splitting hairs.

Either way you look at it, yes, you were basically dead.

If you're going to thank anyone,

it should be that young man.

It looks like he was somehow able

to manipulate your blood flow to keep you alive.

I've seen a lot in my time, but this was incredible...

He passed the blood from one opening in your artery

to the other without spilling a drop,

as if there was an invisible hose.

He kept it up even after he'd fallen unconscious...

He held until you'd reached the OR...

I was able to take over from there,

but without him, you would've d*ed.

Unfortunately, he isn't out of the woods just yet.

He seems to have taken a lot of damage,

mostly centered around his frontal cortex...

His verbal and computational abilities

will be affected...

At this point I can't say for certain how severely.

His computational abilities...? That can't be.

What will happen to his esper powers?

Oh... I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Dear, don't you know my credo by now...?

When something seems unworkable, work something out...

I promise I'll restore the young man's verbal function

and his powers of computation...

no matter what.

You and your people seem to have created a many-headed monster

and I intend to make use of it for this...

They've got over ten thousand brains linked together...

I think they can spare some of that mental wealth

to help augment one person's speaking

and calculating skills.

You mean The Misaka Network.

Last Order! Where is she?

Are you talking about a young girl with brown hair,

by any chance?

Don't worry. She's safe and under our supervision.

Now, enough of my rambling.

My patients won't heal themselves...

So what're you going to do now?

What am I gonna do?

It looks like the city's higher-ups

have found out about this bloody little incident...

The lab's been permanently shut down...

and the experiment completely terminated.

In other words, I'm afraid you're out of a job.

Oh... I see...

I suppose this means my life as a researcher is over.

There are other paths you can go down,

any number of them.

Wait! Please, as a friend...

help the young man who came in with me.

If you don't...

I'll never forgive you.

Look who you're talking to, my dear.

An injured body is a doctor's b*ttlefield...

You'll see... I'm a more than capable soldier.

I always return from battle.

And this time I'll bring a patient back with me,

one who's been fighting alone all these years.

Hah... In case you've already forgotten,

I'm the one who k*lled ten thousand of the Sisters...

and now you're asking me to save one of them?

Well, what do you know...?

He was their savior after all...

Wasn't he?

[Music]

The City's second term opening ceremony

is rocked by the arrival of sorcerers...

A mysterious transfer student

further complicates matters...

Clearly everything is not what it seems.

Next time, "Counter Stop."

When science and magic cross paths,

a story is born.