03x04 - The Dark Side of Academy City

[bunniefuu]

[ACCELERATOR] Getting Last Order back and demolishing

that bastard Kihara was fine and all,

but somehow, I've ended up involved

with an organization called GROUP.

We take on the riffraff that lurk in the dark corners

of Academy City.

Damn.

The only problem is I don't give a crap about orders.

I'm going to do things my way no matter what.

[MANAGEMENT] Come on in!

Most customers these days have been ordering online

or by email.

I don't get many like you who drop by in person!

Right now I've got a great deal on lock-picking sensor breakers.

Cream of the crop, I might add.

These things spell trouble for money launderers.

So. What might you be in the market for today?

[TSUCHIMIKADO] Nothing.

That's actually not the reason I'm here.

And since when do we call Temporary Staffing "Management"?

I'm not your customer.

I'm bringing you in.

[MANAGEMENT] You bastard! Damn!

[MANAGEMENT] He's empty.

[MANAGEMENT yells]

[MANAGEMENT yells]

Okay, wait. Just hold on.

I'm not gonna resist.

[g*nsh*t]

[MANAGEMENT grunting]

Stop.

Damn you. I said I wasn't gonna--

Retrieval. Contact our subsidiary.

No. No ambulance, just a transport van.

Now, where's Accelerator?

Not there?

Oh, well.

I'll send Unabara to Management's base.

Musujime, you keep providing backup, all right?

Copy that.

Damn.

Looks like our newest member's run off.

I wonder where he could be.

[FROG-FACED DOCTOR] Back from Avignon already, I see.

How the hell did you manage to come up

with that information?

This is a fine how-do-you-do, don't you think?

Tell me about the electrode.

I want the schematics.

[FROG-FACED DOCTOR] If your choker isn't working,

I'm happy to fix it for you.

[ACCELERATOR] I have no intention of letting anyone else

take control of my lifeline.

And that goes for all the higher-ups, including you, doc.

[FROG-FACED DOCTOR] I see.

Well, aren't you prepared?

[FROG-FACED DOCTOR] It's my job to have everything my patients

might need readily available.

By the way, Last Order was wanting to see you.

If only you could've shown up a little bit earlier.

[LAST ORDER growls] "It seems like we're going the wrong way,"

Misaka Misaka protests sternly.

No, miss, we're going the right way.

"I wanna go to the amusement park in School District Six,"

says Misaka Misaka, once again expressing

her fond wishes to him!

[TAXI DRIVER] Right, and no matter how many times

you repeat yourself, I'm still not going to do that.

I have strict orders from your doctor

to take you directly home.

[LAST ORDER groans]

[DRIVER A gasps]

[crash]

[MANAGEMENT] Damn it.

[MANAGEMENT] Oh, it's you.

I'm sorry. I know I screwed up.

Could you cut through these handcuffs, too?

[MANAGEMENT yells]

[UNABARA] I do still have to wonder,

what sort of jobs was Management helping with?

[TSUCHIMIKADO] I've been looking into that.

A day or two ago, he established some kind of

criminal organization.

One that would help fill in the gaps in terms of manpower.

Apparently, they paid good money for available muscle

from the outside.

They're gonna make a move sometime soon.

It's our job to figure out what it is

and stop it before it happens.

Right. And when exactly did GROUP

become The Heroes of Justice?

[TSUCHIMIKADO] Look.

I need you to collect any kind of data

that might give us a lead.

Copy.

[UNABARA] Okay, what do I do now?

I don't get why people are always too freakin' incompetent

to handle their own damn jobs.

[door opens]

[ACCELERATOR] Wow. This is where that idiot Unabara

went missing, huh?

[TSUCHIMIKADO] Look at this.

It's Aztec magic.

[ACCELERATOR] Uh...?

[TSUCHIMIKADO] Unabara did this.

He has a special technique that allows him

to transform into other people by using their skin.

I've never heard anything like that before.

So he's that guy now?

[TSUCHIMIKADO] Yeah.

The people who hit this place were probably looking

to destroy leads.

I'll bet he's with them now, waiting for the right moment.

Found something.

I guess you could say Unabara left us a gift.

If I'm remembering correctly,

Japanese yen issued by Academy City's mint

have IC chips embedded in them.

[MUSUJIME] There it is.

It looks like a list of products belonging to Management.

He did a bit of trading. With a professional sn*per.

His name is Chimitsu Sunazara.

Oh, man. This is actually a contract for a sh**ting.

The location is a concert venue

in School District Seven.

And the target is...

You wanna finish that sentence?

Looks like they're going after Monaka Oyafune,

a member of the governing board.

She's supposed to be giving a speech today

on providing voting rights for students,

since they make up eighty percent of the population.

According to this, the speech is about to begin.

Musujime, It's Move Point time.

Hold on. We don't even know where the sn*per's nest--

Stop. You're boring me to death!

[g*nsh*t]

[AUDIENCE yelling]

[ACCELERATOR chuckles]

A little distraction to break up the event

and now there's no more sneaky sn*per to worry about.

Perfect.

[KAKINE] Pull out.

Can't. The job's not done yet.

I said pull out. That means now.

I don't like to repeat myself, Sunazara.

[ACCELERATOR sighs] Well that was uneventful.

It's already over?

[phone ringing]

I think I found the name of the group who hired Sunazara.

"SCHOOL."

I get the sense that they're smaller scale and informal--

much like us.

Another organization lurking in the shadows

of Academy City.

It's called SCHOOL?

[TSUCHIMIKADO] There's more to it though.

I'm not sure yet what part they play in this case, but...

While I was searching, several names of similar

organizations came up, too.

MEMBER, BLOCK, and ITEM.

[MUGINO] Huh.

How does today's salmon lunch taste so much different

from yesterday's salmon lunch? Bizarre.

[FRENDA] All told.

I'm getting pretty tired of canned mackerel.

But not curry, though! Curry's the best!

[KINUHATA] An ultra-troubled C-grade movie presented by

the Hong Kong Red Dragon film company.

Sounds ultra-great.

What do you think, Takitsubo? Wanna see it?

Incoming signal from the south-southwest.

So. About that incident this afternoon.

The one where Monaka Oyafune almost got sh*t

while giving a speech?

[HAMAZURA] Not even gonna say thank you?

Hamazura.

Please send details about what happened today

to everyone's cell.

[HAMAZURA] Okay, fine.

[BUNNY GIRL giggles]

[GROUP groans]

Uh, no, wait! Don't look! Let me resend it!

I accidentally forwarded something else!

Hamazura.

All told. You really are a giant creeper.

Bunny girls are an ultra-hit for you, aren't they, Hamazura?

Hey, that's okay.

I mean, you're who you're supposed to be,

and I support you in that.

[KINUHATA] Oh, yeah, this is that thing that SCHOOL bunch

was ultra-planning.

So then... How did they even manage to go through with it?

I mean, didn't we just get rid of that sn*per three days ago?

Well, they probably hired a new one.

And I guess that means they also decided ignoring our warning

was best.

[FRENDA] Oyafune is on the Governing Board,

but all told, she's kinda useless.

She has like, almost zero influence,

so she's not even worth k*lling, and yet...

They cared enough to hire someone new

to carry out the operation.

Now the question is why.

Tell us why, Hamazura!

[HAMAZURA] Uh...!

Me? Um... Let me think.

Gimme just a moment.

It's right on the tip of my tongue!

[MUGINO] Spill it, Hamazura.

All told, the way you get flustered really grosses me out!

There're so many levels of "gross,"

it's hard to be specific.

I guess if we're talking about him, it's like, ultra-gross.

I'm still behind you all the way.

Even if everyone thinks you're gross and unfortunate.

I'm still your friend.

Damn! This is so wrong!

I'll have you know, when I was in Skill Out

I was the leader of over one hundred men!

Uh-huh.

So what?

Is that it? Get the check.

Um... Where ya' goin'?

We're going to go k*ll off all the scumbags of SCHOOL.

[MUGINO] Let me ask you something.

What do you think will happen after a VIP

was almost assassinated?

Outside personnel are called in

to cover the treatment facilities.

They'll round up all the specialized researchers.

Then materials, machinery, and anything else they need.

I see.

That could throw security arrangements off completely.

[MUGINO] That's exactly what SCHOOL was counting on.

They want to use this chaos to their advantage.

That's why they targeted a low-security VIP.

There's our answer.

The Particle Engineering Laboratory is the only place

that was thrown into disarray over today's incident.

Which means, that's where SCHOOL is heading next.

[MUGINO] Heh.

[MUGINO grunts]

[HAMAZURA] Whoa. That was incredible!

Mugino's awesome.

She's always full-blast level five in any setting.

[YOMIKAWA] Hamazura?

It is you. Thought so.

Surprised to see you out.

I heard you were taken into custody.

Uh...! Really?

What are you even doing here, you old hag?

I should be asking you the same question.

Or is this my answer?

Were you involved in the incident today?

And what's the story behind this bus?

Is it stolen?

Of course it's not! I bought it! With a loan!

Got a license?

I do!

[brakes squeal]

[YOMIKAWA] Hey, watch where you're going!

That car...

[MUGINO] Hamazura!

Quit flirting and start driving!

[HAMAZURA] Ugh. I wasn't flirting!

We have to follow that black car!

Hurry up!

[YOMIKAWA] Hey! I wasn't done talking to you!

Shut up. Everyone's yelling today.

[MUGINO] Speed up, Hamazura!

[HAMAZURA] Damn it!

[HAMAZURA] What happened to Kinuhata and Frenda?

They're fine.

That's not enough to k*ll them.

So how did things end up like this?

I mean, you're ranked fourth.

They had a level five on their side, too.

Teitoku Kakine.

Academy City's number two son of a bitch.

Hmph. But we still managed to do some damage.

[HAMAZURA yelling]

What is that?!

Anyway, none of that matters if we can't catch up to them

and remove the cargo.

We can't let them escape.

Don't worry.

With my AIM Stalker, I can track anyone.

Once I've been able to log the bearer's AIM diffusion field,

it doesn't really matter where they are.

I could even find them outside the solar system.

All it takes is a simple search to know their exact location.

[brakes squeal]

[HAMAZURA yells]

[HAMAZURA] Takitsubo!

[MUGINO] Let's split up!

We're not gonna fight them?

[MUGINO] The cargo is what I'm after.

Besides. That girl's power is pretty obnoxious.

[HAMAZURA] Uh... uh...!

Um... ugh!

Damn it!

You're after me?

[HAMAZURA yells]

Yeah, what now?

[laughing]

[HAMAZURA yells]

[HAMAZURA coughs]

Well... This is for all the losers!

[BABY A cooing]

--Someone hungry? --[HAMAZURA yells]

Um... Hi there.

I am a heroine who has fallen from the sky!

You might want to leave. This place is dangerous.

[chuckles]

I've lost sight of the target.

Is it possible he's disguised himself?

Have you ever known him to transform into a young mother,

a baby, or a stroller?

Die, you idiot.

[KAKINE] Laying all of this groundwork was a real pain.

But I have the nanoparticle object interference

adsorption manipulator to show for it.

Better known as "the tweezers."

This breakthrough will lead me to Aleister.

Kakine!

[TSUCHIMIKADO] It appears that someone has hacked into

the fifth School District Computer Virus Archive Center.

In addition to storing many unanalyzed viruses,

they also house multiple experimental ones,

deliberately created by Academy City's research institutes.

Those would be bad enough here, but if they made it outside--

Well, their infrastructure will collapse.

So we're clear,

just how far outside is "outside?"

Huh. Know what I heard about Academy City security?

That their safeguarding priorities are inside-outward,

not outside-inward as some might be assuming.

If so, then they should be more than well-equipped for this.

An externally-connected terminal?

[DRIVER B] Commencing emergency shutdown

of externally-connected terminals.

Third School District north terminal is shut down.

Second School District south terminal is shut down.

What is it?

[DRIVER B] The Thirteenth School District's west terminal

isn't responding. I can't confirm a shutdown.

[ACCELERATOR laughs]

Could their schemes be any more transparent?

You're right, I'd say odds are pretty good

they're trying to lure us there.

I don't know who these guys are,

but it seems like they're begging for a fight

they won't win.

[DRIVER B] What should we do about Monaka Oyafune's

attempted assassination?

[TSUCHIMIKADO] We'll come back to that later.

[DRIVER B] All right, what about Mr. Unabara?

I was never really planning to rescue him.

[phone ringing]

[YAMATE [UNABARA]] It's Unabara.

Who are you out goofing around with now? SCHOOL?

Well, no. It's BLOCK.

I'm sure you've figured it out, but BLOCK's hacking satellites.

It's not SCHOOL.

However, it's a diversion.

What they're really after is the aerospace engineering

research institute's auxiliary satellite control center.

I'll let you deal with that.

Talk to you later.

They want the satellite control center.

Makes sense.

I can see why.

The Hikoboshi II satellite is fully equipped

with a high-caliber surface-att*ck laser.

But that doesn't mean we disregard the virus leak

at the storage center.

[pounding noise]

You guys have fun with those jerks.

Playing decoy games isn't my thing.

[laughing]

[CITIZEN A yells]

Uh... Who are you?

Take me to the satellite control center.

[CITIZEN A] Yes, sir.

[KAMIJO] Those struggling to escape control.

Those who voluntarily leap into the framework.

Their motives cross, provoking a new battle.

Next time, "Dark Matter."

When science and magic cross paths, a story is born.