Advanced Lab

The Advanced Lab (上級ラボ, Jōkyū Rabo^?) was a research institute which was involved in Takitsubo Rikou's past prior to Item.

Principles

The Advanced Lab's research involved boosting esper powers, but not via methods that would be permanent in case of failure, such as internally messing with the esper's brain or DNA. Instead, they used external methods, that could be swapped out if the situation called for it, such as machines or drugs, with the test subjects known to be augmented with self-hypnosis, lifestyle optimization, and a form of brain surgery via tiny machines expanding and contracting inside the skull to cause indirect changes. Takitsubo's school was apparently experimenting with Body Crystal without knowing danger, and it is likely that the Advanced Lab's methods would have gone even further with the risk to life. The Advanced Lab also performed some research into intentionally lowering an esper's power for better control, not often heard of in Academy City and a potential factor as to why the lab would be attacked.

The Advanced Lab was the subject of a ghost story at Takitsubo's surface-level school, saying that one day people no one had ever seen might select a student based on undisclosed standards and they would suddenly vanish from class, with everyone being told they transferred away, and their original name and identity erased so no one would be able to track down their new life. Although told for fun, this ghost story was in fact true, with the lab erasing all traces of those it took for experimentation, including their original names, with test subjects being referred to by letters (e.g. Takitsubo would have become D-ko (D子, D-ko^?) if properly inducted). Additionally, talented subjects who rejected recruitment would be isolated and detained by forcing false charges on them, such as with Takitsubo. According to her, this was the lab's usual method and they effectively had a complete false charges manual for it.

All of the lab's test subjects are Level 4 espers and were so even prior to augmentation, being described as geniuses who cheated afterwards rather than cheating to become geniuses. According to Takitsubo, when the three approached her after the lab's initial downfall, they seemed to believe they could fix their lives if they revived the lab and believed being a group of four would make them whole, seemingly viewing their shared painful past as a special experience not available to ordinary people, with it being speculated that their psyches couldn't cope believing otherwise or it perhaps being down to the effectiveness of the lab's education and management.

When the girls were let out of the Advanced Lab for dirty jobs (such as attacking rival labs or assassinating VIPs who were preparing to reduce the lab's budget), they attacked the most crowded event in the vicinity (such as Halloween, a graduation ceremony, or in the case of the post-lab incident, a fireworks display) to create a large-scale diversion, causing just enough casualties in a large crowd to trigger a large panic. Anti-Skill and Judgment would be too busy dealing with that to focus elewhere, create a lawless area where for a short time, they would be able to free to act. Given their methods involved ordinary people, they were likely not allowed by the higher ups and Takitsubo believed it to be why the lab was destroyed the first time, with the girls not learning their lesson afterwards.

Background

The Advanced Lab's full history is unknown, but it was active long enough to acquire three subjects and become the subject of a ghost story at Takitsubo's school. It had also sent out its test subjects for multiple dirty jobs, such as attacking rival labs or assassinate VIPs that would reduce their budget. During these jobs, they attacked crowds to create large-scale diversions to tie up Judgment and Anti-Skill, allowing them to act freely at the cost of many civilian casualties.

Before Takitsubo Rikou was officially transferred into the lab but was there on a trial basis, the lab was brought down. Although Takitsubo didn't know the details, she suspected it was because they had lost a dark side power struggle and because of their diversionary methods involving many ordinary people becoming casualties. The four test subjects scattered and fled, with Takitsubo messing up and capture alive, though her captors cared more about eliminated the organization and not about her as an individual, releasing her back into the normal world.

A short time later, Takitsubo was visited by the lab's three test subjects who wished to revive the lab and for her to join them as a group of four. When she declined, the three, backed up by the researchers who wanted to restart their work, engineered the destruction of Takitsubo's dorm room through a truck crash and got her arrested by Anti-Skill on false charges, in order to isolate and then obtain her. However, before they could seize Takitsubo, she was saved by Mugino Shizuri, leading to the beginning of Item, which the three would resent for 'stealing' Takitsubo away from them.

Chronology

Toaru Anbu no Item

Daihasei Festival Arc

Main article: Daihasei Festival Arc (Item)

On September 20th, one year prior to the main story, the girls of the Advanced Lab attempted to seize Takitsubo from Item during the Daihaseisai, but were ultimately killed in one-on-one battles with Item's other members. Having lost their espers, the adult researchers were not left in a position where they could revive the lab.

Known Members

It should be noted that this list excludes Takitsubo Rikou, who was briefly present on a trial basis and not properly inducted into the organization.

"Name"	Details
A-ko (A子, A-ko?)	A high school girl with wavy black hair. She died in battle against Mugino Shizuri on September 20th. During this incident, she was using the temporary alias Suzunaka. Her Level 4 ability was All or Nothing (死闘交撃（オールオアナッシング）, Shitō Hōgeki (Ōru Oa Nasshingu)?). According to Takitsubo, when she achieved a successful cross counter, her enemy's attack power was added to her own, damaging her opponent. Given the vague explanation on the physical front, Takitsubo thought it might actually be a psychological power, considering how excessive strong mental activity can cause physical harm and comparing it to the fear of a gun or bomb causing bleeding from the heart. Her external boosting method was self-hypnosis, induced with aromas and flashing lights. One device she uses for this is a super-high-speed photography tool known as an Octopus Shutter (オクトパスシャッター, Okutopasu Shattā?).
B-ko (B子, B-ko?)	A girl with a blonde ponytail. She died in battle against Kinuhata Saiai on September 20th. During this incident, she was using the temporary alias Moritana, with a given name either pronounced Aibi or Manami, and had previously used Yamakawa before then. Her Level 4 ability was Territory Pheromone (粒子察知（テリトリーフェロモン）, Ryūshi Satchi (Teritorī Feromon)?, lit. "Particle Detection"), a radar-like ability based on her hair scent. When her own scent particles mixed with those of others, the microscopic structure would break down and allow her to precisely detect the others' location from her own position. Her external boosting method was lifestyle optimization. In an attempt to draw out her top performance, researchers made her follow an optimal routine, which included her diet and sleep. While her ability was geared towards support and searching, she could use it on the frontline by combining it with her weapon, a homemade laser or HMLa (自作式光学兵器(HMLa), Jisaku Shiki Kōgaku Heiki (HMLa)?, lit. "Homemade Optical Weapon"). A laser weapon emitted from a penlight-sized device with a range of 50m, while powerful enough to burn a piece of paper individually, bundled together they could riddle a person with holes.
C-ko (C子, C-ko?)	A girl with short brown hair. She died in battle against Frenda Seivelun on September 20th. During this incident, she was using the temporary alias Okano. Her Level 4 ability was Composite (万物接合（コンポジット）, Banbutsu Setsugō (Konpojitto)?), which allowed her to stick any two objects together regardless of their material traits, similar to an adhesive. She could restrain anyone by sticking their hands together, and could move defying gravity by attaching her feet to windows, walls and ceilings. As Takitsubo had heard, she also had nastier ways of connecting bodies, being able to break down objects by sticking to and extracting certain elements (such as hydrogen and oxygen) and compounds. With this she could mummify a human's body or turn steel beams into porous sponges. Given her ability, she specialized in close-quarters combat, skin-to-skin. Her external boosting method was a form of brain surgery. Machines smaller than grains of corn were attached to her skull's interior, with their slight expansion and contractions stimulating difference values in the brain.