After a night of practice, the two tried to relay the phenomenon to Mia&Tuyuan the next morning. The four met in one hotel room. Yuruko had a whiteboard, Serena a black marker, and they had a bag on the bed beside.
"Alright." nodded Serena, hoping the entertainment would dull her fear. "Trying to… tell you - something. Need to use this."
"A picture is worth a thousand words." said Tuyuan.
"This happened last night." said Yuruko.
Serena drew a bench and a stick figure with black hair. "Can you make this blue? I need to draw your hair."
Yuruko laughed, tapping the marker Medicinal Blue. The artist drew her far more carefully, and waited for Mia&Tuyuan's interpretation.
"You… went out last night, then?" said Mia, and Yuruko held back her nod, fearful it might kill her.
"Coolio." winced Yuruko. "But then…"
Serena took a sticker out of the bag, drawing another stick figure on the board. "But then, someone showed up."
She smacked the sticker on to the figure -
- and the two laughed as the sticker fell limp to the ground.
"… Oh, man." she mumbled, showing it off, which read 'DUMBASS'. "I thought you said it'd stick."
"You were the one who wanted a whiteboard." grinned Yuruko.
"You fought a Revenant, then?" said Mia.
"But then…" Yuruko pulled a paper shredder out of her bag and plugged it in. "We… asked questions, and…"
Serena put the dumbass in the shredder, and the two viewers' eyes went wide.
"You shredded him alive?" said Tuyuan, and Mia shook her head.
"He - then… You can't speak - because someone's placed something on you? The… source of these disappearances?"
"If they did that - it must be…" Tuyuan's head shook affirmatively. "… Yeah. Must be the guy we're looking for, then. Or gal."
Serena started her next drawing -
" - you didn't look up the symbol?!" sputtered Yuruko, the artist already one ball deep -
" - we - we were out shopping all night!"
"He only has one testicle? - oh." murmured Mia.
"I told you we'd need the whiteboard." chimed Serena, wiping the previous masterpieces off. She started setting up an eight-letter hangman. "Okay. Guess. Just in case."
"A." said Tuyuan, and Serena drew the head.
"E." said Mia.
_ _ _ E _ E _ _
"I." said Tuyuan, and Serena drew the torso.
"O." said Mia.
_ O _ E _ E _ _
"U." said Tuyuan, and Serena drew the right arm.
"He's dying." murmured Yuruko, ruefully.
"S." said Mia.
_ O _ E _ E S S
"R."
The left arm.
"P." said Mia.
The left leg.
"G."
The right leg, and Serena & Yuruko sighed.
"Now we have to do it over again." murmured Serena, wiping the slate clean.
"It'd be unfair not to." grinned Yuruko, in good company with that punk.
◆◆◆
It had taken the heroes three tries to reach 'HOMELESS', and after three men were hanged, the four took a visit to the local homeless encampment. It was parked underneath an interstate with thirty tents scattered, and three men were already around the campfire when they arrived.
"Er, excuse me." said Mia, traditional naïveté in tow, but words practiced. "We were looking for information on the recent disappearances."
Four sighs of relief came at the non-shredding. Only one man turned, and mumbled to the others about the four being Urasaria students.
"Got past that, but they're not gonna talk to us." muttered Tuyuan. "Cops. Should've taken our badges off."
"Um, hey - do you guys… need supplies?" said Yuruko, gloves at the ready. "Uh, water? Shampoo? Socks? Money?"
The three turned, and Yuruko grinned. "Serena, can you help me?"
"Yeah." nodded Serena. Medicinal created a bottle, and Blackburn filled it with water. "Uh, I can do that for a bunch of stuff, so if you need any drinks -"
" - go ahead." said one of the men as he stood. "There's forty people that live here. Mostly men."
"Let's get to it." said Yuruko. A sweep of her hands below, and a wooden platform formed, frozen in mid-air as her & the drink dispenser set to work.
The man yawned, gesturing for Mia and Tuyuan to follow him off to the side. They heard tent doors open behind, footsteps following.
"Er - thank you." chimed Mia. "We're - has anyone approached you, for…" She frowned, not wanting to show her misinformation.
"There were Revenants stolen recently. One of their hosts directed us to you right before he died." said Tuyuan.
The man shrugged. "… Only person that comes around here lately is Rosenthal. He offers to give us checkups, free meals. Takes a few of us each time. I'm usually asleep by the time he gets here."
"You, er… No one - ever - made the connection between the - two? The disappearances - the… shreddings?" said Mia.
"He's been doing it for months. I've been here for years - I know people that just up and leave in the middle of the night, anyway. Barely even notice who goes with him. Besides - you wouldn't think looking at him. Can't imagine it's him. He's real handsome. Smart, too. Read in the papers that he's got an award being given to him soon."
"An award?"
"Yeah. Been here for ten years. But I know I looked at him - but I've got good judgment, and I judge him not to be that guy."
"How do you explain the..." Mia's lips pinched. "…nevermind."
"You should have judged better." muttered Tuyuan, and the man sneered.
"Then I'm judging you as 'shithead'. Sick of you people shitting on how we live, because -"
" - hands off!" shouted Yuruko behind, and as Mia&Tuyuan turned -
- just in time to see Serena shove a man off from Yuruko, the two stepping back and away, Yuruko giving a gesture to Mia as they started back.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" said Serena, fog replenishing, ready to fill.
"Can't expect to bring a pretty lady here -" - he coughed - " - and expect us not to want a peek under that coat."
"Then try it with me, asshole." grunted Serena.
The man swayed. "…you're a woman? Barely look like one."
Yuruko saw Blackburn's fog twitch for a second.
"I'll show you what a real fucking woman looks like -"
" - Serena." said Yuruko, glove on her shoulder. "C-C'mon. We gotta make more. Right? Don't let this dick get to you."
Serena breathed deep for a few seconds. "… F-Fine." she muttered, filling the Medicinal bottles with water.
"You four oughta leave, if that's all." muttered the man behind, stepping up beside Mia&Tuyuan. "Finish up the gifts - and leave. We'll appreciate them - but you're not a part of this community. Don't need outsiders making a ruckus."
"You started it." said Tuyuan. "Maybe you should have better control of your flock."
"Just because I'm sick of outsiders like you shitting on us -"
" - don't even bother arguing with me." droned Tuyuan. "This is how pathetic your life is. You always need someone lower than you on the totem pole - because you can't stand thinking you're here because you deserve to be. You can't stand the thought that you're here because of your own poor choices."
"Don't - ever say that." said Mia, the matter turning personal then. "Don't - ever fucking say poverty is a choice."
"I don't know why you would expect these people to act any different, Swarm." muttered Tuyuan, already starting out of the camp. "I'll be back at the hotel. I'll let you know if I encounter a Revenant."
"Fine." said Mia. "Go."
And he was gone. Mia drew up beside Serena&Yuruko, the two finishing up shampoo bottles now.
Yuruko glanced behind. "… Yeah. He's a real dick."
"Despicable." muttered Mia. "Regardless - we should, er - attempt to find… I - found a lead."
"Right." nodded Yuruko, cautious.
"… aaaand - done." mumbled Serena, finishing up the last.
"Thank you." said one of the men, drawing up to the table. "I know some of us can be difficult - but thank you."
"Of course." nodded Mia. "Er - please distribute them equally."
He nodded. The three heroes set out of the camp and down the sidewalk. Serena looked back to check she was out of sight, and let her head hang low after. Being misgendered hung on her mind like a fuzzy nettle in a sweater.
"… hey, um." mumbled Yuruko. "Don't let that… Um." She smiled. "Hey, Mia - did Serena ever tell you about the time she went in for a doctor's appointment - and, um, they thought she was a dude?"
Serena smiled, knowing Yuruko's aim.
"Er - why would they think that?" said Mia
"That's what I said." grinned Yuruko, and Serena laughed. "Guess they didn't look very closely. Still. Um. That… Uh. What did you -" - she winced - " - find out?"
"A…" Mia glanced behind, then put her finger to her lips. "We'll - be attending an award ceremony, simply to ask questions. In two days. Nothing until then."
The two captives nodded.
◆◆◆
Rosenthal had an hour before his first patient, and the day's schedule gave him no time for his usual supply run. He'd almost started to feel guilt over how they trusted him; but he knew he wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't right. He wasn't like Mengele; those experiments had failed.
He was on the breach. He knew - had to think someone would recognize what he was doing. Maybe he'd be thrown in jail - but they'd take his research, and someone else could claim that genius. He was willing to let his ego go for that.
A banging came to his clinic's front door. He went to the lobby and saw someone he knew through the glass doors. He opened it, and in stepped the woman he met a few days ago, huffing like she'd been running.
"They - the Urasaria - please don't -" she panted, and Rosenthal held his hand out.
"I won't trigger Schizoid. What is it?"
"They know about you. They - they were asking, about you."
His chest emptied. "T-they what? What do they know?"
"That you've been - going to - giving supplies -"
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
" - no, no. No - when are they coming, now?"
"They said - I overheard them about your award ceremony?"
He cursed and stomped. "No - I need - time to perfect it. They'll - they'll - and I can't miss the fucking ceremony!"
He gripped her by her neck.
"You're - you're going to delay them. Delay them, or I'll trigger Schizoid."
◆◆◆
The procedure was rushed, and he shoved her out of his clinic only twenty minutes before opening.
"Go - go, or I'll -" - he sighed and turned, and out she went. He stepped in to his office, readying to cancel his appointments for work more important.
He felt that fear he had last December.
He'd gone to the worst part of town he could find, and someone who hadn't recognized him tried to rob him. Rosenthal had told himself the man was likely on heroin. He was married - but likely a wife-beater. His conscience had told him to stick with the lowest scum for his experiments; at least until the time was right to reveal it. He hadn't planned on killing his assailant when he brought him back to the clinic, Schizoid-implanted. Like the others, Rosenthal had told him it could trigger remotely.
When the man awoke out of surgery, the anesthetic left his mind clogged, and before Rosenthal could stop him, he'd said his name - and Schizoid had shredded him in to seven sheets. The corpse left him panicked; he could still call to mind the way he'd stuttered at his secretary that night. She had accidentally left her purse under her desk, and the two talked only a room away from the corpse.
He disposed of it that night, and over the next month, came up with answers for every question. If the man had a child - he wasn't a good father. His family would be better off without him. No one would miss that empty space in society. Any Urasaria student would've done the same.
Sometimes, a bad moment would come; but it passed. By now, he didn't even remember his name. The first was the hardest; but the next twenty-nine, he didn't ask for their names. By March the cloud over his head had passed and the crisis had lifted, because with time, everything fades.
◆◆◆
Five minutes later, two arrived at the front doors, flanking the walls.
"Hopefully - um - it can't be triggered remotely." winced Serena.
"I'll make sure to kill quickly." muttered Mia, hand on the door.
A flash of fire scarabs burnt the door down, and with no time to waste, the women swept in to the main lobby, hall at the other end; they rushed across the room and down the hall, and as they turned in to the first room right -
- Rosenthal was at the other end, facing away, a dozen feet separating them and he; and as he turned -
"- I - I surrender." he said and kneeled, hands behind his head. "My Revenant is Schizoid. When implanted, it kills anyone who is about to say my name. The source of the Revenants -"
"- you - what?" panted Mia, aghast.
" - was a young man from a nearby storage facility. I have no desire to fight you."
"… careful." muttered Serena, and Mia nodded, eeking the edge of her range.
"Remove your Revenant from Serena and Yuruko." she said, swarm of fire scarabs on Rosenthal's chest.
"Of - of course. I'm - terribly sorry. It was automatic."
The incorporeal scissors flew out of Serena's ears and disappeared.
"… What were you doing with the stolen Revenants, then?" said Mia.
"I have nothing but respect for the law. The homeless - they attract - drug addiction, crime. They're wastes to society. Useless. But I thought that if I could create a way to allow someone to host two Revenants - it would be unprecedented. With my expertise. I needed to test them. There's one on her way, with three Revenants to your friends, now, but I cannot recall her back -"
" - you fucking experimented on them? The shredded bodies -"
" - were of drug addicts - homeless - I lured here, by various means. I understand it was traditionally unethical, but the lives it would save, if I were allowed to perfect it. It would be unprecedented." He met Mia's gaze. "If you would like, there's a thousand dollars in my desk drawer. You're women of character, I'm sure, but I understand Urasaria's salary is low. I'll confess to all of it in court - on the condition that it not be public."
Mia stared at him.
"But my talents." he said. "I would be well suited for researching Revenants -"
" - you can't pay back what you owe in prison."
"Brace yourself, dipshit." grunted Serena, and in the next instant -
- streams of black fog filled his ears with TNT, and a fire scarab lit the fuse -
- and his body exploded in a dozen chunks of gore, painting the room red.
"…man. We really are violent."
"Utterly fucking despicable." muttered Mia. "There's no reason to feel anything for scum like that, Serena."
"Wasn't - saying I was. I was the one who chose TNT, right?"
Mia nodded. "… I remember, when Aimee and I met - when we hunted for the first time. She told me she enjoyed the violence."
"It's - uh - pretty rough, sometimes, but." Serena winced, Mia boiling the blood off their clothes. "… after last month, it… does feel pretty cathartic."
The two nodded and Mia spoke. "If we were not around - those professional Revenants could have killed millions of people. If we were not around - he would have continued to -"
" - there's no need to excuse your murders, Diet Ryumi." said a masculine voice behind, and they turned -
" - Serena - run." said Mia, and Akira laughed. He still had a scar from the last Solar Beam.
"I have no intention of fighting you."
"Mizuchi? Right?" said Serena, readying to rush to the back of the room.
"Mizuchi." said Akira. "It's the name of a Japanese water serpent. Ironic that Nikolai had it, as he was Russian. Ryumi joked it was a case of bastardization."
"You were behind this, then?" said Mia, scarabs drawn. "Attempting to recreate Dreadnought's conduits?"
"I'm not the root of all evil, Ryumi Reduced-Sugar. I don't care about someone failing to recreate Magnus's genius. There's a billion sad wights in the world.
"Why the fuck are you after me, then?!" shouted Mia, rage readying to unleash as her palms aimed forward.
"Ensuring Worldwide's survival. Note - Worldwide - not Mia, Swarm, Schultzy, or whatever ridiculous name your -"
- an orange beam erupted from her palms, shooting through the air; Akira panted - " - Mizuchi!"
- and he was gone.
"God fucking -" Mia grunted, rapidly calming again.
"Is - is he gone?" panted Serena, fog drawn, and Mia waved her down.
"He is." she groaned. "…though he seems scared of Solar Beam, at least."
"Looked like an orange kamehameha." chimed Serena, and Mia gave her odd eyes.
"Er, what?"
"… Nothing." Serena's head shook. "Um. What are we gonna say happened, though?"
"We'll say that…" Mia glanced at the chunks of gore. "… We dealt with the culprit. Follow my lead. We won't mention Akira. We need to notify Yuruko and Tuyuan of the other Revenant, as well."
"Sounds good."
Mia ran out -
- and clenched back her protest as she heard Serena open the desk drawer behind.
"I've gotta save up." winced the punk, taking the bribe; and they were gone.
◆◆◆
They had already received Yuruko's distress signal by the time they arrived at the sidewalk opposite their hotel, road up ahead, parking lot beyond, hotel finally there. With no time to waste, the two rushed across the road, in to the lot, and as they reached the hotel's front doors -
- they heard a window shatter above, and turned their eyes up -
- and saw Yuruko launched out of the fifth-story window, dropping with the speed of a chemist, titanic fall on to the asphalt behind&below -
- but the next scene was instant.
" - Worldwide!"
A platform of ice formed where she would land -
" - B-Blackburn!"
- and streams of black fog filled the block of ice with an enormous pillow, a single fire scarab vaporizing its frozen cover -
- and Yuruko fell on to the pillow back-first, bouncing as she landed, safe but panting.
"S-Shit." she winced, standing up with eyes still above, and ran up to the two at the front doors.
"We - we dealt with - Rosenthal -" panted Mia, and Yuruko nodded, speaking quick.
"Woman up there - but Tuyuan should be -"
" - hey!" shouted a familiar voice from the hotel lobby, and as they turned -
- out of the ethereal doors ran Tuyuan, catching up to the three quick and gesturing wildly behind. Desperate for space, the four ran back across the lot, cars flanking them as they ran, speaking quick as they rushed out to the sidewalk adjacent.
"God - she's a real bitch to deal with -" panted Tuyuan, Ethereal's primary lever in hand as they stepped back, eyes on the front doors two hundred feet away.
"What - what's she got?" panted Serena, four in a line with Revenants readied.
"Some - these fucking arrows or something, I swear to shit -"
- and ahead, their female foe burst out of the front doors and to the lot. She crouched to the lot below, hands a wild flurry on the asphalt. An arrow formed and pointed towards the four, and in the next instant -
- the cars were launched with the speed of sound towards them, and as Mia readied to form a wall of ice -
- with aghast senses, she felt her scarabs not respond to her mental command, moving as if against an invisible wall forward; the cars burst in to flames -
" - Ethereal!" shouted Tuyuan, levers he had placed on the cars as he ran prior flicking each to incorporeal -
- and the ghastly ends of each phased through the four, landing and disappearing in to the street behind.
"Can't move forward?" sighed Mia, catching the metaphorical trend quick.
"It's a real pain in the ass. Careful how you move." groaned Yuruko, holding her gloves back. She stepped back, keeping her hands in-place until they were in front, the rest moving the same at her sides.
But on the horizon, their foe still ran in pursuit, and as another dozen automobile projectiles screamed towards them -
- a dozen levers flicked ethereal the screaming missiles, leaving the four safe again as they stood in place.
"Got - most of them." winced Tuyuan. "I don't know how the fuck we're going to get in range of the -"
" - Doctor Rosenthal is dead! You're safe!" shouted Mia, utterly aghast -
" - already tried that!"
Silently, Mia&Serena regretted leaving the corpse at the office; but ahead, the woman still ran towards them from a hundred feet away, and as another car shot through the air towards them -
"I didn't Ethereal that one!" shouted Tuyuan; but the heroes were in-tune. The four swept single-file back, Mia at the front, and as the automobile hit her head-on -
- a pillar of white flame claimed her body and charred the car to ash, leaving the four safe as they backed away to the center of the road, woman on the horizon standing still now.
"I've got something." whispered Yuruko at Mia's back, relaying it quick. Mia stepped back ad Yuruko stood still, Serena third and Tuyuan fourth.
Inch by inch, the four stepped back, a trail of minuscule gunpowder forming at Yuruko's boots as they came backwards to the sidewalk. Another nod to swap position, building at their backs as they stepped to a horizontal file.
And not catching the trick, their foe ahead ran in pursuit across the lot, and hurtled to the sidewalk, searching for more cars as she ran out to the road. She ran out to the tip of the fuse, and as the four readied to step back, single scarab lighting the fuse -
- but felt with aghast backs an invisible wall, seeing the woman place an up-arrow at her feet, leaving the four with no escape against the impending explosion, spark traveling rapidly through the ground below -
" - Ethereal." groaned Tuyuan, and a flick of Ethereal's lever turned the gunpowder incorporeal -
- and four groans escaped them as they saw the down-arrow still in the parking lot, leaving both they and their foe immobile but for strafing, fifty feet separating she and they.
And her eyes filled with tears as she realized, stumbling and falling to the ground, patting desperately the concrete below -
" - no - you stupid!" shouted Tuyuan, and before any could react -
- they felt with aghast right arms an invisible wall form -
" - please do not place another arrow!" shouted Mia -
- and the woman fell limp to the ground, sobbing in one direction, the four only able to move left now.
"Please stay - stay still." panted Mia. "We - we want to help you! Please - please stay still."
"Get - tablets out. Just in case." winced Yuruko, fourth-right. "I - shit, someone has to get mine."
"I - I will." nodded Serena, third-right.
Yuruko pressed her tablet off her back and left, and as it fell to the ground, Serena took it with her left hand -
- and sighed as she found herself unable to type, all rightward movement blocked.
"This shit never ends." muttered Tuyuan, fourth-left, as Serena flipped the tablet upsidedown.
"The… third tab, Serena." said Mia, eyes on the screen. "Nuiko's name is at… the top. Speech to text.
With a nod, Serena flicked carefully through the settings. Mia relayed the Revenant in quick order, and Serena sent the message out.
"Least we won't die here." chimed Yuruko. "Any ideas?"
"… can only move left." sighed Tuyuan. "Barely got an inch here."
"We could keep going left, but…" Mia sighed. "We can't leave her here."
"I've…" Yuruko dropped her voice low, hoping the women wouldn't hear. "… I can try to form respirators. Hydrofluoric gas'll kill her if it hits her."
"Can't move forward, though." mumbled Serena; but her eyes went odd. "… wait. Um. When you - got launched out of the window…"
"Was trying to put some distance between us. I was going to flick her down to the first floor, buy some time." muttered Tuyuan.
"Yeah." said Yuruko. "She placed an arrow and launched me out, and I ran up to -"
- and the four realized it then.
"Let me try first." murmured Mia. "Worldwide."
A pillar of ice formed below her feet, launching her skyward -
- and she sighed as it melted instantly, hearing but not seeing the skittering of a rival set of scarabs, placing her ground-level again.
"She copies Revenants, too?" winced Yuruko, and Mia sighed.
"P-Please help me…" sobbed their foe, still trapped fetal.
"We - we will!" said Mia. "Er - just, stay calm. Please don't move."
"This is like a shitty puzzle." sighed Yuruko.
"Real Tower of Hanoi." said Tuyuan.
"Try to lean back. I'm coming left."
The three nodded.
"Okay." said Yuruko, sashaying carefully past the three left. "Gotta just - fuck, alright."
As she reached the leftmost position, she nodded and strafed left, stairs of stone forming as she walked up. The other three followed behind, and as they came up a dozen feet from their initial position -
- and there, the woman stood on a stone platform of her own, the arrows still on the sides as she shuddered and sobbed; Tuyuan clenched back his urge to yell.
"She can't be doing this of her own volition." muttered Mia. "There's no - she must have realized by now that - Rosenthal truly is dead."
"And she can't -" - groaned Serena - " - god. She can't - she can't even reach the arrows, can she?"
"… wait." muttered Yuruko. A step of stone formed underneath her right boot's heel -
- and underneath the woman.
"She's - she's gotta have lost control of it." sighed Yuruko. "It's just - it's gotta be copying our shit, but…"
"If it's just copying, then - ugh." sighed Tuyuan.
"I've - got an idea." winced Serena, right of Mia, and the mentor caught it quick. "It might be doing the opposite, but the only way to get a way to heal one of our wounds, is if…"
"…do it." muttered Mia. Streams of black fog flew between her lips, and in the next instant -
- three pairs of scissors filled her throat; she threw her hands to her neck, yanking them out in three geysers of blood -
- but a bizarre scene met their stare ahead.
"SOLO NOBRE!" shouted an otherworldly tone, and in the next instant -
- streams of black fog filled the women's throat with scissors, a dozen geysers of blood; a pillar of orange flame burnt her legs to ash, and as her corpse turned ethereal -
- her body disintegrated, only a beating heart left on the ground.
"What the fuck?!" shouted Yuruko, relevantly.
"Her - that voice?" panted Serena, fog refilling Mia's wounds -
"What the fuck was -"
" - q-quiet!" gagged Mia, feeling Matoi's lash in her voice. "C-Calm. She's - dead - c-clearly!"
As it had in France, the others fell under that strong voice.
"… alright." nodded Yuruko, starting to calm. "I - fuck. I - guess we got her, but - shit."
The invisible walls gone, the four drew up to the beating heart, Revenants still readied.
"…yeah. We gotta destroy it, too." winced Yuruko, crouching down. "This is gonna be really risky to do in an area with civilians, but…"
"They've all cleared, it seems." muttered Tuyuan.
She set to work on forming full-face respirators as they spoke.
"Alright - if this turns to gas, I need… Mia. I need you to keep it as cold as you can - don't let any of it hit anything. It's - this thing reacts violently with water."
"Alright."
"Tuyuan - Serena, get back."
The two scattered, and Yuruko worked with her hands below, forming a container of Teflon around the heart. Glove outstretched, her left hand tapped it -
- and nothing happened. She sighed aghast, her fluoroantimonic acid absorbed like a sponge.
"I - fuck."
"The acid isn't working?" shouted Serena.
"Uh, yeah!" shouted Yuruko, daring not move her eyes. "It's not working for destroying this - I could try something higher concentration, but..."
"Let me try." murmured Mia, and Yuruko stepped back. "Worldwide."
A pillar of white flame claimed the heart, vaporizing the container around -
- and they sighed at seeing it still beat.
"We need something much stronger to destroy this, then…" Mia sighed. "Could it be because it's copied our Revenants?"
"I - maybe, but... Fluoroantimonic acid is insanely difficult to neutralize. Even I have to be careful with it."
"Didn't you say there's a stronger acid than that?" said Tuyuan, and Serena shook her head.
"Helium hydride is the strongest acid, but, um, that doesn't count, since it's not stable. Acidity is about how willing something is to donate a proton, not corrosiveness."
Yuruko blinked at her. "…um. Yeah. That."
'She really is cute.'
"Still, we…" Mia sighed. "We can't leave it here. These can't be transferred - there's no use for these."
"We'd need something a lot more corrosive." sighed Yuruko. "Ugh, I dunno. Maybe…"
"… wait." murmured Mia. "If - I may have something." She took her phone out, typing a message to Aimee. "It may take a few days - but…"
"What've you got?" said Serena.
"Something much more corrosive."
◆◆◆
Fortunately, he had been given the day off, and the five met over the heart that night.
"Holy shit you're huge." sputtered Serena, and Dmitri's two heads nodded.
"Thanks. -- Thanks."
"Absolute unit." nodded Yuruko. "Uh - yeah, it's right here, though."
"Stand back." he said, and the four scattered. "It's time for some -- pure skill."
A hack of Alchemist's acid below, and the heart corroded in an instant.
"Too -- easy."
◆◆◆
A week passed, and the investigation had been closed. Due to Rosenthal's prestige, the police had only announced an end to the disappearances, and his award for ten years of service had been given posthumously.
Friday night, a man and a woman walked down a sidewalk. A homeless woman was pushing her cart their way.
"It's awful how this city treats them." whispered the woman, inching away to avoid direct contact. "There's so, so few shelters for them to go to - and those awful spikes they have."
"It's terrible." replied the man, hoping he wouldn't be asked for money. He knew he'd help her if he was asked; but he just didn't want to be asked.
[END OF ARC 7: 21ST CENTURY SCHIZOID MAN]