Neodymium

Yuruko gave her an address, and Serena stepped in to the parking lot. Asking her phone if this was legal, she saw Yuruko laughing and heard it twice.

"Watch out." replied Yuruko's voice. "There's some weirdo dressed in all black out."

"And someone with a lab coat."

She went across to Yuruko, and they walked up to the entrance of the state fair. She smiled at Yuruko as they went through the turnstiles and up the main path.

"I figured this was, uh, probably the only fun thing to do here." shrugged Yuruko and Serena nodded.

"Um, where should we start?"

"I mean, they probably took out all the deep-fried stuff already."

"No heart attacks." muttered Serena ruefully. "...um. Where do you want to go?" She turned to the Ferris wheel in the distance.

"Uh, lemme see if they have an attraction list first." Yuruko checked her phone, and Serena noticed she had her lockscreen set to Rei Ayanami, too. "…sorry, hang on. Ny signal sucks."

Serena nodded as they turned a corner, checking through another row of booths. Yuruko formed two chairs for them, and they sat for a while talking about anime & videogames. Eventually, Serena asked if she could ask Yuruko for advice on something.

"Sure." she said. "What's up?"

Serena sighed. "Um, it's just… I don't really know how to deal with Mia, I guess. Like, I wanted to ask her if we could just pair up together, but, um - she's been really restrictive, and… And, I dunno, it just feels like she doesn't trust me to do anything. Like, you didn't start yelling orders at me when we were fighting."

"She yells at you?"

"Um, kinda. Not in a mean way, but…" Serena sighed. "I dunno. It just feels like she doesn't trust me with my Revenant, even though she's the one who sprung it on me."

Yuruko frowned, listening to Serena talk some more. While she was acquainted with Mia, this was beginning to fit with the dismal opinion she cast on Urasaria's other women: she usually saw them as the type of pretty girls who had stuffed kill-yourself notes in her highschool locker, or in online feminists who claimed to speak for her now. It was little wonder they approached everything emotionally.

"Did you talk to her about it?" said Yuruko.

"Um, not yet." mumbled Serena. "I don't really know how to bring it up. That's why I wanted to ask you."

"She's usually fine, but… I dunno. Uh, you probably know her better than I do. She's been in way more fights that me."

Serena looked at Yuruko's badge and frowned: she just now realized it read 'YURUKO'. "Wait, is Yuruko your hero name?"

Yuruko giggled thinking she was kidding. "I'm not two-star yet. I mean, I was working with Gamage all of my first year, so. I just have to hunt once a month so I don't get expelled, and, uh, Aimee said the staff forced her to make me a mentor, so…" She shrugged. "Uh, did I tell you what my Revenant does?" Without waiting: "It's called For-Medicinal-Use-Only. Uh, it lets me add and subtract protons to things. It sounds like it's super complex, but, uh - it also let me memorize the periodic table, so."

"It lets you memorize the periodic table?"

"Yeah. There's Revenants that give you a like, innate knowledge of things, if it helps you use it."

Serena nodded. Maybe she could memorize it too, to impress Yuruko.

The chemist formed a glass in her hand, offering it to Serena. "Uh, can you make me a soda?"

Blackburn's fog filled her a soda, and as she took her first sip -

- the glass burst open, and the shards flew to her as if magnetized, slicing her cheeks and eyes; she stumbled blindly back under the agony -

" - M-Medicinal!" she panted, wiping frantically her eyes, the glass turning to crimson water. A flash of fog filled her wounds, and the women searched with eyes around, Yuruko stumbling back against a nearby food stand - but she had no time to rest.

A rumbling began from the windows behind, and as she turned, the windows burst and shattered; the shards flew to her, slashing ferociously again; but her gloves swept aside the projectiles, and as they turned to water -

- the water formed a stream and shot with the speed of liquid to Serena, entering through her ears and burrowing down -

- but a stream of fog filled her ears, boiling to steam the foul liquid, leaving a safe yet pained Serena.

The two women shot their eyes around again, up the corridor and down, ferris wheel ahead, carousel and food stalls flanking them.

"Gotta find the host, gotta find the host…" said Yuruko.

The women rushed back and down the corridor, homing glass projectiles shooting out of the stalls beside, Medicinal turning the glass to water and Blackburn turning the water to steam as they ran.

Ahead was a corner they were helpless to take, and as they hurtled past and around, a line of vending machines left -

- an expected scene met their side-stare. The machines shuddered and rumbled; cans of soda burst out from the machines' slots, and as the sugary beverages hit the back of their skulls -

" - Medicinal!"

- a sweep of her gloves back, and as she readied to turn the cans to water again -

" - wait!" shouted Serena -

- and a stream of fog filled the cans with lead, and they fell limp to the ground, the unexpected weight too heavy for it.

"That - it's magnetization, right?" said Serena, the two backing away, near the entrance now, porta-potties left and a crooked funhouse fifty feet deeper in the park.

"Yeah." nodded Yuruko, seeing the cans roll in place, but never getting any closer, a metaphor for being friendzoned.

"Still haven't found them yet, either." murmured Serena, stepping ahead, and as the two passed the line of portable toilets -

- a groan escaped them as they heard the water within rumble, and in the next instant -

- five streams of tainted water pierced out through the doors, and as Serena readied to fill the streams with heat -

- Yuruko rushed along the holes, her gloves a flurry of movement as she plugged the holes with sponges, absorbing the rest of the watery assault as Serena filled the streams with heat.

"I - oh." laughed Serena. "Uh - sorry. Should've done that too."

"It's cool." said Yuruko, and as she turned -

- a needle pierced through one of the sponges, shooting with the speed of an addict towards her -

- but with the speed of light, Serena caught it in her cup; a flick of the switch, and the needle disintegrated, a second stream of fog repairing the stabbed sponge.

"Why - why would there be a needle in a bathroom?" said Serena, and the two winced a second later.

"Probably good you saved me." chimed Yuruko, and with the assault blunted, they turned to the crooked funhouse a few seconds away.

"Might be a lot of mirrors if we go in there." winced Serena. "If the magnetization is getting stronger - wait."

She nodded as the two rushed ahead, and they came quick to the closed door. "Uh - you can make me another cup, right?"

"Yep." said Yuruko as they flanked against the walls.

"Don't breathe this." winced Serena, filling her cup with fog; she threw the door open, threw her cup in and shut the door just as quick - " - run!'

The women ran back the way they had come, and as they came close to the field of soda cans from earlier -

- they found more strength than before. The sugary beverages flew to the two again, shattering in to hundreds of plastic shards, and as the lead fell, the sharp plastic sought their throats -

- but a spin of Yuruko's gloves turned the projectiles liquid again, and a stream of Blackburn vaporized the water again.

"Just gotta keep doing that, right?" said Serena.

"Yeah." nodded Yuruko, and the two turned to the funhouse, Serena sighing as she heard no agonized scream.

"I - uh. Mustard gas."

"Just like Brigador." chimed Yuruko, relevantly -

- and from around the corner behind, began a set of footsteps; with the speed of light the two turned, and as they ran in sudden pursuit around the corner, back down the corridor where the calamity had began -

- they saw a man running through the carousel left hurtling over horses and out of their sight. With no time to waste, the two ran up to the carousel's platform, rushing through the horses and between the mares -

- which began to rumble as they drew close. The horses burst in to shards of wood, encircling like a wooden tornado around; Yuruko stumbled back and against the center metal pole -

- and the entire carousel began to buckle, metal suddenly splitting open, and as the collapsing carousel threatened to bury the two -

" - stay still!" shouted Yuruko, and as the rain of rubble crashed down, throwing them back first to the ground -

- liquid coated Yuruko's gloves and boots, corroding through the rubble, and Serena laid still as Yuruko rose above. A second throw of acid freed the still punk.

"Good, right?" said Serena, panting with the reaction of relief.

"Yeah." chimed Yuruko, corroding quick the rest, eyes around. "Ugh - shit, we lost him though - can you - get my tablet from my back? Gotta neutralize this. Sodium hydrogen carbonate - eleven, one, six, eight..."

"Um, sure." said Serena, rising to her feet, unclipping Yuruko's tablet from her back. "What do you need?"

"Tap - just tap everyone's name, okay? Red button." She dropped her voice low. "Don't have much left. Might need help."

Serena nodded, tapped the other four's names and clipped it back to Yuruko's coat. The women stepped out to the main corridor, ferris wheel still on the distance and ahead.

"Least these place doesn't have many rides." chimed Serena, and Yuruko laughed.

"Yeah. Gotta be hiding, but - this magnetization is getting stronger, too."

"We haven't checked there." said Serena, gesturing to the ferris wheel, and Yuruko nodded, starting their rush up through the main avenue. A dozen seconds separated them and the ride's entrance, metal barriers zigzagging for a line, and as Yuruko drew within range -

- the metal barriers burst inwards and shattered open; the shards flew to them again, and a spray of acid corroded them again -

- but Yuruko shrieked as the acid formed a stream, beginning to sweep back towards them -

" - Serena - sodium bi- baking soda!"

- and with the speed of fog, Serena filled the acid with baking soda -

- and the streams bubbled and fell limp to the ground, neutralized metaphorically and literally. Yuruko laughed, patting Serena on the back.

"Neutralizes hydrobromic acid. Most corrosive acid around that won't hurt us too bad." she chimed.

And as they stepped closer to the ferris wheel -

- a groan escaped them as they heard the main supports begin to buckle. The supports shattered open in a rain of metal, and as the swarm of hundreds of metal shards threatened to impale them alive -

" - Medicinal." groaned Yuruko, forming a hollow tower shield for the two, and as Serena clutched the handle tight -

" - Blackburn!"

- a stream of fog filled the shield with wood, and Serena held it close as the two huddled behind, metal entering it like living arrows. Ahead, they heard the ferris wheel collapse, a sweep of Yuruko's hands above forming a second shield.

"Like we're Romans." laughed Serena, knowing the legionnaires well.

"'Ave, true to Caesar.'" chimed Yuruko, and Serena laughed, hearing the metal fallout beginning to slow outside.

And Serena peeked her eyes over, finding a man standing in the rubble, laughing as he saw the two, fifty feet separating them and he.

"How touching! Really! You still haven't figured the true trick behind Neodymium, have you?"

"It's magnetization, dickless!"

"Yeah, magnet dipshit! Serena's gonna fill your wrinkly balls with knives!" shouted Yuruko, feeling an odd connection to the punk as they stepped forward.

"Start running, or a free circumcision!" shouted Serena.

"You still haven't figured that it works on -your- touch, Yuruko!"

And Yuruko's blood froze as fissures formed on the punk's face, her skin starting to crack and shatter -

" - Rider!"

- a familiar figure appeared behind the man, and a whirl of her steel sliced his four limbs in four directions; his head turned as his limbs fell -

- and a second whirl of steel carved his head in to three pieces; Serena shrieked, still feeling her skin cracking open -

- and a final slice of Aimee's knife tore his heart in half. The cracks left Serena's skin, and Yuruko panted relief as Serena dropped the shield. "You got our c-"

"- why the fuck did you two go out at three in the fucking morning?! You know what we're up against!" shouted Aimee. "What the hell made you think this was a good idea!"

Serena started to speak up, but Yuruko shouted: "Maybe we wouldn't have to go out if Serena could get a fucking minute to do anything away from your fucking girlfriend!"

Aimee had seen this anger once before: it still surprised her for a second. "What? What the hell are you talking about?"

"You haven't noticed that she treats Serena like she's her fucking kid? She yells at her in fights, she doesn't let her fucking do ANYTHING without ordering her around all the fucking time, and -"

" - I don't ever want to hear you bitching about her, especially when I had to fucking save both of you from -"

" - or what? You think just because you-"

-Serena placed her hand on Yuruko's shoulder. "Yuruko, stop. Please."

"What?" She turned to Serena, frowning. She saw Aimee's behavior as the personification of what she most despised in other women: their propensity to, whenever challenged, change the subject rather than confront their wrongs. Serena certainly wasn't like the typical woman, thankfully.

"Just let me talk to her. Okay? I'll tell her what I told you."

"…fine." she muttered. "Don't let her scare you."

"Okay."

Yuruko gestured back in her hotel's direction and walked off, platforms forming under her boots to get her over the park's boundaries. Serena looked at Aimee and saw her wiping her expression.

"…god, and I have to deal with… fine." She looked up at Serena. "C'mon. Let's just -- let's start walking back, and we'll talk on the way. Okay?"

"Okay."

As they started walking back, Serena apologized for how Yuruko had acted, and Aimee said she understood. She asked Serena how she felt about Mia's mentorship, and Serena began relaying it.

"…I mean, I feel like she doesn't have any confidence in me, and…"

Aimee's tablet vibrated and she took it quick. "I- fuck. Tornado."

Serena checked her phone. "What the fuck, hailstorms north?"

"I'm not taking this fucking risk." muttered Aimee, gesturing for Serena to follow her as she started running, and telling her to wake up Mia to unlock their van while she gathered the others.