When going through a Rainbow Bridge, one usually doesn't have too much to worry about. Sure, with something like the Bifrost you need to be prepared, especially when heading into the heart of battle, but for one that exited at a small cave just outside a city, you wouldn't expect much more than a squirrel. So there was some surprise as the young snow fairy found herself in a large, concrete walled room with two heavy machinegun turrets and a dozen soldiers waiting for her, and one of the NERV agents standing behind them. If she had been one for showing emotions, she would have almost shown surprise. Almost.

"Why have I been summoned?" She asked. Even within the confines of this structure, she could feel the warm air of Tokyo-3 as it neared the annual climax of its permanent summer.

"We have a situation that requires both of our immediate attention." The agent informed her. As he walked up to her from behind the line of soldiers, she wondered why Agents always wore sunglasses. He may have been the first she had seen, but no one she had spoken with had ever seen one without them.

"And that would be?"

"We believe that one of our pilots may have crashed in your realm. I don't really understand the science of it all, but the information is in this file." He extended a folder to her, which she accepted. "We're requesting safe passage for four vehicles, four dozen men and the location of bridge of a certain size. The details are in the folder. I should also mention that a response would be preferred sooner rather than later. We might want the machine back above all else, but if the pilot is still alive we would rather not have to add another name to a future war memorial."

Not really caring for what he had to say, she turned around and walked back into the small cave. Once the bright lights disappeared within the cave, most of the soldiers left, while the two which didn't stood at attention by each of the two doorways into the room.

"Monsters." The Agent mumbled, a quiver going up his back.

1.1.4: Angel War

Incursion

May 1st, 2015

"Mommy, are we gonna die?" The young boy asked his mother. Deep within the apartment building's basement, the mother held her son close as the fire slowly inched its way closer to them. The fire had spread too quickly, and in her panic she had gone down the wrong hallway, and now they were trapped. Above them, the ceiling started to groan as the strain became too much for the structure to handle. Hearing the snap of the floor supports around them, she closed her eyes and held the boy tight as she waited for the inevitable.

Which never came.

Looking up from her kneeling pose, she saw a young man holding the part of the ceiling which would have fallen onto them. The young man wore a black outfit, with a solid sash of bright blue running from his left shoulder to his right hip. As he tossed the piece of the ceiling onto the pile of rubble around them, she spotted a NERV logo and a small flag of Japan on his left shoulder, while his right hand a patch that had the letters "SF" on it.

"Not today." The young man said, a reply to the boy's question. Without giving them a moment to react, he lifted the two into his arms and started running towards the fall wall. Once they were a few feet from the wall, the young man jumped towards the higher part of the exposed wall, which, due to the floor collapsing, was on the first floor instead of the basement itself.

Turning himself while in midair, the young man absorbed the force of impact as the three flew right through the wall and rolled across the grass outside. The mother clung on tightly to her son.

"Alright, I got them." The young man stated once their rolling had stopped. Feeling an odd sensation, the woman looked back at her burning home and saw a visible distortion wall over it. Immediately the flames started to die down, however after a few long moments they disappeared completely. Once the distortion disappeared, the woman herd someone fall with a 'thud' and started coughing.

Turning her head, she saw another young man on his knees was the source of the coughing, his outfit similar to the one who had saved her, only his sash was black, the mostly black part of his outfit was a bright blue, and his patch was one that was not of NERV and his nation's flag one that was too small to make out from her vantage point.

His breathing normalizing and the coughing stopped; the young man lifted himself up from the ground as paramedics arrived on the scene.

"Toji, are you always this reckless?" The young man asked the other. On the ground next to her, the young man who had saved her laughed.

"All in a day's work, cap."

NERV Section E locker-room

"You know, you should feel lucky that these things are flame resistant." Jon told him, waving the outfit he held in his hand. "You should have let me or Mary or Ma… Rei handle it."

While the four boys changed into their regular cloths after their day of training, Jon and Toji continued their back and forth over the events on their way back. While their training in the mountains around the city had gone well, on their return they had driven past a burning apartment building, and before anyone had had time to say otherwise, Toji was already inside of it.

"I don't see what you're complaining about." Toji replied. Finally finding the hole for his head, he closed his locker. "I saved two people, so what's the problem?"

"The problem is that you did it without thinking. What if there were others still in there? With you smashing every wall in site, you could have brought the whole place down." Putting his suit into his locker, Jon slammed it shut. "You need to be aware of your surroundings at all times."

Without giving him a response, Toji left.

"He might be a little dense at times, be he knows what you mean." Kensuke informed him, giving him a pat on the back.

"Well, I don't enjoy telling him that, but sometime you just have to remind people like us of things." Jon replied. "For people like us, cities may as well be made of cardboard."

Before Shinji or Kensuke could say anything in response, the base intercom called their attention.

"All members of Strike Force to the war room, all members of Strike Force to the war room."

"That's us."

War Room, minutes later

Inside the large room, the seven members of Strike Force that where accounted for sat around the briefing table. At the head of the table, Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki stood with a small portfolio in his hands.

Behind him, three children about the same age as the rest of them stood, a young man and two women.

"Effective immediately," he began, placing the papers down on the table. "Bravo Strike will be in the hands of Evangelion Unit 2's pilot, Captain Asuka Langley." Giving the red headed girl a quick hand signal, she walked next to Shinji and Rei and took a seat.

"As for the two remaining, they will be Delta Strike." He signaled the two remaining children to step forward. "Eren Jaeger and Annie Leonhart will remain in reserve for when things get out of hand."

With a hand signal, the two sat down between the Evangelion pilots and the Avalon pilots.

Behind Fuyutsuki, a large image appeared with the words 'Level Six' on it. "Now for the real reason you've been called here. Let me be clear, what is about to be discussed here does not leave this room, is that understood?"

Around the room, the children nodded. "Alright." Behind him, the projected picture changed into one of six teenagers, two men and for women.

"These six are an image of the sort of thing you may encounter while on your next mission." A moment later, the image of the normal looking teenagers was replaced with one of monsters in their place, though all were clearly the same people as the image before it. "Succubus, vampires, witches, ice fairies, ghouls and werewolves, these are the only currently confirmed creatures which control the territory we are about to enter. We believe that there may be dozens, even hundreds, of species we may not know of."

"What?" Hikari stated. "You're not saying that these things are actually real, are you."

Across the table, Mana chuckled lightly. "Hikari, you're sitting in a room of demigods who pilot war machines more powerful than nuclear bombs against aliens from another dimension. What part of that is more believable then a few fairy tales being true?"

"As I was saying," the Sub-Commander stated, adding emphasis to regain their attention. "These beings are in control of the territory your next mission will be in. Most of them are of a level at which you will be able to handle, however we cannot guarantee that there will not be anything too strong for you to handle. This is a covert mission into hostile territory."

The image then changed to a map, showing a gray landscape and red ocean.

"This is where you shall be entering their territory." Pointing at a mountain with a laser pointer, Fuyutsuki then pointed it at a forested area. "And this is the general area we believe your target is in. The closer you get the more accurate your instruments shall be."

Looking over the group, he let out a quiet sigh as he thought about what it was he was ordering them to do. "Those of you who have Iron Suits will be bringing them, and I advise you to stick together."

"Excuse me, Sub-Commander." Jon said, lifting his hand to pose a question. "What exactly is this mission?"

"It's a rescue mission. You are to recover Cmdr. Kirishima and her Avalon."

S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier

Lake on the outskirts of Tokyo-3

From the bridge of the Helicarrier, Director Fury watched as cranes lifted the massive hulk of Evangelion Unit 2 from the surface of his sky ship. With a combination of artificially created fog and the Helicarrier's cloaking device, their entrance into the lake had been without incident or real public notice.

"Almost reminds you of the good old days." Maria Hill's voice got his attention.

"That may be, but at least now we get the funding we need." He replied. With a quick glance, he noticed she had a large file in her hands, which meant his office.

In his office, he took a seat and let himself get comfortable. He was getting to old for this job.

"Can you explain why you're trying to start a war? We're already in one with the Angels, now you want one with the monsters as well?" Maria asked. She dropped the folder onto his desk, and a few of the pages fell out.

"We are already at war with them." He stated. Leaning back in his chair, he really felt too old for this job. "It's an undeclared war that's been going on for centuries, and what we have here is a chance."

"A chance? A chance to what?"

"A chance to end it without the need for it to escalate into a real war." He took out a folder from his desk and handed it to her. "A decade and a half ago when we first made contact, they were divided into clans within each of their races. Now, more and more of them are joining two factions, one which wants to destroy us, and one which wants to make peace with us. What we have in a man down behind enemy lines, and an ally who needs help."

"And how will this help them?"

Shuzen Manor

Monster Realm

"This is insane!" Slamming his fist into the oak desk, the Incubus' hand went clear through and left a hole. "Our numbers are lower than ever, and you're putting everything on the line for a few humans?!"

Issa felt a migraine forming in his head. The Incubus king's tone of voice would have, in his younger days, earned his a strangling, and for his actions against his desk a good beating. However, that was before the human expeditionary force had appeared in their realm. Before the system of clans and shifting allegiances within the great non-alliance. But now, they were allies, real allies, and he couldn't get to physical with him.

"Calm down. Give him a chance to explain his plan." The Snow Fairy told him, crossing her arms as she looked at him disapprovingly. Within his study, the leaders of the species and clans which had joined his pact sat or stood.

Standing up, Issa walked into the middle of the room.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we stand at the twilight of our people. A millennium ago we fought the humans of Midgard and the Asgardians, a war we were unprepared for and just like our former Frost Giant allies we never recovered. Even with the destruction of the bridges between us and the other 8 worlds around Midgard peace has not come to us. In the centuries that have passed since, we have fought each other to the edge, and that was before Alucard burned our continent for seven days. We have done nothing but fight, and for what? We still go to Midgard to feed, for our cursed soil provides not. We still go to Midgard for our comforts. My household holds the amenities not of today but of an age gone by. While we lay stagnant, they continue to move forward." He paused, and turned his head to the Incubus and Succubus leaders.

"Some of us are dependent on them to procreate." He turned his head to the Slime Patriarch and the Werewolf Pac Leader. "Some of us are dependent on their lands to survive."

He then turned his head to the Snow Fairies. "Some of us need them because there are too few of us which remain."

He looked down at his own hands. "And some of us need them just to live another day."

He paused for a few moments. Painfully disregarding the last of his vampire pride, he continued. "They could destroy us. They could do so in a moment, and we could do nothing about it. A moment of a great inferno, and it would all be over. That would be the quick way. If they wanted our destruction to be prolonged, all they need to is stop us from entering their realm, and let us starve within our lifeless realm, fighting among ourselves live never before. This is why we need them, this is why we are allied with them, and this is what we must show Fairy Tale and their supporters. This is why I am allowing a small force of their champions into our lands, to show those who oppose us why they are mistaken in doing so. As I speak our spies are leaking the information on their mission to Fairy Tale, and they shall see why we cannot fight them, why we need them as allies, and most importantly, why we need them to survive."

Katsuragi/Barclay residence

That evening

"Come on, how does it work?" Mary asked. Across the dining room table, Asuka sat with her arms crossed.

"I can't believe I have to live here with all these idiots." Asuka mumbled quietly, cursing the Sub-Commander for ordering her here.

"You know how mine works, tell me how yours does. It's only fair. Please?" Mary asked.

"Fine!" She snapped at her. "Just don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry. Now give me a moment to change."

In the room she and Rei now shared, she quickly changing into her jumpsuit. Like Jon, hers had a two inch black sash going down, but where his was bright blue hers was a vivid red.

"Alright, I'm only doing this once, and it's only to make sure you stop asking." Standing in front of the bedroom door, Mary watched in almost childish glee as Asuka turned from a normal teenaged girl into a seven foot tall green skinned hulked out version of herself.

"Wow." Mary marveled as she took in the sight. Leaning towards Asuka, she took her breasts into her hands and fondled them. "So big."

In reaction, Asuka forced herself to calm down and return to her normal state, and then promptly slapped Mary across the face. "Never touch me like that again."

In the living room, Shinji and Rei where on the couch watching an animated science fiction series about some bug things fighting spaceships.

"They seem to be getting along." Rei stated. As neither of the two was paying attention to the show, she turned off the TV. "If there is something which helps you calm your nerves, now would be a good time to do so."

Leaving the room, Rei passed Mary as she entered the living room and sat next to Shinji.

"So Shinji, what are you planning on doing tonight?" As she asked, she leaned towards him, slightly pressing herself into his arm. Looking around quickly, Shinji spotted his cello and thought quickly.

"Uh, I'll be playing my cello." He said a little too quickly, and got up from his seat to set his instrument up. Pouting, Mary laid down on the couch.

As Shinji started to play his music, she fell asleep to its melodies.

In the bathroom, Rei entered with the intent of relaxing in the furo, and was surprised to find that Jon was already in it. He didn't seem to notice her, his eyes just starring blankly at the ceiling, clearly deep in thought.

It was the sound of the shower starting which got his attention. Turning his head, he was greeted by the sight of Rei as she started to clean herself. Turning his attention back to the ceiling, it took him a few seconds to realize what he had seen.

"Oh, hi Rei, didn't see you come in." Had he been a less disciplined young man, he might have reacted with some form of embracement.

"I apologize for entering unannounced." With not another word between the two, she finished her shower and entered the furo on the side opposed to his, each other's legs forced slightly into the others side. Neither spoke as they tried their best to relax, the music from Shinji's cello filling the air.

After a few uneventful minutes, the door opened and the two turned their attention to the frozen Asuka. Shaking slightly, Asuka lifted her are and pointed at them.

"P-p-p-p-perverts!" Slamming the door shut, they herd her muffled yell as she continued "I'm going to a walk, to many perverted idiots around here."

"Perverts?" The two asked in unison as they looked at each other, and then back at the door. With a shrug, they both went back to trying to relax in the bath.

Several hours later

"We need a vacation." Misato complained. Leaning on Reg's arm, she let out a yawn as they approached their door.

"That sounds nice, but no vacations in wartime. Those are the rules." Reg replied. Putting his arm around her shoulders, he used his other to open the door. What greeted them was a darkened house. "Kids must be asleep."

"They'd better be, given how late it is." Misato said, checking her watch. "I hate working late nights like this."

"I know, but what can we do?" Locking the door behind them, Reg made his way to the kitchen. "You want some scrambled eggs?"

"Seems more like something we'd have for breakfast, but alright." Walking towards the bedrooms, Misato checked on the children. Most where sleeping in their beds, however she found Mary sleeping on the couch, using the armrest as a pillow and a blanket draped over her. Laughing quietly, she took Mary in her arms and brought her to her bed.

"You're getting a little old for this, aren't you?" Misato quietly asked as she tucked her in. Looking over at the empty bed, she felt guilt and regret as she was reminded of the missing member of their little family.

"Do you ever think we might be pushing them to hard?" She asked, taking a seat at the dining room table. Reg placed a plate of scrambled eggs and a can of beer in front of her, and then took the seat opposed to her.

"Every single day. But we don't have the luxury of not pushing them." He took his fork and started eating his eggs. "But sometimes when we're doing our job I ask myself, 'what would Steve Rogers do'."

"Don't tell me you're turning into one of those hero worshippers now." Misato asked. She decided to start her beer.

"I might be crazy, but I'm not that crazy." His response was typical, but she didn't mind.

"So you're crazy?" She asked, turning her head slightly while giving him a grin.

"Well of course I am. I joined Department H, accepted the transfer to Nerv, and asked you out on a date. If that doesn't prove I'm crazy, I don't know what will." She rolled her eyes at his comment, and thought back on times gone by with a laugh.

That time which felt like an eternity ago now, he had, in a three second shot, asked her out to some coffee. It had been for purely professional reasons at the time, both pulling an all-nighter on some work, which she could no longer remember what it was anymore. To get their minds clear they spoke casually about themselves, him about his time in training for Department H, her about her life with her adopted daughter. By the end of that night their work was done, and a date had been set for a dinner outing.

And now all they could do was watch as their daughter, and the other children under their care, where being sent into another world to get back their lost one. Neither of them might have had work the following day, but it would still be a long one.

Rainbow Bridge designated A-117

The next morning

"Alright children, this is the wormhole. The moment you step into it, you'll be in a different world." The young lieutenant in charge of the facility explained. Pointing at the otherwise ordinary looking tunnel, he used his other hand to throw a small rock into it. For a few moments, the tunnels darkness was replaced by a vibrant, multicolored glow before returning to its dormant state. "This facility is one of many; however it is the only one large enough to bring back the Avalon. On the other side, there is an armored transport which has been modified to boost transmission signals. It will remain there, and be used as a link between this facility and yourselves. The reason is simple; there are an abundance of minerals which interfere with our broadcasting systems, which is why we have not been able to get a fix on the Avalon or its Iron Suit."

He lieutenant walked up to Jon, and handed him a small device. "This is what you shall use to communicate with us. You will check in every twelve hours. If you fail to do so twice, then we will assume you have failed the mission and the battalion of men we have in reserve shall be sent in. If you send out an SOS with this device, we shall assume you have failed and send in the expeditionary force. Is that understood?"

In front of him, the ten children replied in the affirmative. "Alright then. Strike Force, move out."

And like that, the ten children and their five Iron Suits set off into the other world.

"Man this thing is heavy." Toji complained, straightening out his backpack.

"What do you care, you have superstrength." Kensuke complained. As they walked down the brightly lit bridge, he kicked the rock that had been thrown in down the path.

"Yeah, will it's still annoying." He replied. Around him, the other children either laughed or rolled their eyes.

"Hey cap, when do we get to do real hero stuff?" Eren asked. The boy walked up right next to him at the front of the group.

"What's wrong Jaeger, saving a damsel in distress not good enough for you?" Mary asked him.

"That's nice and all, but real hero stuff is doing things like punching out bag eyes, stopping criminals and doing real hero… stuff." Eren tried to explain.

"We aren't heroes, we just have powers." Rei said. "It's the people who do what we do without powers who are heroes."

"Sounds about right." Jon stated. At that moment they arrived at the other end of the bridge, the bright colors replaced by the sun of the new world and a cursed earth underfoot. "Which was A.D.A.M.?"

"It's believed to be approximately eighty kilometers east of here." The blue Iron Suit stated. "It should take two days reach it, assuming the terrain is not to impassible."

"Two days? Why can't we just fly?" Toji asked.

"We were ordered to keep a low profile and to avoid contact if at all possible. I could be mistaken, however a dozen people and Iron Suits flying over a large swath of hostile territory doesn't seem like a way to go unnoticed."

"The longer we stay here, the longer we won't get there. Let's move out." Jon ordered them. When Mary passed him, he put him hand on her shoulder. He spoke quietly. "Keep an eye on Eren and Annie. They have less control then Banner. They turn on us when they change; you know what needs to be done."

Looking down at the gun at Jon's hip, she remembered that ordered the two of them had been given in secret. "Of course Captain."

As the group walked, the tunnel and the armored transport becoming smaller and smaller until only the mountain they were at the base of was still in sight.

As the hours went by they would talk casually among themselves, occasionally change their positions within the line they were in, and every now and again someone would eat a bit of their ration bars. Occasionally they would come across an obstacle, a river of red, a sudden sharp hill too steep to climb, or just a hole that would be too large to quickly walk around. They were setbacks, but for the force user and telekinetic they were just that, setbacks.

Thrice they stopped to relieve themselves, the only time they came to a true stop. The last of the three stops, Asuka quietly told Jon that they were being watched, to which he replied that he knew.

When they came upon a small clearing in the wood they found themselves in the late afternoon, they set up camp.

"What do you mean there won't be a fire?" Kensuke asked, passing Mary one of the metal bars that held their tent together.

"The light might attract unwanted attention. Plus, none of the rations we brought need to be cooked." She explained.

"But what about these guys?" He asked, tapping on the Iron Suit that was standing next to him. "They got that big light in the middle of their chest."

In response to his statement, the Iron Suit covered its reactor with a piece of metal that war over the small power generator. "Our reactors are exposed because they are a weapon." It explained to him.

"Still." Kensuke didn't really care about the issue, but he was upset that he hadn't been allowed to bring his camera. The wasteland they found themselves in might not have been interesting or appealing to look at, but he would have found something worth filming.

Along the outskirts of their camp, Shinji ran in a circle with his speed. As he ran, dried, fractured soil started to sink where he took his steps. After a few minutes of running, a small, half foot deep trench had developed around the entire camp.

"That's enough." With Jon's statement, he started to slow himself down until he came to a full stop on the opposite side of the camp. "Take five."

Not missing a beat, he laid himself down and drank half the water in his canteen. Around the small trench, Jon, Rei, Asuka and Toji placed dozens of disk shaped objects.

"How do these things work anyway?" Toji asked.

"What are you, an idiot?" Asuka asked as she finished placing the last disk. "They already explained this: The disks create a shield around the entire camp, like the one Jon creates."

"What, did they just copy his powers with a machine?" Toji asked. As the disks activated, a wall of visible distortion encompassed the camp.

"Actually it's the other way around. I got my powers from getting into one of the first tests for these things." Jon informed him.

"Wait!" Hikari cried. "Won't we suffocate in here?"

"The shield used different frequency settings for different situations." The pink Iron Suit explained. "In its current setting, gasses are capable of traveling through, however solids and liquids cannot."

"Well, that's good to hear." Hikari said. With the camp set up, the children went about their rest and dinner while the Iron Suits observed the surrounding area, vigilant for when something would attack.

Their actions constantly observed by the monsters.

SEELE Main Base of Operations

Undisclosed location in Israel

"And with another 12% of the funding coming from our eighty second shell corporation, that should cover the costs." Number 8 stated over the conference hologram. "Is there any other business?"

With none of the members making any statements, Konrad cleared his throat. "I think before we leave we should remind the good commander that this operation has been stifled by far too much interference from S.h.i.e.l.d. and Department H, and that this problem needs to be addressed."

"With all due respect," Commander Ikari replied, his hands blocking Konrad's view of his expression. "Being an autonomous branch of S.h.i.e.l.d. only grants me so much liberty in my actions. If Director Fury gives me a direct order, there is nothing I can do about it. Coupled with your agent's actions, we are still suffering an energy shortage and all supplementary recruits will for the foreseeable future remain regular S.h.i.e.l.d. agents. I should thank you, my work is now much harder than I would have thought possible."

Konrad was about to reply to the Commander, but was interrupted by an alarm. "I'm sorry gentlemen; however something clearly requires my immediate attention."

With that, the holograms disappeared. Before he had time to leave the room, Bob entered with a panicked look on his face.

"Sir, we've been found! Someone's breached the east wall."

"What?!" Konrad nearly felt a heart attack come on him. "Get everyone and everything we can to the bug out base and start the helicopter, we're leaving."

"And the bomb sir?"

"Oh yes, can't forget about that. Yes, arm the bomb. Can't leave any evidence now can we." As Konrad quickly made his way through the halls, he wondered how the location of his base had been revealed, and to who.

"All personnel, all personnel, bug out, bug out, bug out. Self-destruct has been set for three minutes." Bob's voice came from the intercom system.

"So it's not S.h.i.e.l.d.? Are you sure?" Konrad noticed one of his soldiers in one of the side corridors, speaking over a headset.

"What was that, soldier?" Konrad barked.

"Uh, oh, sir." The soldier said, clearly startled. "It would seem that whoever is attacking us isn't S.h.i.e.l.d. sir."

"Alright, well in any event, come with me." As Konrad and his escort continued down to the helipad, Bob caught up to them.

"Alright sir, I'll… oh, hey Ward." For a second, Ward panicked internally after Bob's comment, but relaxed after Konrad made no visible reaction. Over their earpieces, they could hear gunfire and the fearful comment of their comrades.

"He's stopping the bullets in midair. He's heading for the armory."

"He's invisible. Everyone in the rec room is dead."

"Green monster heading for the power gen-Ahhhh!"

"Oh god, oh god. Someone help us."

"No, please. Don't hu-"

As they entered the helipad, the closest helicopter began to spring to life as the large door on the ceiling began to open. As their helicopter and other began to prepare for takeoff, gunfire came from the hallway they had entered from. The helicopter was a few feet in the air when a blur of movement approached them rapidly and jumped at them from the ground.

"Konrad!" The man snarled. The man, an Asian in his late twenties or early thirties, looked at Konrad with a burning fury in his eyes, his expression a tooth filled growl. Before the Asian man had time to do anything, however, Ward reflexively kicked him in the chest, causing him to fall to the ground. Impulsively, though, he quickly grabbed some of the Asian man's hair, which he put in a small plastic bag.

Konrad, however, had but one thought going through his mind. "Ikari?"

Before he had time to dwell on the thought though, he felt something being injected into his leg.

"What the?" His body weakening, he looked in front of his to see Bob with a smile on his face. "Why you! Ward, kill this traitor."

Turning his head to the soldier who had closed the door, Ward only took out a pistol and pointed it at Konrad.

"Sorry Mr. Konrad, but I think you might be confused. Bob is working for me now, and I'm working for S.h.i.e.l.d., have been this whole time." Ward explained to the man who was quickly fading into darkness. "Pilot, take us to RAF Akrotiri at Cyprus."

As the darkness finally consumed him, Konrad wondered what would become of him.

Strike Force Camp

Monster Realm

"So what the hell where you two doing together last night anyway?" Asuka asked Rei. As the two sat outside the tent, they kept watch over their surroundings with the Iron Suits during their watch under the red moon.

"I don't understand the meaning of your question." Rei replied. She didn't look at Asuka while they were on watch.

"I mean you two where just, in that tub. Naked." Asuka tried to explain.

"I do not see how one would use a furo any other way."

"I mean, are you two, you know, together?" She asked, almost embraced to do so. "I mean, you two seem too casual."

"We have been together for some time now. Just as I have been with Shinji and Mary for some time. They moved in over a month ago." Rei replied. Asuka rubbed her face with her hands.

"No, I mean, are you a couple?"

"A couple of what?" Rei asked, not understanding the question. Asuka's frustration was starting to rise.

"Are you two dating?" Asuka asked bluntly.

"No." was the only reply she got. For the next few minutes there was, for Asuka at least, an awkward silence. Before either said something again, there was a ruffling noise from the tent. Turning to look, they saw Jon and Eren come out for their watch.

"Anything of importance to report?" Jon asked Asuka as he finished straightening out his holster.

"Nothing sir." Asuka informed him.

"Alright then. Captain Langley, I relieve you of duty."

"I stand relieved." With that, Asuka and Rei walked back to the tent.

"So what are we going to be doing?" Eren asked with a yawn. He took a seat at the base of a dead tree and looked out into the darkness around them.

"Just keeping watch. You see something, don't hesitate to tell me." Jon informed him.

"Alright. And when do we get to go back to sleep?" He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Two hours."

"Jez, alright mister serious." Eren stretched out his legs.

"We're on the clock, act like it."

"Wait, are we getting paid for this?" Eren asked, his back straightening out and his mind awake.

"Of course we are. We're in hostile territory, why wouldn't we be? We aren't just getting paid; we're getting hazard pay for this mission." Jon explained to him. "Why would you think we aren't?"

"Ever since those men in black took me and Annie about a week ago, we've just been in a big glass prison most of the time." Eren's story didn't surprise Jon in the least. Hesitantly, he looked at his pistol for a second before turning his attention back outwards. He mentally reminded himself of his orders.

For the next hour they stood around, looking out into the dead forest around them for movement. They would talk, they would occasionally take a few bites from a ration bar, and they would stretch their legs to make sure they didn't fall asleep.

After giving a loud, very audible yawn, Eren leaned back on the tree once more. There was a noise of branches moving in the tree, and Eren would have thought nothing of it had Jon not a moment later pulled out his pistol and shot twice.

Hands over his ears, he was about to yell at him for making so much noise, but was interrupted by a loud *thud* that came from the ground on the opposite side of the tree. Getting up to see what it was, Jon unloaded three more shots into whatever it was.

"What the hell is happening?" Toji asked as he jumped out of the tent. Within moments the rest of the children were standing behind him, Mary with her pistol drawn.

Eren finally got a look at the thing which started the whole commotion. It looked almost human, but where it should have had a face it instead had a long, triangular beak and feathers. In its head it had a blood filled hole, with three others in its abdomen. The blue blood was the most unsettling part of it all, soaking into its feathers, what remained of its cloths and the gray dirt around it.

"How the hell did that thing get through the barrier?" Mary asked, lowering her weapon but keeping it in her hands.

"This species is not in my database. It is possible they are capable of changing their body composition." The red Iron Suit informed them. It used its helmet eyepieces to do a quick scan of the animal. "Species seems to be very agile, very fast but comparatively weak compared to the data we have. Conclusion: scout from hostile forces."

"The tin can might be right." Asuka state, looking at the creature with disgust. "We should get ready for bat-"

She was interrupted by a lough banging noise from the other side of the camp. Quickly moving to see what it was, on the outside of the force field a large creature was banging against a rock. The creature itself was a giant spider with an almost human face, the creature standing eight feet tall. As it smashed the large rock against the shield again, another of its kind appeared and started doing the same, and then another, and then another. In only moments, the entire perimeter had the strange animals attacking with large rocks.

"At the rate of us, the shield will fall in two minutes." The blue Iron Suit stated.

"Alright, here's the plan." Jon said, getting everyone's attention. "Rei, you'll use your telekinesis to crush anything that gets past the Iron Suits. Mary, you and I will do the same using my force fields. Toji, Asuka, you two smash anything that gets past us. Shinji, you use one of the spear rods for the tent and you use it on anything that's out there. I don't care if you need to stab them or you us death by a thousand cuts, a guy as fast as you shouldn't have trouble. Kensuke, you zap anything that gets to threatening or is swarming us. I don't know what these are made of, but I think there's enough water there for them to not like it. Hikari, you help anyone who's been harmed or need energy replenishment. A.D.A.M., use the Iron Suits to create a perimeter. You are our first line of defense. Eren and Annie," he stopped to look at the two. "Stay safe, stay out of the way, and for the love of god only transform if I tell you to. Not a moment before. Everyone get that?"

With everyone knowing their role, they spread out. Around the perimeter, the Iron Suits stood ready to take flight and blast anything that tried to attack the children. Behind them Rei, Mary and Jon stood waiting, Toji and Asuka behind them. Around the tent, Kensuke, Hikari and Shinji stood ready, while Eren and Annie entered the tent.

As the spiders continued to smash their rocks against the shield, the visible distortion it caused started to warp, and with one final smash the field collapsed. The moment it did the Iron Suits unleashed repulser blasts into the lead spiders. Caught off guard by the sudden disappearance of the shield and the attack, the first wave of spiders fell before they had a chance to attack. The second wave, however, did their best to avoid the now airborne Iron Suits. Most where dispelled, however half a dozen got passed them and walked into the crushing trap, the three who were waiting for them crushing their heads with little effort.

What came next was a mixed bag of creatures. Most of the first ones to arrive where dispelled by the Iron Suits, but through sheer numbers started to pass them by. The first to get passed them where stopped by the first three children, and they too stopped the wave of life for a few moments. One of the creatures took Rei by surprise as the fat, round; blobby yellow monster had nothing solid enough for her mind to compress to cause it death. While she was distracted, other creatures rapidly approached her, and would have smashed into her at full speed had Asuka not done the same to them, their bones and teeth braking from her green fists.

Shinji, who had used a rock to quickly sharpen the thin metal bar he held, started running around the camp between the line the Iron Suits had set up and the first line the children held. As he moved between the monsters, he stabbed them as he moved by, sometimes fatally, sometime only injuring them, but either way he had gained too much momentum to strike more than once before moving on to the next target, moving past several monsters before reaching that next target.

Toji snapped the neck of a tiger like monster that had tried to eat his face. Moving forward, he used its corpse to through a few off balance before he smashed their faces in. He took a defensive position around Mary.

Behind Jon, Kensuke unleashed electricity into the monsters that got passed him. Most simply tell over and shuck wildly, allowing for Jon to take them into his next force field that he then compressed to the point of death for the monsters caught inside. One of the creatures, though, instead of having its nerves overloaded with signals and its body burnt, simply popped. Its bodily fluids flew everywhere, going into the faces and eyes of the monsters around it, as well as Jon.

Shinji, noticing this, slowed himself down by leading and landing feet first into a monster's chest, the force of impact collapsing its lungs. He ran around the monsters which had been temporarily blinded and stabbed as many as he could before Jon cleared his face of the unholy liquids. When he had, Shinji returned to running around the camp and stabbing as many of the monsters as he could.

Hikari, for her part, kept moving between the children and replenished their energy supplies; their bodies being overtaxed form the prolonged use of their powers. As her powers only required contact on some form, she used one hand to eat ration bars as she herself started to loose energy.

Inside the tent, Eren and Annie listened as the battle outside continued to rage. After a few minutes of it, Eren gazed at his hand, seriously considering biting it. The means of unleashing the beast within. As he contemplated the simple act, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking at Annie, she simple shook her head. Moments later the noise of the battle died down suddenly, the screams of monsters disappearing and the repulser blasts stopping. Looking outside of the tent, the two where greeted to the sight of a circular pile of bodies that surrounded the camp, with many of the other children either on one or both knees, breathing heavily.

Rei, however, was standing, her red eyes ablaze with light as she held the last monster before her.

"Do you understand me?" She asked it. Her voice had a slightly demonic sounding undertone.

The monster, a female human upper body with the lower body of a large python, simply nodded its head. Its expression was one of unadulterated fear.

"Good. Tell your masters that on this day you were defeated, and defeated by but a few children and suits of iron. You where nothing to us, just as we are nothing to our people. But before you tell them this, you will tell the villages of this, and have the word of our victory spread. I want this world to know of this victory by nightfall and for the ease of your defeat to be clear. I want this entire realm to know that we do not want war, but that it is you who does not want us to. I want every child afraid of the day we may choose to erase you, and all leaders to know better than to make us do so. I want your people to fear us for the power we are, and for your little civil war to end now, with the human-monster alliance the victor. Do I make myself clear?" As Rei spoke, the demonic part of her voice became more and more dominant, until it had taken over completely. In a panic, the monster franticly nodded its head. "Good."

Releasing the monster, it quickly slithered away and in moments was out of sight.

"Rei… what are you?" Asuka asked quietly. Rei simply turned her head towards her, her eyes still a burning red, and a dark aura forming around her. She snarled quietly, but the noise was clearly audible to all.

Jon, who had been briefed on this, walked up to her and placed his hands on each side of her head. Bringing his head down to meet hers, he lightly pressed his forehead against her own and waited for what came next.

A moment later, he felt a sharp pain in his mind as he absorbed the runoff energy she was emitting. For a few moments his head was filled with the strongest headache he ever had, but when it was over, Rei fell into his arms as her energy was drained. For him, the energy traveled through his body before his cells absorbed it, the dark energy filling him with warmth.

For a moment, he held her close, keeping an eye on those around them, needing to protect master from any threat. He let out a defensive snarl.

But as soon as that thought entered his head, he banished it. He couldn't let the darkness take control. Mana was the one who had been determined to be the most resistant against its influence, but with her gone, he had to absorb master's energy, no, Rei. He couldn't let it win.

As the energy was fully absorbed in its completion, the shield around the camp returned to life.

Before any of them returned to their sleep while two remained on guard, Mary stated exactly what everyone else was thinking.

"What the fuck just happened?"

That afternoon

35km from the campsite

The day had been filled with an awkward silence. With few exceptions like what needed to be said, no one wanted to say anything at all, least of all the two who had been borderline animals at the end.

During their morning communication with their base, they had gone into explicit detail about what had happened between that checkup and the one from the afternoon before. From the tone of voice the woman on the other side used, they all knew that the men in charge where very worried, and not about whether or not the mission would succeed, and that it may have been the success itself they feared.

Regardless, they marched on. There was occasional casual conversation, but some were spoken with less than others, and none of them spoke of the night before after the check-in.

As they approached their destination, one of the Iron Suits spoke.

"It would seem that the Avalon is several kilometers closer then we estimated. I've managed to pick up its distress signal. It would appear to be one point three kilometers ahead of us at twenty three degrees south of our current path."

"Alright, less walking. The sooner we get there the sooner we can take a break." Toji complained.

"Sais the guy who has unnatural resistance to pain." Mary replied. The face Toji made earned them their first real laugh of the day.

As they continued to approach the Avalon, the casual conversation increased. Before anything happened to ruing the mood, the green Avalon came within sight.

Without thinking, Shinji passed his backpack to Toji, who despite his earlier complaint didn't care about the extra weight, and he ran as fast as he could to the craft.

"Mana! Mana. Are you alright? Mana!" He yelled as he arrived at the craft. Running around, he found the survival pack which was almost empty but still had some food in it. Given that it had been nine days and the pack had food for seven, that worried Shinji. On the other side of the craft, he found the bodies of three monsters, all at different levels of decomposition. This only increased his fears.

Quickly moving to the cockpit of the overturned craft, he saw that the green Iron Suit was lying down on its back.

"Hey tin man." He said, tapping on its head. "Wake up. What happened to Mana? Is she alright? Is she alive?"

"She's perfectly fine." A female voice told him. The head turning towards him, the faceplate flipped open to reveal a grinning Mana. "What took you so long; you're supposed to be the fast one."

She was paler then she had been before, and her cheeks had lost some weight, but it was her. By the time she had pulled herself out of her Avalon, the rest of the children had caught up to them.

"Oh thank god Hikari's here. My legs have been killing me all week."

"Hello to you to." Mary replied. Hikari didn't waste time healing Mana, the color returning to her face and her face returning to normal. The moment she was finished, Mana almost jumped out of the Iron Suit.

"Oh god, you have no idea how good it feels to be out of that suit for the first time." Mana commented with glee as she stretched her arms and legs.

"You were in there the whole time? Ouch." Mary commented. No one said anything as Mana bounced between the children and gave them each a hug. When she got to Asuka, she stopped.

"Oh, hi, you're new."

"Captain Asuka Langley, pilot of Evangelion Unit 2 and current leader of Bravo Strike." Asuka offered her hand.

"Oh, yes, now I remember. We've never met but I've heard all about you." Mana replied, accepting the offered hand. As she looked at all the others, she was introduced to the Eren and Annie.

As the children reacquainted themselves with Mana, the six Iron Suits carefully lifted the green Avalon and flipped it back into its proper position. This inability to file the act brought a tear to Kensuke's eyes.

"Wait, Mana, how did you not finish your food rations?" Shinji asked as he picked up the survival pack.

"Oh, well, I did my best to stretch out my food, and when you need an Iron Suit just to move, you don't use that much energy." She explained.

"I'll say, healing you used up way more energy than it should have." Hikari quietly complained. Taking out a ration bar, she didn't have time to take a bite as Mana took the bar and swallowed it whole. "Hey."

"Sorry, but just because I've managed to get by doesn't mean I'm not starving." Mana apologized, scratching the back of her head.

"Excuse me sirs and ma'am's, but it would seem we are ready to depart." The red Iron Suit informed them.

"Depart? But we just got here." Eren complained. "I'm not walking all the way back to where we made camp."

"That's all good and well sir, however I was under the impression that while we A.D.A.M. where transporting the Avalon you would be residing on the aircraft itself. I estimate we can return to the wormhole in only two hours if we travel at a fast but safe speed." The suit informed them.

Everyone turned their heads to Jon.

"What? Don't look at me, no one told me about that plan." He stated, raising his hands.

"Actually, no one informed me of such plans either, I was merely speculating." The A.D.A.M. informed them.

No one giving protest, they did just that.

Rainbow Bridge A-117 facility

Two hours later

As the Iron Suits closely brought the Avalon through the rainbow bridge and into the small base, the children walked in almost as casually as it was walking to school.

"We're back." Toji said, grinning. The response he got was two platoons of soldiers aiming their guns at them. "Well hello to you to."

Noticing their gasmasks and the patches on their shoulders, Asuka quickly gasped.

"Captain, that's the bio-containment unit." She quietly told Jon.

"Yes it is." He replied to her, lifting his hand above his head. The other mimicked the action.

"Captain Jon Haida, Pilot Rei Ayanami, you will follow first platoon to awaiting transports, where you will be brought to decontamination section F. All remaining members of Strike Force, you shall follow second platoon to decontamination section C. Failure to comply will result in termination. Do you understand that?" The voice of the lieutenant in charge of the small base stated.

"Affirmative." Jon yelled.

"When they say terminate, do they mean…" Kensuke quietly started, but was cut off by Asuka.

"They mean shot us till we're dead."

Without much argument, the children went off with the masked soldiers.

Mana sighed. "Guess we'll have to postpone that date."

XXXXXXXX

What a twist. What will happen to the children? What will happen to Konrad and Bob? Why did the mysterious trio attack SEELE's main base? Find out… you know what, I'll be honest, only the first one will be answered next chapter.

Thank you Coka Cola for your review, I appreciate it, and that sounded much odder out loud then it did in my head. Sorry, but Dr. Strange won't be showing up. I'd like him to, but I just don't know the character. I know the Agents of S.h.i.e.l.d. characters better (which is why I've included 2 so far).

The monster elements will be toned down for now. It's only been this explicit to show how I've merged the 3 franchises (and yes, there will be more, but they won't be nearly as focused on or radically changing the overall mythos)

If you can't tell who the mysterious trio are, then I have 1 thing to say: seriously? I'm not even trying to keep it a secret.

Lastly, if there's a ship you see might sail, 95% chance it will. I'm not a romantic writer and I don't pretend to be.

That being said: thank you for reading. Almost makes me feel like a real writer. Almost.

Please Review (I like those)