Dad was dead.

She had been told that by the men in black suits that came to her. That's all they ever said to her, no matter how many questions she asked or how much she cried. They simply took her and stuffed her into the back of their car. The driver was the only one who gave her more information. Her aunt and uncle, two people she'd never even met, were waiting for her in NERV Nueva York HQ. They said that Ben and May would explain more to her there.

Dad was dead.

Her tears were just drying up when they arrived at the big concrete building with no windows. Two of the men in black escorted her silently, and as she looked down and saw the half leaf that bore the NERV leaf and its motto: God's in heaven all's right with the world.

Dad was dead.

The thought rang through her head as they went down a sterile elevator before she was brought into a single featureless room. Only two chairs, a table, and a bottle of water were there to greet her. And she sat down in the chair while the men in black left.

Dad was dead. Dad was dead. DAD WAS DEAD! DADDY WAS DEAD!

"Peni?"

The sound of her name snapped her out of those dark thoughts and she looked up to see a lady with brown hair tied into a ponytail enter the room. A man with dark black hair who looked like her mommy stepped inside, looking tired and worried. They both wore white coats like the scientists in those videos she watched online.

"Peni." The lady swallowed something in her mouth before she said, "I-I'm your Aunt May and this is your Uncle Ben. You're going to be living with us from now on."

"…Okay." What else could she say? With Dad gone and Mom long dead, there was nowhere else for her.

Uncle Ben pursed his lips before saying, "We… understand that you didn't get to know him as well as you should've…"

"Because Dad was always busy at work. Helping NERV… right?"

The two glanced at each other before turning to her and nodding.

Peni bit her lip. "I-Is that why Dad's dead? Because… because he was working on SP/dr?"

The few times Dad was home, he spoke that name with pride. When she was just six years old, Dad had recognized that she was smart and put her on his knee. He showed her blueprints to the special project he was working on. A robot, like the Transformers she'd watched. Big and round with legs that were thin yet powerful.

Aunt May sighed. "He really shouldn't have told you that much…"

"But no, that's not the reason why your father… passed on." Uncle Ben looked over his clipboard, seemed to think about something, before nodding to himself. "Tell me, Peni, have you ever heard about the other project he was working on?"

"No."

"Your father was working closely on a project that will save humanity in the coming years. A dangerous thing, but necessary. Your father hoped to develop SP/dr as an alternative, but he was realistic and devoted as much time to NERV's true goal as he did with his mechanized suit." He steepled his fingers after he sat down on the opposing chair. "One that you'll have to be a part of."

Peni's eyes widened. "What?"

"It's… a matter of genetics and compatibility, Peni. Believe me when I say we wish that there was some other way." Aunt May explained with a frown. "But there isn't. And you are one of the few that can pilot it and protect us all."

"Pilot? Pilot what?" She was scared. She'd just been told that Dad was dead and now they were saying she was having to pilot one of his projects? To protect the world? "I-Is it a robot like SP/dr?"

"Yes… and no." Uncle Ben let out a sigh. "You are the the Sixth Child, Peni Parker. One of the chosen to wield such a terrible and awesome tool. It is a thing we call… an Evangelion."

The alarm blared and woke Peni Parker up from her bad memories.

She groaned as she tried to untangle herself from her blankets and sheets before stumbling onto the floor. Reaching up, she slapped her hand down uselessly on her nightstand before making contact with the alarm button.

"Peni?" Aunt May's voice came from the speakers in her room. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah." Peni cracked her neck as she got up, ignoring the soreness in her limbs and her brain basically begging for another hour of sleep. She was used to being woken up in the middle of the night, but her body didn't particularly like it. "What's going on?"

"Another Mysterio has appeared. SHIELD is requesting NERV assistance with containing them."

Nodding, Peni walked over to her closet. "Alright. I'll be ready in ten minutes."

She took out her school uniform for Midtown High, a black long-sleeve shirt with a red stripe running horizontally across the top coupled with a dark greenish-blue skirt. She stripped herself of her cute hamster-faced pajamas and put on the uniform in a smooth, practiced motion. Once she was done, she put on her long stockings and yellow Converse shoes. Picking up her cute aqua-colored cat backpack which contained her school stuff and her plugsuit, she made her way to the bathroom.

Peni combed her hair before splashing water on her face. She looked at herself in the mirror.

She knew how others saw her. Always happy, always eager to please and approachable. She could become anyone's friend and was happy to protect the city from supervillains and Angels alike.

They would be shocked to see the frown on her face and the sunken, tired eyes.

"Can't look unhappy." Opening her eyes wider and smiling, she stuck out her tongue and giggled a bit. "Okay, now I'm ready!"

With that, she turned on her heel and ran to the door. "I'm off! Wish me luck!" She called out behind her.

And as she closed the door behind her, her empty apartment remained silent.

"You ready for this, SP/dr?" Peni asked the console in front of her. The cockpit of her friend was always bathed in a dark red light, with the smell of coppery blood filtered through the air. SP/dr had been adjusted by NERV to acclimate her to the smell and taste of LCL, and while she'd long through experienced and gotten used to the real thing she never bothered to remove it. It was comforting, in a strange way she couldn't explain. Familiar, even though before the age of eight she'd never been inside any robot.

The screen in front of her showed a smiling, winking face in blue.

"Alright, we're ready for this!" Peni reached to her cup holder and took a sip of her extremely light and sweet coffee. The perfect little four-in-the-morning pick me up, no matter what Aunt May said about how unhealthy it was. "How's it looking out there?" She said as she looked up from the screen and stared at the sprawling streets of Nueva York below.

She was strapped underneath a transport helicopter in order to make delivery faster. She would've preferred just using SP/dr to swing, but NERV liked to keep things as unnecessary complicated as possible.

"The Mysterio is traveling down 42nd Street in their vehicle. They don't show any signs of stopping and turning themselves into the authorities." Aunt May told her through the speakers. "They're spewing their hallucinogenic gas through all the streets. I believe the report is that they're making everyone who ingests it see you."

Peni shivered at that. "Man, why couldn't Beck keep his creepy obsession to himself?"

Quentin Beck was the first and original Mysterio. Some guy who'd grown obsessed with her through the various magazine interviews, television appearances, and photo ops she did for NERV. While she could handle one obsessed creep, what made Beck dangerous was that he was a damn skilled inventor and chemist on top of that. So he whipped himself up a costume and went off to cause trouble just to get her attention and get creep shots of her and SP/dr while she was tripping balls on his gas.

She beat him up, but he had uploaded both the schematics of his inventions, the chemical makeup of his gas, and a very long and disgusting screed on the internet explaining why he 'admired' her before his rampage. NERV took down the website, nuked it out of orbit, but people just as obsessed with her as Beck downloaded it and shared it on the dark web.

"I know. So please try to handle this quickly. Your filtration system was upgraded to handle Beck's gas, but its not perfect."

Nodding, Peni narrowed her eyes as she saw the floating eye that floated down the street. Green gas spewed from underneath, covering cars and people alike.

"We have patched into the audio receivers on the ground." One of the Bridge Bunnies said from the speakers. "Pilot Parker, do you want me to patch you in?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

"EXPERIENCE HER GLORY!" A distorted but feminine voice shouted from who could only be the new Mysterio. "YOU SHEEP JUST WALK AND JUDGE, LIVING USELESS LIVES AS SHE WORKS TO PROTECT YOU ALL!"

"Get away! Get away!" A man shouted from somewhere. "Leave me alone!"

"Stop laughing! STOP LAUGHING!"

"Mommy! Make her go away!"

"SHE IS YOUR SAVIOR! SHE SAVES US ALL FROM THE SELFISH DESIRES OF MAN AND THREATS FROM THE HEAVENS! EMBRACE HER! LOVE HER!"

"Release restraints on SP/dr!" Peni had enough. She cracked her knuckles and placed her hands just over SP/dr's holographic controls. "Time to end this creep!"

"Releasing restraints from Unit SP/dr!"

For a second, Peni experienced free fall. She savored the moment for as long as she could. No one was holding her back. No one was screaming in her ears telling her what to do.

It was a second that seemed to stretch, and it was all to her and SP/dr.

But it had to end.

Snapping her eyes open, she pressed a button and SP/dr's right arm shot out. A white substance, dubbed 'Web Fluid' and given the much less cool name of Substance AF-15 by NERV, shot out and latched itself to a skyscraper's roof. She and SP/dr swung towards the eye, and at the crest of the arc she had her partner let go of the web line to allow them to sail at it.

The pupil of the eye, a sketch of a open hand with an eye at the center of it, turned and focused on her. "SHE APPROACHES! EXPERIENCE HER GRACE! HER BEAUTY!"

The pupil swirled before the barrels of guns began to peek out of its surface. "Crap!" Peni shouted just before the guns fired. Thinking quickly, Peni fired another web from the left arm and pulled SP/dr out of the way before a hail of bullets cut the space where she once occupied. "Gh!" She winced as several of the bullets scratched SP/dr's leg and torso, and it felt like a hot knife had just been raked across those very spots.

"Unit SP/dr has experienced minor damage! All systems operating as normal!"

"Yeah, I know!" Letting go of the web, Peni pressed a number of instructions into her consoles. SP/dr turned its body and fired numerous webs, covering the gun barrels with gunk and making them struggle to move. Firing two webs to the side, SP/dr used both its momentum and its own strength to pull back before shooting itself at Mysterio's vehicle.

"YOU-!"

Mysterio's next proclamation was silenced as SP/dr smashed through the top of the hovering eyeball, entering a control room that was the size of a small office. She could see behind her were several guys dressed in green and purple clothes, trying to pull their guns free from the webbing. Without a thought, she webbed them to the wall and ignored their cries of protest. A boy and girl, no older than her, were at control panels and raised their arm in surrender.

Just behind them was the new Mysterio, wearing the same ugly garb and fishbowl head of Beck.

"I-I did this all for you!" Mysterio cried out as SP/dr approached them. "They… they needed to see! Why? Why can't you appreciate me?! After all I did for you!"

"Yeah…" Peni had SP/dr fire a web, sticking the obsessed creep to the ground. "…Sorry, but I don't buy that. I didn't tell you to start attacking innocent people. Sorry, but you're going to jail!"

SP/dr flashed a cheeky smiling emoji on the console, and she knew it was doing the same to Mysterio.

The supervillain groaned. "Can I at least get an autograph?"

Peni blinked and noticed the two console guys were looking at her expectantly. "Man, you guys need to get your priorities straight."

"Bring her here." Peni turned the piece of paper over and then looked up to Aunt May. "That's all he wrote?"

The older woman let out a tired sigh. "Commander Ikari is a… man of few words. He merely wrote that because it's his duty as the head of NERV to issue direct commands on paper."

"Just some paper trail nonsense." Uncle Ben supplied as he put down a two page document on the table. "The email he sent is longer, and I suspect it was written by the Deputy Commander."

She sucked in a deep breath as she looked at the paper. This was it. This was what she'd been training for all her life.

She was finally going to pilot Evangelion Unit 7.

"Dad's legacy…"

She let out her breath and said, "I… I guess this means I'm not going to school today, huh?"

"We don't think its for the best." Aunt May went around the table and put her hand on Peni's shoulder. "You can say goodbye to your friends with text, but our psych team says that having you attend your regular classes and say goodbye in person will have an adverse effect on your synchronization."

"Right." Peni forced a giggle as she scratched the back of her head. "I-I guess I can just say I'm off to save the world! They will understand!"

It pained her to have to do this. She'd already felt like there was an invisible wall between her and her classmates at Midtown High. Everyone knew that she was an Evangelion pilot, the pilot of SP/dr, and government-backed 'superhero'. She always left school way too early to stop gang activity or some mutated freak that crawled out of the ocean to wreck havoc. NERV, her aunt, and her uncle didn't complain. Her synchronization thanks to her activities with SP/dr remained at a the high sixties, meaning that she was one of the better Eva pilots because she was beating the tar out of criminals with her partner.

It also meant that she communicated with her classmates mostly through text. Sure, she sometimes went out a few times for some bubble tea and the movies, but she'd always be called away. To do tests. To fight…

"They'll probably barely notice that I'm gone."

"Good." Uncle Ben got up and said, "Your aunt and I need to finalize some things for the transfer. We'll need you to be ready by midnight to leave, alright?"

"Okie-dokie!" She saluted cheerfully as the two left the room and left her alone.

Again.

Sighing, Peni slammed her forehead against the table. "This sucks…"

She heard a metallic whine and reached into her backpack. Removing her phone, she saw the black screen with the blue emoji of a sad face. Thankfully, not crying, but it went to show how far SP/dr's AI had advanced.

Smiling, she tried to placate her partner. "It's nothing you did! This was bound to happen sooner or later!" Peni stood up and placed her hands on her hips. "We've been training for this day ever since I was eight!"

All the tests, the injections, the big bulky machinery strapped onto her head with wires keeping her from getting into a comfortable position, being told to shoot the target and to stab and twist the Progressive Knife…

All of it had been leading up to this.

SP/dr continued to whine, and the sad emoji transformed into a frantic cartoon of a dog looking from side to side with sweat coming out of the top of its forehead. "Don't be silly! I'm not replacing you!" She poked the screen. "As if I could leave my best friend behind!"

Dad had been the one to lay the groundwork for SP/dr's AI. But he never got to finish it. She'd worked like a dog to make it as human like as possible, long sleepiness nights with nothing but sugared coffee and energy drinks fueling her. Sure, the toilet became her companion during those days bit it had been worth it.

By the time she was ten, SP/dr's co-pilot had been born.

Aunt May and Uncle Ben praised her for that, saying things like how she was a genius and how she could skip grades like the Second Child. But.. she didn't want to do that. Peni liked her school. She liked the few friends she'd made.

The friends that she'd long since lost touch with…

"No, don't think about that now. Just be happy! You're going to Mom's homeland! You're going to pilot the Eva!"

Speaking of which…

She grinned at SP/dr. "You wanna take a look at it again?"

After a few minutes of navigating through the base, she'd finally managed to get into the holding bay. A flash of her badge allowed her inside, she she looked over the railing to find her Eva.

It was massive. Over a hundred and forty feet tall, with technicians going over its body like a fine comb. It looked like a giant human only covered in armor. Thin and lanky if one looked at the 'flesh' underneath the red armor. The shoulder pads, sides, and thighs were colored a dark blue. Apparently it had been done to differentiate it with Unit 02. The small symbol of a spider at the center of the chest was, however, Dad's idea. He had a thing for spiders, according to Uncle Ben. Two curved lenses covered the areas where the eyes would go, something she suggested so that she could see thermal vision and other features. Another unique feature were its arms. On the hands, rather than five fingers, there were six, and a thin but noticeable line ran down the arm and to the shoulders.

Another one of Dad's gifts.

"You know, that thing your father built never ceases to amaze me."

Peni let out a cry and turned around to find Daredevil. The SHIELD super-agent was wearing his usual attire of red spandex and armored yellow shoulder pads, connected on a harness that ran across the man's chest and were secured with a buckle that had the letter D on it. Her hands were wrapped in yellow bandages, matching both the shoulder pads and the knee pads he wore. Despite his size and appearance, he showed no hostility as he leaned against a support beam.

"D-Daredevil!" She looked around nervously. "I don't think you're supposed to be here."

The man scoffed. "I can assure you, Peni, that I have clearance from both NERV and SHIELD. I'm not going to get in trouble." He looked at her and asked, "Are you holding up okay?"

"So you've heard…"

"I'm supposed to be going with you, so don't worry. You aren't going over to Tokyo-3 alone."

"Well, at least there's that." She turned and looked back at Unit 07. "I mean, I am happy! I finally get to go to Japan and fulfill Dad's dream!" She looked down. "I guess… I just didn't expect it to happen so soon."

But she probably should've been counting the days after Unit 01 managed to kill an Angel that transformed into geometrical shapes and fired lasers that annihilated mountains.

Daredevil sighed. "If it was up to your dad, you and the other kids wouldn't be fighting in the first place."

"I know." It was the reason why he was building SP/dr in the first place. To find some alternative to using Evangelions. Her partner and the Unit she inherited were just supposed to be prototypes for bigger models, but he could never artificially replicate an AT Field. She'd asked Uncle Ben and Aunt May about it, but they said it was so fas from complete not even she could finish it. "But.. he was still a soldier, and now I've got to be one. All of us have to until the Angels die… or we experience terminal failure."

She only talked like this to Daredevil. Nobody else knew this side of Peni Parker. One who understood the sad reality of being an Evangelion pilot. Ever since she was a kid, she was a soldier. She just had to keep clinging on the few freedoms that were allowed until the fateful day came.

Before Daredevil could begin worrying, Peni pulled out her phone and grinned. "Besides, I'm not going to be alone in this fight against the Angels! I've got SP/dr with me, and I made sure he'd be compatible with the Eva's system!"

Because like hell she was going into that thing without her partner.

SP/dr let out a little chirp of glee at the praise and the superhero shook his head. "Peni…"

"I'm fine, Daredevil! Really!" She giggled and pointed at the stairs. "Say, since It's my last day at Nueva York, how about we go on one last patrol! I heard Herman broke out again!"

"Again? Seriously?" She went up the stairs and heard the older superhero follow her. "Doesn't that guy ever learn?"

"Probably not! Otherwise he wouldn't be wearing that getup!"

Herman Schultz wasn't having a good day.

He'd just broken out of prison, and learned that the money he had squirreled away in his hideout had been taken. He had the inkling suspicion that prick Boomerang took it, but he would figure out how to deal with that later. Thankfully, he robber hadn't found his gauntlets or his spare suit, and so Herman did what he normally did when he was strapped for cash.

He robbed a bank.

His gauntlets hummed to life as he blew the bank vault off its hinges and ran inside. He had two duffel bags nice and ready to take in as much money as possible. It would be enough for him to get on his feet and figure out his next big score.

"Thank god people are still believing in the power of physical cash."

It was quick work. He'd handled the guards and non of the workers or patrons were going to be heroes. If he acted fast enough, he'd only have to deal with first responders. He'd timed this heist perfectly.

"The spider's probably just getting the call, and I'm on the other side of the city! It'll take her ten minutes to just reach the street, and by that time I'll be speeding away with the loot!"

Daredevil might be a problem if he wasn't picking Peni Parker today, but Herman could handle him. Skilled as he was, Daredevil wasn't several hundred tons of metal that the Shocker contended with on a near weekly basis.

"Alright.. things are finally lookin' up for the Shocker!"

Herman finished packing the bags and ran outside. "Stay on the ground!" He shouted, swinging his gauntlets in smooth and controlled motions. Aiming them at each of the hostages who remained on the ground with their hands behind their heads. The guards were swill laid below a crater on the walls, groaning in pain. "If anyone moves, they'll get some!"

Herman Schultz opened the bank's front doors…

…and a dark red billy club hit him in the face.

He grunted in pain and stumbled back. The material of his suit absorbed most of the blow, but getting it in the kisser wasn't a pleasant experience. "You…"

"Me." Daredevil caught the club with his right hand and crossed his arms. "Schultz, just make this easier for the both of us and turn yourself in."

Herman grinned and put down the bags. He raised his gauntlets which hummed as he brought his fingers to the triggers. "No can do, hornhead! In case you forgot, I go toe to toe with the Spider and she's not with you!"

"Aw, Herman! I didn't know you considered me that special!"

Slowly, Herman turned his head and looked up. To his shock and dismay, he saw the mechanical wonder that was SP/dr crawling down the front of the bank.

The red lights that composed the robot's "face" looked at him. The dome was black for a split-second before a pair of feminine eyes appeared in red lights and winked at him.

"I'm sorry, Herman, but compliments will get you nowhere but prison!"

Herman looked at SP/dr before turning to Daredevil, who flashed him a toothy grin.

The supervillain's shoulders slumped.

"This ain't fair."

"Why do we have to make a stop here?!" Asuka Shikinami Langley didn't want to sound like she was whining, especially not to her superior and the man she'd been crushing on ever since she hit puberty, but she was. And she hated herself for it, but there was a point to be made. "We could've just headed right over to Tokyo-3 if we didn't have to stop in the USA!"

"Well, I've unfortunately have to talk with the heads of NERV Nueva York." Ryoji Kaji replied with a smirk. "I wanna double check their last readings of Unit 07. Make sure that nothing gets blown up this time."

"Right…" She had heard what happened in Nevada to Unit 04. Apparently, nobody was exactly sure what happened. Supposedly the unit was testing a new power source or something. But if she had to guess, some egghead forgot to carry a two somewhere and the power source went critical. "But that just proves my point! If something does go wrong then NERV will lose not one, but two pilots!"

Kaji rolled his eyes. "Come on, Asuka. Aren't you overreacting a bit?"

Asuka opened her mouth and then closed it, grimacing. "Damn it… I'm probably sounding like a brat."

She'd gone farther than most girls… no, women her age. She'd skipped whole grades and was a recognized captain by the European Air Force. She'd had military rank, a near celebrity status in Germany, and was the pilot of an Evangelion.

And yet everyone still saw her as a kid.

"But I'm not! And… and I need to stop acting like one if I want Kaji to recognize that!" So, swallowing the outrage she truly felt, she turned to her 'guardian'. "Alright, fein. I don't like it, but I'll deal. How long will we be docking here?"

The older man, seemingly pleased by her, simply nodded to one of the military carrier planes. "We'll be here for another hour or two. The pilot of Unit 07 is in there. Why don't you say hello? You two are going to be working together for now on."

She shrugged. "Sure, time to meet little miss superhero."

She turned on her heel and walked to the plane. She'd heard about the Sixth Child, Peni Parker, from reports and some of the magazines Kaji gave her. The Sixth was a part of a special program her father had developed, a fully mechanized robot with an onboard AI that could supplant the Evangelions in the war against the Angels.

"Ridiculous. Nothing can beat an Angel besides an Evangelion."

But she had to give the Sixth's father some credit, he didn't dismiss the necessity of the Evas. Even he had enough brains to recognize that unless his inventions were fully developed, perfected, and blown into a huge scale then they needed what actually worked.

The Sixth's father had died during one of his experiments, and Peni Parker had actually finished both the robot and the artificial intelligence. But she'd need to pilot it, and NERV saw it as an opportunity to have the Sixth train on a smaller scale before setting foot into the Eva's cockpit.

UNIT SP/dr STOPS RAMPAGE OF THE LIZARD!

GROOT UPROOTED BY THE SP/dr TEAM!

A WEB SPUN! SEE THE EXCLUSIVE TIME MAGAZINE INTERVIEW WITH THE SIXTH CHILD!

PENI PARKER GIVES HER FAVORITE TRACKS! NUMBER SIX WILL SURPRISE YOU!

"She likes the spotlight too much." Asuka muttered. "Then again, that is probably the fault of NERV Nueva York."

She could count the interviews she gave to newspapers with one hand and the amount she gave to Gene-Pop Magazines stood at the solid number of zero. Her handlers had thought that such attention would negatively affect her training, and they were probably right. After all, she got to train directly with Unit 02 on a daily basis. She didn't need a tiny robot to get her used to it.

No, she had been dunked into the deep and cold end of the pool first.

As Asuka entered the plane, she looked up and saw the massive and covered form of Unit 07. She clicked her tongue.

"It's red too? Scheisse, give me a break!"

She heard the music through the metal walls. It was some techno beat with a female singer that she'd never heard of.

Hold the door, you see a bad chic walkin',

I'm the type of girl that you don't come across often!

Yeah, I'm seein' numbers 'cause you delin' with a ten,

And them other girls, they only wanna be my twin!

"How loud does she need that thing?!" Asuka walked to the source of the noise and opened the door.

There was a small girl sitting on a chair, sitting in front of an egg-shaped metal… thing that Asuka could only assume was Unit SP/dr. The girl was wearing goggles and handling a blow torch with an ease that was scary. The right hand, however, was shooting to a small table that held a bit and opened bag of chips that she continued to wolf down as she worked. The girl was wearing a school uniform, one that Asuka didn't recognized but that wasn't a surprise. She had short black hair that bobbed with the girl's head as the music continued to blare from the speakers.

With adept ease, the Sixth Child put down the torch and picked up a small screwdriver without missing a beat.

"Does she not know that I'm here?" Well, time to change that. Asuka coughed, but the Sixth did not react. Assuming that the music was the problem, Asuka coughed harder. When that didn't work, she grit her teeth. Fine, she tried being polite. "HEY! SIXTH!"

That seemed to get her attention. The Sixth Child put down her tools and lifted her goggles. "Oh, hey! Sorry, I didn't hear you!"

It took a second to mentally translate the English into German, but it was easy enough. Asuka couldn't help but notice that her features seemed a bit oriental. "Maybe all of us have that in common."

The girl narrowed her eyes at Asuka before widening. "Wait, you are…" She grinned wildly and leapt out of her chair. Doing a somersault in the air, the Sixth rolled on the ground before coming up and flashing Asuka with the widest smile. "Konichiwa! My name's Peni Parker!" She made a peace sign while sticking out her tongue. "The Sixth Child!" She got up and stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you! You're an Eva pilot too, right!"

Asuka blinked in surprise, but she didn't falter. Instead, she took the offered hand and shook it. "Asuka Shikinami Langley. I'm the Second Child. Nice to meet you, Sixth!"

The Sixth giggled as she let go of the hand. "Please, you can just call me Peni! Calling me by my number is kinda weird."

She shrugged at that. "We're supposed to be pilots. Its the closest NERV has to giving us a rank or some way for us to address one another in a military setting."

"Yeah, but currently we're off duty. So we've got nothing but time to kill!" Peni motioned around the room. "It's not much and I'm not going to stay for long, but wanna look around my temporary workshop?" She pointed to the refrigerator before sliding towards it. To the half-German pilot's amazement, it turned out the Sixth wore heelies of all things! "I've even got drinks and snacks if you want any!"

Asuka decided to walk over and take a look at Peni's stock. "Candy… chips… soda… and energy drinks?!" She looked at the girl in horror. "Mein Gott, how are you not a thousand pounds?!"

Peni huffed and crossed her arms. "I do exercise you know! Both my body…!" Peni began shadow-boxing, but even Asuka could tell that the act was beginning to tire her out. She then tapped on the side of her head. "And my brain!"

Asuka had only known Peni for about five minutes, and she was already beginning to hope that the other Children weren't this weird.

If there was one thing Ryoji Kaji liked about the USA, it was the cultural diversity.

Especially when the barista of the Nuevo York mess hall was a Columbian who could whip up a powerful cup of joe.

He took a few more gulps of the dark yet sugary before crumpling the empty styrofoam cup. "Well that went well…"

The Nueva York base was one of NERV's more interesting locations. Partly because it was jointly run by SHIELD, the UN's main military muscle. They had a vested interest in keeping the peace, and unfortunately enhanced humans committing crimes tended to disrupt said peace. These 'supervillains' were too tough to handle for ordinary law enforcement, Section Two would become smears if they tried to handle it, and ironically nothing they did warranted SHIELD to send in their agents to deal with it.

And because NERV had a vested interest in keeping the NERV base in Nueva York, they made an agreement with SHIELD to help keep the peace.

Hence, committing Pilot Peni Parker to use Experimental Unit SP/dr as a way to combat enhanced crime and doubling it as a way to ease her into the actual Evangelion's pilot seat.

"Wonder if the idea came from her dad, or her aunt and uncle." Ryoji tossed the cup into the trash and began to walk down the hallway. "Either answer isn't good."

Ben and May Parker were two decent folks as far as big-wigs in a NERV facility went. Buried in their work, sure, but they seemed content with helping Peni save lives in her suit and working with the idea they are trying to save mankind. They weren't too eager with sending her off to Tokyo-3, with Ben citing about the data they would miss and would become redundant should they not be on location to study it, but relented.

"Wonder if the whole data spiel was to appeal to Ikari."

Well, it meant that they weren't actually in the know. And his own independent snooping and reading while escaping from the Sixth Angel's death confirmed that they weren't part of the inner circle tied to SEELE, and perhaps that was for the best.

Maybe they would've tried to kill him if they knew what NERV was actually sending Peni off to do. To be a part of due to her own ignorance and the sins of adults.

"Special Inspector Kaji."

Ryoji didn't bother to turn as he heard footsteps behind him. He knew who it was. Very few people could sneak up on him, and only one of them lived in Nueva York.

"Special Agent Daredevil. Have to say, it's nice meeting you again." He sighed as he noticed a 'No Smoking' sign on the wall. "Damn. You Americans are uptight about that kind of thing."

"Well, it's a good thing I had the liberty of depriving you of those from your person." Ryoji wouldn't give the masked man the satisfaction of checking his pants pockets. "Those things are bad for your health, you know."

He chuckled at that. "Well, if the Angels win I doubt cancer will kill me quick enough." They walked in silence for a few seconds before Kaji asked, "Would you be willing to tell me what Fury is planning? He wouldn't send you over to Tokyo-3 unless he suspected something."

Director Nicholas "Nick" Fury was perhaps one of the most important and powerful men in the world. He might not have the control of SEELE and certainly didn't have the resources of NERV, but he and SHIELD knew how to use what they had and use them well. Each agent had access to powerful and experimental weaponry that would make most modern militaries drool. The helicarriers flew over countries, reminding everyone to play nice… or else.

The death of insurrection groups that rose in the wake of Second Impact occurred because no one knew which of their number was a SHIELD plant. By the time they were interrogating their suspect, the guy next to the leader would be slitting their throats.

SHIELD helped to keep order during those dark times. They got the world back on track. If asked whether they trusted SHIELD or NERV with keeping the world safe, seven out of ten ordinary civilians would reply SHIELD.

And it was enhanced agents like Daredevil that made the jobs of guys like Ryoji's all the harder.

"You know I can't."

He shrugged. "It was worth a shot. Let's just hope that we don't trip over each other when we get there."

"Just be sure that you don't poke your nose in places you aren't supposed to."

For that, Ryoji stopped walking and turned around. The superhero agent's face was completely grim and serious. Gone was the usual amused look of confidence and bravado he had worn.

Now he was facing the man who ended the Hand and killed the deadliest assassin in the world.

But Ryoji was playing a game far more dangerous, and he didn't show any fear. "Oh, don't worry. Why would I need to poke my nose…" He tapped the side of his right temple. "When I can just see the connections?"

The grim expression did not waver, but the man's hands clenched into fists.

Well, he had made his point to Mathew Murdock. Ryoji turned around and waved over his shoulder. "Catch you at Tokyo-3, Daredevil. Maybe we can swap notes."

It hadn't been easy finding the man's secret identity, especially with the firewalls in SHIELD's system. But when he did, it was pretty straightforward. Kid decided to help a blind old man not become roadkill, got an eye full of radioactive chemicals as a result. Turned out said chemicals gave him heightened senses, his dad pissed the wrong people off and got killed, got trained by a ninja, yada yada yada, and out came a superhero named Daredevil. Somehow, the guy managed to survive Second Impact and got recruited by SHIELD to be their agent.

It gave Ryoji an advantage over his SHIELD double.

He liked advantages.

They were what kept him alive for so long.

Asuka stared at the spider in its tiny little glass box as it was devouring a grasshopper. It was completely black, save for the orange rings of fur around each joint of the legs and the number sixty-two on its bulbous body. "I thought that the system within Unit SP/dr was fully artificial intelligence."

"Oh, it is! But it needed a bit of help in order to operate the robot." Peni beamed with pride as she pointed at the spider. "I was the one who figured it out, actually! What had been tripping Dad up was making SP/dr's limbs respond instantaneously to commands, and the code was always breaking down due to factors such as environment. However, a spider is able to operate in most environments because of their ganglia."

"Ganglia?" Asuka thought that she heard the word somewhere… maybe from a biology class? Or was it something she skimmed off of Wikipedia?

"That's what they call the two separate nerve cell clusters. They issue tasks to the limbs and stuff, allowing the spiders to perform complex tasks like building webs and traversing unfamiliar terrain without any issues." Peni waved at the spider, who raised a single arm and to the German's amazement waved back. "So, we enhanced a spider and surgically implanted a microscopic chip into its ganglia. That's how SP/dr was born!"

Asuka shivered as she stood up. "So, SP/dr is the name of both the AI and the actual spider… that's a bit komisch." She turned to Peni. "But, hearing that you helped to create it? It's fairly impressive, Parker." There was no way in hell she was calling a girl who she just met and was basically her subordinate in the NERV hierarchy by her first name. "Even if you had to build it up from the groundwork your father laid down."

And she meant it, both the praise and criticism. Because it was impressive. Asuka didn't think she could help to create an artificial intelligence system, no matter how many grades she skipped. It was a tough pill to swallow, but she had to face reality on that front.

But still, all the improvements she'd seen? All the reports she'd gotten about Unit 07's development, weapons system, and onboard AI?

All of them were first created by one Richard Parker, the Sixth's father.

And if there was one thing Asuka hated, was for anyone having to rely on their parents and remain in their shadows.

Peni's perpetually happy smile twitched a bit at that. "Well, I couldn't just throw it out! It would've been a waste!"

Asuka clicked her tongue. "If you say so." She walked over to the machine and stared at it. "But I will commend you, you act like a true pilot. You defended your city, even if it was against a bunch of costumed idiots and two-bit hoods." She put her hands on her hips and turned around. She allowed a small grin to spread across her face. "But if it was me, and I was piloting Unit 02, then a lot of those arschlöcher would've just surrendered without a fight!"

The girl stared at her for a second before giggling. "Yeah, but only because you probably would've squished them!" She bent on one knee and stiffened her hands to the sides, making her sort of look like a tent. "Me and SP/dr, however, look both cool and cute while doing it! And Unit 07 may not be as cute as SP/dr's body, I know that we're gonna kick tons of Angel butt!"

Well, she had to give the girl some credit. She had guts, and Asuka admired guts. She huffed and thumbed at herself. "Alright then, Parker! You just need to know when to follow my orders, okay?" The girl looked up at her uncomprehendingly. "Tokyo-3 isn't Nueva York and the Angels aren't a bunch of idiots in costumes. They're an enemy we have to eliminate at all costs, and one slip up could jeopardize everything!"

Peni puffed out her cheeks. "Come on, I don't need a speech to know that! Me and SP/dr risk our butts every day!"

"Yeah, well consider Tokyo-3 as your graduation from boot camp." Asuka grinned at her. "Don't worry though. I didn't become a captain for just my good looks. I'll help you out, okay?"

Because the girl needed it.

She had practice, sure, but from what she could tell that practice wasn't with the real Evangelion. Unit SP/dr was impressive, but it was basically a kiddie bike with training wheels.

Unit 07 would be the real thing.

Thankfully, Peni knew how to fight so she wouldn't need to worry about that. Hopefully, Asuka would only have to teach her how to follow orders.

Peni frowned just for a second. It looked like she was about to say something, but before Asuka could prepare herself form a barrage of protests somewhere along the line of 'where the hell do you get off calling me inexperienced', the girl just grinned at her. "Alright, whatever you say!" She pointed to the chairs. "Say, we've still got half an hour to kill! Wanna hear how I caught the Shocker today! It was pretty funny! He even started to cry when me and Daredevil handed him to the cops!"

Peni hummed a song as she turned on her heels and began to roll to the chairs. Asuka frowned as she watched her go, but shrugged and followed.

"At least the girl knows how to pick and choose her battles. Not a total pushover, but knows when to drop things."

Who knows? Maybe she and the Sixth will be able to get along as fellow pilots.

The Infamous Man Presents…

Danger Days

Notes- Yeah, I'm kinda surprised that this came out too. But I've always been fascinated by the idea of Peni Parker ever since her debut comic. And a single panel of her going to the same school as the Eva kids spiraled into this idea.

I'm sorta melding her movie characterization with her comic one. This Peni is just as bubbly and friendly as the one from Into the Spider-Verse, but like most of the Eva cast what she's going through isn't what she's showing on the surface.

I only pray that you guys don't crucify me for lack of technobabble, and I hope that I got Asuka's characterization right!

Chapters are going to be a bit sporadic and vary in length, so a bit of a word of warning. And what I've got planned actually makes me think this thing's going to be relatively short!

Be kind though and leave reviews!