Neon Genesis Evangelion: Altered Destinies

Launch Thirty Three!

Motoko Kusanagi was a alias, of course, but it was one the blond agent had built over several years. The background on her was solid, and she was known in police circles with many officers able to back up her identity. Still, that didn't mean she didn't have to be careful. The fallout of the Bardiel attack left her with a in to NERV, but she would have to proceed cautiously.

NERV had functionally taken command of local military forces around Tokyo-3, including Military Police, the Army and Air Force. Navy was still under the usual command, at they hadn't screwed up nearly as badly. Then again they had thankfully been out of the fight. But that left her an officer in NERV, a position she could hopefully build on.

"Al, Leona!" Motoko called cheerfully, the good looking blond smiling warmly, "Looks like we're stuck together again."

"Motoko," Leona smiled slightly. She was back in a modified mini-tank, that clearly pleased her. Security detail for the school was less thrilling.

"Hey," Al waved too, sitting behind her.

With the direct attack on the city and not NERV, this time, the brass decided to raise city security, for now. So cops were out, and the military was setting up stations around town to, hopefully, better protect things if something happened again.

Motoko leaned up against the tank, looking up at Leona. The tank itself was spotless, to her mild surprise. "Anything come up?" she asked curiously.

"All quiet except for a military otaku who fanboy-ed over the tank," Al noted with amusement.

"I thought he was nice," Leona smiled.

"He liked your tank," Al noted, "of course you thought he was nice."

"Point," Leona admitted.

Motoko bit back a chuckle at that. "They've got me doing are patrols, so I'll end up swinging back here later. Hit me up on the radios if anything comes up," she said.

"Will do," Leona agreed.

The damage around the city was being cleaned up rapidly, though the recovery of the city itself was slower. A lot of people had died in the Bardiel attack, and even more had fled the city afterwards, having really become aware of the potential dangers. On the other hand, there were always prople willing to work, no matter what the danger.

Mind you, that made even more work for the security forces at NERV. Back ground checks alone had to be eating precious computer hours. Motoko made a mental note to check in with NERV about that, too.

Motoko did her patrol, swinging around the school and the surrounding neighborhood. Few cars on the streets, a lot had been trashed in the attack. There were some questions if the insurance companies would cover it, they were arguing 'act of god' applied.

It would be funny, if it wasn't so sad.

Motoko swung around the front of the school again, just in time for classes to end. She waited with Al and Leona as they watched the students go by. She spotted the pilots easily, then blinked as the one young man hurried over to the tank.

"So Ken, you can NOT drive it," Al cut him off.

Kensuke sighed, but he was still smiling. "That is a gorgeous machine tho," he said admiringly.

"Ken, don't drool on the tank," the other young woman told him impishly, "it's rude."

Shinji Ikari was not quite what Motoko had expected either. Some of which was due to the unflattering photo in her dossier, which made her look like a boy. She considered if that was a deliberate plan, but decided it was probably incompetence.

"Yes?" Shinji asked, noticing her gaze.

"Sorry," Motoko apologized. "I guess you get that alot?" she asked mildly.

"Somewhat," Shinji agreed as the other pilots emerged from the school. "Sxcuse me," she collared Ken and hurried off.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Getting used to being treated like a hero yet?" Asuka asked her roomie as they headed by the creepy lady and the tank jocks.

"Not really," Mana made a face. "I mean, it's nice, don't get me wrong, but..."

"It feels pretty wierd," Asuka agreed.

The military had been pretty much minced by the Angel, and the Evangelions had pretty much mopped things up. Well, Jet Alone really had done it, with them as support. The surviving army guys were thankful, but also a bit resentful at being rescued. The public had pretty much reacted the same way, hence the increased security...

"Did Shinji invite us over for dinner again?" Mana asked curiously.

"As usual," Asuka conceded. She was happy someone around them new how to cook, but it did get kinda embarassing constantly leeching off Shinji. Misato and Ritsuko, the token adults of the situation, didn't appear to mind at all.

"Well, it's not like I can cook," Mana shrugged.

Asuka was thankful her roomie hadn't mentioned her own kitchen disasters. She tried hard, but she just really wasn't a 'kitchen' kind of woman. She was more of a 'climb into a giant robot and wreck your stuff' sort of woman.

"We've got simulator training this evening, too," Mana reminded her.

"Yeah, Rits and Misato are really pushing us," Asuka grumbled as they reached their building, "swarms of fake Evas and giant monsters. What the hell?"

"Me too," Mana agreed. "At least I'm getting a upgrade... after a lot of fighting between the military and NERV, I'm keeping the positron canon."

"Sweet!" Asuka grinned at her.

"They're reworking the shoulder mount, so I probably won't have it for the next fight, but after that...," Mana grinned.

"Good," Asuka nodded eagerly as they unlocked the door. "Now we just need to get Ken up to speed, and we'll be good to go."

"He's still having issues?" Mana asked as they took their shoes off and changed to house slippers.

"He's not as well trained to start with," Asuka shrugged, referring to herself and Rei, who had practically been raised to pilot, "and he's not a natural like Shinji."

"Oh ho," Mana smirked.

"Don't tell Shinji I said that," Asuka added and Mana laughed.

"Ok, I'm gonna get changed," Mana smiled, "you should, too."

"Yeah, yeah," Asuka agreed. Wearing a school uniform to NERV was typical of Rei, and she didn't want to be accused of copying her.

A few minutes later Misato smiled as the two came in. "Here to swipe some more of Shinji's cooking?" she teased from where she was sitting on the couch.

"You're one to talk, Miss I Can Barely Use A Microwave," Asuka shot back.

"Guilty as charged," Misato conceded.

"Now, now," Ritsuko chided as she emerged from the kitchen, Shinji following.

"Hello," Shinji smiled. "I think Rei is coming soon, so we'll need to have some people eat over on the couch..." she noted.

"Dibs on the couch," Asuka waved.

"Rei should just move in here too," Mana noted. "Her place is nearly as bad as the singles I and Asuka had."

"We could put her in the store room," Misato noted, "but I don't want to push her either."

The door chimed and Rei soon entered, still in her school uniform. "Welcome," Shinji smiled at her warmly, getting a shy smile back.

Changing the subject Mana noted, "It's been some time since the Bardiel attack. Wonder why?"

"Don't jinx us," Shinji said, looking pained, "I'd really like the dry spell to last longer, thanks."

"So much for the heroic pilot," Asuka teased.

Shinji just snorted. "I'm not interested in being a hero," she noted, "cowards live longer."

"Here's to cowards one and all," Misato raised her glass, smiling wryly.

"You are all totally ruining my illusions on how heroic Evangelion pilots are," Mana noted, deadpan.

"You still ha illusions about that?" Rei asked impishly.

"Point," Mana conceded.

To be continued...

Notes: Meant to do more, but life... I also noticed a continuity error. Will try to go back and fix it. Tho honestly no one else has brought it up, so I may leave it.