Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion or anything associated with it. I have written this story solely because I enjoy writing.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything belonging to Marvel Comics or anything associated with it. I have written this story solely because I enjoy writing.

Superwomen of Eva: Emerald Fury

Chapter 23: Fighting For Their Freedom

Simon Utrecht, the man who more frequently went by the name of Vector these days, stood among his colleagues and comrades of so many years within the heart of NERV. And as he did so, he couldn't help but feel like he was missing something important. Something big.

Up until this point, their mission had gone more-or-less as planned. True, NERV had somehow been alerted to their presence – most likely because of something X-Ray had done – but they had still been able to get down to where their target should have been without any resistance. And as long as they didn't dawdle and Grey Gargoyle was able to keep their exit route clear, they should have no problem escaping with their quarry.

The only problem was, there was no sign of said quarry. And too much else about their current situation didn't make sense. The enclosure they were in had to be where She-Hulk was held; the thick walls, doors, and other security features made this an ideal place to hold such a beast. But the interior of it looked more like a luxury apartment, and given that their intel made clear that She-Hulk was a primitive brute, Vector couldn't envision such a beast being held in a place like this. And then there was the fact that three baseline humans were present in the enclosure, including an unexpected face from the past.

But most importantly of all…there was no sign of She-Hulk. None whatsoever.

This just doesn't add up! Where could she be?! Vector thought impatiently even as he pressed Dr. Katsuragi's grown child for answers. We can't afford to waste any time finding her! The longer we stay here, the more time NERV has to summon the JSSDF or any other creatures Ikari might have cooked up!

Caught between the urgency of finding and securing their target and all of the things that simply didn't add up, Vector's attention was brought back to the moment when Vapor cooed, "Now, it's pretty obvious that that boy is important to you." Again, the leader of the foursome focused on his beloved and the purple-haired woman whose eyes were narrowed with the purest rage. "You don't want him hurt. And whether you believe it or not, I don't want to hurt him, either. Unfortunately, those who are handing us our orders don't care who gets hurt. Just so long as they get what they want."

"And as you've already figured out, they want that big, green girl!" X-Ray seconded in his usual obnoxious manner.

Still suffering the sensation that he was missing something grossly important but unable to figure out what that something was, Vector focused entirely on the woman he had last seen as a rambunctious little girl barely in her teens. "So it's in the best interests of both yourself and those two that you tell us where this creature is. Because while Ann only created sleeping gas for them, she can create poison gas just as easily."

Several seconds passed as Misato glared pure outrage at Vector and his companions, something that also didn't make any sense in his mind. Their bizarre appearances had left virtually everyone that they had encountered since their transformation perturbed at the very least, and more frequently outright terrified.

Then a low, ominous growl rumbled through the air. One that caused Vector to pause and glance around, thinking that their target had just arrived.

Only for him to again look into Misato's hateful visage…and realize that the rumbling was echoing from her throat.

"So…you want She-Hulk, huh?!" Misato shouted. Only it wasn't just a shout. It was a roar that cracked the air, very nearly causing Vector to jump back in surprise.

Surprise that was deepened and gained an edge of fear when Misato's brown eyes began to burn with emerald fire. And then began to slowly turn to realization as the child he had once known roared again. "Well, you got her!"

Misato had barely spat out those words before growled a primordial growl as she arched her back. Her clothes visibly tightening as her skin took on a tinge of green.

What the – no! Vector thought in consummate disbelief as he finally realized what he had been missing. It can't be! It – it's just not possi-!

As Vector and his companions stood there, dumbstruck to the point of being completely frozen, Misato shot forward and slammed her fists into his chest. The former millionaire was instantly sent flying, feeling like he had been hit by a truck.

"Holy shit!" someone – Ironclad, Vector thought – cried out. "She's She-Hulk?! Are you -?!"

"Ironclad, hold her!" Vapor shouted even as Vector cleared the stars and comets from his head. "Jimmy -!"

"Right, right, I know what to do!" X-Ray replied even as Vector looked up. Still too stunned by this revelation to do much more than sit and watch as his fellows went into action.

With the still-transforming Misato whirling about to confront the others, her movements hampered by random spasms and more as her body continued to bulge and grow, Vapor sent a surge of gas to draw her attention. The increasingly brutish woman immediately focused on the waves of gas coming at her, keeping her distracted long enough for Ironclad to come at her from behind. Reaching out beneath Misato's shoulders, the metallic behemoth lifted her up off of the ground even as she continued to grow. "Wha-?!" the half-transformed Misato snarled in surprise. "Let go! Let go or get smashed!"

"Cripes, she isn't kidding!" Ironclad cried out even as his growing captive thrashed wildly about in his grasp. "Jimmy, Ann, hurry! She's getting stronger by the second!"

"Right, right! Just like we rehearsed it!" X-Ray assured his companions even as he unleashed twin bolts of radiation at Misato. "This anti-gamma blast should calm her down a bit! At least enough to keep her from going all the way!"

"Good work, little brother!" Vapor smirked even as Misato howled in outrage beneath X-Ray's barrage. "As for you, Misato…time to go night-night!"

Without another word, Vapor poured her substance down Misato's nose and throat. Still occupied by X-Ray's assault, she was unprepared for the massive amounts of sedative gas that were now flooding her lungs.

Misato continued to thrash wildly about in Ironclad's grip for about a minute longer. But eventually, Vapor's gas caused the struggling woman's thrashing to weaken before finally, her eyes rolled up into the back of her head. Shortly after, her incomplete transformation began to reverse.

"Whew! She was sure putting up a fight!" Ironclad declared when their captive finally reverted. "Not that I couldn't have handled her myself!"

"I don't care if you could have 'handled her' or not, Mike!" Vector declared as he approached the insensate Misato. "You all saw it for yourselves, didn't you?! She was changing! Misato actually transforms into that creature! And changes back!"

"Yeah, I saw it! But – that's not possible, right?!" X-Ray demanded in clear perplexity. "I mean, it shouldn't be possible! How can she just – change like that?!"

"That's what we need to find out!" Vapor hissed as she studied their fallen victim. "Simon -!"

"Right! Ironclad, gather Misato and the others up! Get them out of here! X-Ray, go with him! If Misato looks like she's starting to wake up, keep her from changing!" Vector ordered with fresh urgency. "Ann, you and I will grab every last scrap of data we can get! Absolutely everything!" With these words, the former millionaire studied their unconscious captive with the utmost intensity. "Because we might finally have what we need to get back our lives!"

"Right. But, uh…what about Grey Gargoyle?" Ironclad wondered with a frown. "I don't think he's gonna let us take off with the doctor's kid!"

"And what about Gendo?!" X-Ray wondered. "We still owe him, remember?!"

"Gendo Ikari can wait! We can deal with him whenever we want!" Vector roared in command. "And as for the Gargoyle…our plans have just changed. More's the pity for him."


"Ironclad to Grey Gargoyle! Mission accomplished!" came the voice of Ironclad via the stony supervillain's earpiece. "X-Ray and I are coming up with her and a few extra hostages to help keep her quiet! Vector and Vapor are working on getting what they can from the computers!"

"Excellent work, my dear companions!" Grey Gargoyle declared with considerable satisfaction. "You're certainly enjoying greater success than my previous compatriot did!"

"Just be sure to keep our exit open, okay?!" Ironclad demanded. "We've been lucky so far! Don't need anything blowing up in our faces now!"

"Oh, and be ready for a surprise!" came X-Ray's voice. "This She-Hulk lady? Turns out that she's a whole different woman when she lets her hair down! Heh heh!"

Not knowing what X-Ray meant and not really caring enough to ask, Grey Gargoyle simply answered, "Rest assured that I will keep our path clear. Just so long as you don't dawdle, eh? Gargoyle out."

With this said, the Grey Gargoyle contented himself to wait and watch. For while he wasn't expecting any trouble if She-Hulk was well and truly neutralized, there was no guarantee that she was the only monstrosity that Gendo had cooked up. And even if she were, there was also the possibility of the JSSDF interfering, among other things.

The sooner we leave this place behind, the better, Grey Gargoyle thought as he remained alert for both trouble and his associates. Ah, as soon as we are away from this place, I think I will indulge in some crepes and a nice cup of tea. It's little comforts such as – huh?

A distinct thud pricked Grey Gargoyle's ear, causing him to frown and look about. Searching for the source of the sound, looking down one hallway, then the next. Becoming distinctly aware that the sound was repeating in a rhythmic manner, almost like footsteps.

And that they were getting closer.

It could be Ironclad, Grey Gargoyle frowned in thought. Or it could be some other creation of Ikari's. Better make certain. And be ready.

But even as Grey Gargoyle was taking a battle-ready stance, moving to activate his communicator once more, there was a sound like a powerful thruster being ignited, coupled with that of something flying through the air at high speeds. Recognizing an attack, the man of living stone leaped to the side, leaving something massive to fly past him and embed itself in the wall.

Having dodged this attack, Grey Gargoyle came to his feet, already ready to counter. But even as he frowned at the confines of the corridor that grossly limited his maneuverability and rendered his cybernetic wings virtually useless, another roar of a jet engine followed by pounding footsteps caught his attention. And proved to be an insufficient warning to let him dodge the massive figure ramming into him.

"Gyaaarrgghhh!" Grey Gargoyle cried out, the force of the blow hurting even his body of solid stone. "Guh – what the – Rhino?!"

"Hey, long time no see…partner…!" growled the cybernetic mountain of muscle that Grey Gargoyle had abandoned in the name of saving himself when his prior mission had gone sour. "Surprised to see me?"

"I – Rhino, I -!" Grey Gargoyle gasped out, wracking his brain as he tried to think of a way out of this mess. Wishing now that he hadn't gloated to Rhino about how he was using the brain-dead brute as a distraction and was leaving him to die, all Grey Gargoyle could think to ask was, "But – repaired?! Why -?!"

"Oh, that? Heh, it's simple; I've got a new boss!" Rhino sneered as he held out one of his arms, revealing cables retracting the giant, mechanical fist he had fired at Grey Gargoyle earlier. "He even popped for some new upgrades! Like my new rocket punch! Pretty sweet, huh?"

Rhino then brought his retracted hand up and wrapped his huge fingers around Grey Gargoyle's head. "And this here…well, this is my first job for the new boss! Though to be honest, I'd have done this one for free!"

As Rhino's massive hand began to squeeze down on his head…all the Grey Gargoyle could do was scream.


"That does it!" Vapor declared as she extracted a portable hard drive from the NERV computers. "That's everything I could pull from these computers! I didn't have time to look things over, but -!"

"It'll have to do! Let's move!" Vector declared, his heart pounding excitement as he turned and broke into a run. Tapping his communicator, the leader of the quartet barked out, "X-Ray, Ironclad, we're coming out! What's your status?!"

"Our status is that we're in the escape ship!" X-Ray giddily replied. "And we've already made our passengers comfortable!"

"Right, but, eh – there's something you should know!" came Ironclad's voice. "The Gargoyle, he ain't here!"

Vector was jolted by this announcement, and it was clear that Vapor felt the same. "You disposed of him already?! You -!"

"Hey, we never laid a finger on him!" X-Ray immediately protested. "He disappeared all on his own!"

"Disappeared?!" Vector repeated incredulously.

"Like Jimmy said! When we got to the rendezvous point, Grey Gargoyle was gone!" Ironclad reported. "And from the looks of things, he didn't go quietly! So you better be careful; Misato might not be the only monster running around in NERV!"

Vector scowled at this, for he wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Gendo had been using Misato as a template for the creation of other monsters. Just as those pulling their strings had done with them. But even as he thought this, the former millionaire shook his head. "Maybe, but she's the only one we need! Prep the ship for takeoff! As soon as we're on board, we're leaving this city behind!"

"And the Gargoyle?" Vapor wondered.

"If he didn't make it out, it's his own fault," Vector harshly retorted. "Besides, this saves us the trouble of disposing of him ourselves. Now let's move! We need to get as far away from here as possible!" A moment or so passed before he added, "The key to our freedom has just landed in our laps! But we still have to learn how to use it!"


"What am I going to do…?" Maya moaned despondently as she sat within the confines of her apartment. Feeling more like she was trapped in a prison cell deep within the bowels of the earth.

Maya wasn't sure how many days had passed since her encounter with the would-be rapist. How long since the Angelic nanites flowing through her veins had made her a murderer. It could have been weeks, it could have been only yesterday. She didn't know, she didn't care.

What Maya did care about was the reality that her condition was once more deteriorating.

It hadn't been noticeable at first, not when she had been hiding within her apartment, cowering in her room. Awaiting the moment when Section 2 broke in and gunned her down without mercy. But eventually, Maya realized that the strength she had felt after the nanites had fed – killed – her attacker had faded. And soon after, she noticed a creeping lethargy, much like the kind she had felt before she fallen sick.

Except that I wasn't sick! I was starving to death! Because the nanites were starving! Maya thought as she sat in the corner of her apartment. Fear to her left, guilt to her right, and more blood staining her hands. And unless I can find some way of feeding the nanites that – some other way of feeding them, then they'll – they'll keep doing that! Again and again and -!

As Maya's chain of thought ran its course, her imagination conjured up horrible visions of the future drawn from her past. She once again saw herself attacking people, draining them dry in the name of feeding the monstrous Angelic infection that had claimed her body. And was so horrified as a result that she clenched her scalp so hard that her nails dug deep into her own skin. The pain jolting her from the hideous visions, if only for the moment.

So…what do I do?! Maya wondered once more when she had finally recovered from the terror in her own mind. I can't ask anyone for help! If Commander Ikari finds out that the Angel is still active, he'll have me killed for sure! I just know it!

On some level, Maya knew that fear was making her somewhat irrational. She knew that the people at NERV were helping Misato, just as she knew that Ritsuko and the others had gone to great lengths to save her as well. But the fear that now enveloped her would always remind her that Misato was different. Her transformation could be controlled, prevented by keeping her from getting angry or stressed, or even with powerful enough anesthetics. This was an Angel that still lived in her bloodstream, and was completely beyond her ability to control. And would do whatever it needed to do in order to survive. Even if that meant transforming her into a monster once more and wreaking havoc on Tokyo-3.

As further horrifying images spat forth from the depths of her mind, images of Maya transforming into an Angel-sized beast and being killed by the Evangelions, she again shuddered and shrank in her chair. So what do I do?! she once more demanded of the universe. I don't want to hurt anyone else, but I don't want to die! So I can save myself without -?!

The phone rang.

Gasping in panic, Maya very nearly fell to the floor as her overworked imagination warped the sound of her phone into something far less benign. It took several seconds for her to recover from her start and identify the source of the sound. It took even longer for her to work up the courage needed to make her way over to the phone and answer it. "Uh…hello?"

"Attention. This is an automated alert to all critical NERV staff," came an electronic voice. "There has been a meta-level breach of NERV Central. Report to your action stations immediately. Repeat, there has been a meta-level breach –"

"Meta-level?!" Maya gasped, dropping the receiver in her shock.

Meta-level was a secret alert status that had been put in place only recently, in the wake of Grey Gargoyle and Rhino's attack. And this alert could only mean that NERV Central had been invaded by similar beings, humans that had been augmented far beyond normal. That they needed everyone that they could get in order to maintain order and combat this threat.

"But – I've been suspended!" Maya gasped, trying to make sense of everything. "I'm still – so why I was called?! I shouldn't be on the alert list!"

Several seconds passed as Maya considered the matter. Eventually, she concluded that she was dealing with a case of human error. That someone must have forgotten to remove her from the active alert list, and thus the computers had done their job to the best of their ability.

"So – what should I do?!" Maya frowned, wracking her brain as she tried to puzzle her way through this mess. "I know I'm not supposed to be at NERV, so – should I call them, or -?!"

A blast of inspiration suddenly erupted in Maya's mind, cutting her off even as her eyes widened in realization. For she had just been presented with a potential way out of her current nightmare, a means of saving herself.

A way of getting the one thing she could use to regain control over her life.

The generator…the one that was infested with the 11th Angel's nanites! Senpai was able to use it to reprogram the nanites before! And they were able to use it to feed on different forms of energy without hurting anyone! Maya realized, her heart pounding with exhilaration as she considered her options. So if I could get to it…!

It was at this point that Maya's train of thought trailed off because she really didn't have any good ideas as to what would happen next. Her overworked imagination was more than happy to provide plenty of horrific images of all the things that could go wrong in such a situation. Like her once again transforming into the monster, or being gunned down by Section 2. And the longer she thought about it, the more horrific scenarios unfolded before her mind's eye.

But even as Maya experienced a blast of panic, she frowned once more as her rational mind once more came into play. And that part reminded Maya that her options were far from plentiful. If she didn't find a safe means of either feeding the nanites or gaining control over them, it was only a matter of time before they acted of their own accord to ensure their survival. Only a matter of time she killed again. And only a matter of time before she was discovered by NERV.

And if I tell them to truth…Commander Ikari would have me killed! Maya thought once more, knowing full well NERV's policy towards Angels. If it was decided that she was a threat, she would be killed. Her one life being considered a small price to pay in the name of saving the rest of the world. Especially if they found out about what I – what they did!

The more and more she thought about, the more trapped Maya felt. The more she realized that she had only one possible option. I'll go to NERV…but I'll be careful, she finally decided. I'll see if I can get in. If I run into anybody, I'll explain that I was called and was in such a hurry that I forgot about everything else. And then…I'll just see what happens.

Dreading the possibility that she was making a terrible mistake and realizing that she had no real alternatives, Maya hurriedly fled her apartment. All the while feeling as if she was being watched by many different eyes…


"Ohhhh…" came a miserable pathetic groan. And as Shinji slowly returned to the waking world, he realized that he was the source of the sound. His eyes fluttered a few times before finally opening fully, and even though he could see nothing more than a large blur, he could make out enough detail to know that he wasn't anyplace that he knew. "Wh-wha…?"

"Ah. Welcome back, Shinji," came a vaguely familiar voice from somewhere off to the side. "Sorry that I don't have anything better to welcome you back to."

As Shinji struggled to clear the fog from his mind, a completely unfamiliar voice announced, "Hey! The kid's awake!"

"Just keep an eye on him, X-Ray!" came another strange voice. "And don't interrupt us! We've got work to do!"

Shaking the last for the fog from his head as he blinked a few more times, Shinji was finally able to take in his surroundings. And was dumbstruck at what he saw.

He was inside of what looked like an aircraft of some kind, though he didn't recognize the make as belonging to NERV. To his side, Samson was trussed up and basically left against a wall, much like Shinji himself. Nearby there was what looked like a small laboratory, in which two bizarre figures worked, one of whom looked like she was made of living gas. And on the other side of the craft, a figure that looked like radiant purple energy hovered above Misato, who was secured to a series of grid-like panels.

"Hey, Shinji," Misato growled in her throat as she glanced his way. "You okay?"

Blinking a few times as he took in the situation, Shinji looked about. "Uh – Misato?! What's going on?! Why're – why aren't -?"

"Why aren't I big, green, and smashing the shit out of everything in sight?" Misato concluded, glaring at the purple specter in front of her. "Trust me, Shinji; if it were up to me, we'd be in the middle of a whole lot of smoldering wreckage right about now!"

"Which is why it's very fortunate for us that it isn't up to you," came a stern, authoritative voice from the lab. And as Shinji turned, he saw it was a figure made of so many clashing colors and patterns that it made his eyes hurt just to look at him. "Those energy-absorbing panels were designed for the express purpose of drawing off hard radiation. Between that and X-Ray canceling out the gamma radiation in your system, you won't be able to transform. So I suggest that you keep that in mind, Misato, and cooperate with us. That is unless you want something…unfortunate to happen to your friends over there."

Realizing that a lot had happened that he wasn't aware of, Shinji asked, "Uh – Misato, Samson? What's going on? The last I remember, we were in the apartment when…I smelled something funny, and –"

"That was Vapor. Or Ann Darnell, as she used to call herself back in the day," Misato gruffly explained. "They're all survivors of the Katsuragi Expedition, Shinji. Simon Utrecht, James Darnell, and Mike Steel – he's up front, flying this thing. They were all there, on the day Second Impact happened."

Shinji's jaw immediately fell open, and a quick glance revealed that Samson was similarly stunned by this. "Wait, but – if they were – I thought that -!"

"Everybody but little Misato died there? Yeah, you and the rest of the world," announced the gaseous woman as she flowed out of the lab with a syringe and several vials in hand. "Listen, Misato, I'm going to need some blood samples from you. Hope you're not afraid of needles."

Misato glared pure death at the woman. "Are you kidding? I've been poked and prodded so many times since Big Green started showing up that I've lost count!"

"Ha! Welcome to our world!" the radiant ghoul chuckled. "You wouldn't believe how many times we've had to play Human Guinea Pig for the bosses since they found us!"

"Of course, some of us can't really be poked," the woman declared in a harsh manner even as she bent down and began extracting blood. "Jimmy, why don't you explain to Misato and our other guests how we happened to live through Second Impact? It'll keep them distracted while Simon and I work."

"Hey, why not? I mean, this is like totally out of the comics! The evil masterminds – that would be us, of course! – tell their helpless victims the fascinating story of their origins, their plans for world domination, the whole thing!" Jimmy chuckled, sounding like Kensuke in a way. "Alright, now listen up, everyone! Let's set that Way Back Machine for right before Second Impact, back when Simon Utrecht made a deal with Misato's dad! In exchange for helping to fund the Katsuragi Expedition, he and three others – me, Mike, and sis here – would come along for the ride. Our objective; to experiment with the energy being radiated by the thing that they found there – namely, the 1st Angel. We were combining it with cosmic rays and exposing a bunch of different tissue samples to that combo."

"Why?" Shinji wondered.

"In a word? Power," Jimmy replied with a broad grin. "You see, Simon had a lot of money, not to mention political power. But you know how it is; there's no such thing as too much or even enough power. And initial analysis of the 1st Angel got his people thinking that we could use its energy to enhance human DNA. Or in other words; instant superpowers. And since Simon wasn't about to trust anybody to find some miracle juice to make you immortal or whatever and not screw him over, he and the rest of us headed out with the Katsuragi Expedition to do the experiments ourselves."

"Of course, you can guess how that went," Ann muttered as she finished taking another blood sample.

"Hey, don't spoil my monologue, sis! It's my first time actually getting to do one!" Jimmy protested.

Ann shot Jimmy a look of annoyance, but Misato was the one who spoke. "I still want to know how you survived, and how you ended up like this," she announced in a gruff manner. "And how you've managed to keep yourselves off of the front pages of every newspaper on the planet. Because the way you are now -"

"Yeah, I know! The press would kill to put all of these good looks on the airwaves!" Jimmy declared in a boisterous tone that reminded Shinji of Toji. "Anyway, fast forward to the big day Dr. Katsuragi was conducting his big contact experiment. While he and the others were busy with that, Simon and the rest of us were running a test using this Neogenic Recombinator thing that this egghead Stillwell made for him. We were blasting some cell samples with a mix of Angelic and cosmic energies when suddenly – whammo! Second Impact starts, everything is being blasted apart, and the Recombinator overloads and explodes!"

"And let me guess; the four of you got blasted with the energy from the overload and that's what transformed you all," Misato intuited in a stern voice.

"Ooh, got it in one!" Jimmy grinned smugly. "Though to be honest, we didn't figure out we'd been transformed right away! Truth is, we all thought we were dying!"

"It turns out that having your DNA being torn apart and reassembled with radiation doesn't feel very good," Ann muttered grimly as she made her way back to the lab with samples in hand. "And then there were the injuries we suffered during the initial blast."

"Yeah. That was significantly less than fun," Jimmy admitted. "But, hey, no pain, no gain!"

Frowning at this, Misato then asked, "So what happened to you then?! Where have you four been all these years?!"

"Yeah, that would be the seriously-less-than-fun part of our origin story," Jimmy admitted with a nervous chuckle. "After we changed, we had no control over our powers, and they went completely berserk! My body hit critical mass and basically exploded! Sis, her body was completely blown apart by the blast and sent flying to the four winds, Vector repelled himself so far away that he has no idea where he ended up, and Ironclad's density increased to the point where he sank into the ocean and into solid rock!"

Shinji groaned at the mental images this conjured. "Ugh…"

"Heh, you said it, kid!" Jimmy declared with a rueful shake of his head. "Luckily enough, accounts of our so-called deaths were bullcrap! Sis and I eventually managed to put ourselves back together – have no idea how that works – Vector recovered after blasting himself to who-knows-where, and Ironclad eventually managed to get back to the surface and made his way to shore."

Frowning, Misato then asked, "And the part about how you've managed to avoid winding up on every paper and tabloid on the planet?"

"Hey, I'm getting there! Haven't you ever heard of a little thing called dramatic buildup?" Jimmy protested in a pouty manner. "Anyway, after we got ourselves back together, we spent some time wandering around. Doing this and that, trying to figure out what we had become. You know, that sort of thing. But eventually, our bosses managed to track us down, thanks to the fact that we all radiate energy that's a lot like Adam's. They picked us up, and – well, they put us to work."

"And by that, he means that they made us their slaves," the orange figure declared in a bitter manner. "In the aftermath of Second Impact, we were all declared dead. And my fortune, my company – all of it was taken from me. As a result, the only resources we have available are those made available by SEELE."

A hushed gasp echoed this odd word, followed by Ann crying out, "Simon! Not in front of them!"

"So what?! As far as they're concerned, it's just a nonsense word with no more meaning than the name of an evil organization from an old spy movie," Simon sneered derisively.

"Yeah, sis! No need to panic over nothing!" Jimmy declared with a smirk. "Anyway, we made a deal with SEELE. We'd do jobs for them, and in return, they'd help us get better control over our powers. Maybe even find a way for us to turn human when we wanted to."

Shinji was a bit surprised by this. "You – want to be changed back?"

"Well, not exactly, kid!" Jimmy declared even as he grinned at Shinji. "I'm gonna let you in a little secret; having superpowers is awesome! I mean, look at me! I can fly, turn invisible, move through walls – I can do basically whatever the hell I want and no one can do anything about it! Talk about being on the top of the world!"

"Except when you want to be touched," Ann bitterly stated as she glared at Jimmy. "When you want to love. To be loved in return."

As Shinji took in Ann's gaseous form, as well as the way Simon growled in his throat, Jimmy waved this aside. "Okay, I admit it! I miss stuff from our Muggle days, too! Hot pizza, kicking back at the beach…the horizontal tango! You know, stuff like that! But still -!"

"And then there's the matter of us being forced to hide in shadows at all times," Simon bitterly muttered before glancing towards his captives. "Look at me, Misato! All of you! Can you imagine what it is like to see people scream in horror and disgust every time they lay eyes on you?! Can you?!"

As Shinji digested this, Samson cleared his throat. "I can understand how being in your position could drive you to desperation, Mr. Utrecht. But you can't seriously believe that this…SEELE would actually honor their bargain. What's stopping them from stringing you all along for the rest of your lives, constantly dangling the prospect of a cure before your eyes in order to keep you all loyal to them?"

"Absolutely nothing," Simon replied without hesitation, something that surprised Shinji. "We all realized right from the beginning that SEELE had no intention of helping us, only using us for their own ends."

"That's right. We're not that stupid!" Jimmy declared with a smug smirk. "But while they've been using us, we've been using them! After all, the bosses don't bother looking too hard at what we're doing as long as we're bringing home the bacon!"

Making a noise of comprehension, Samson smiled. "Ah, I see. For instance, if you were to…say, eliminate someone inconvenient to this SEELE…they don't care very much if you happen to steal a few dollars here. Perhaps some research equipment, maybe even rebuild some of the equipment you had before Second Impact."

"Bingo!" Jimmy declared with a broad grin. "Heck, this lab here is fully stocked with everything we could need to break down mutated cell samples!"

"Which explains why Ann was taking Misato's blood," Samson gathered. "So what now? Are you going to be turning us over to this…SEELE?"

"Heh! Not a chance! Finding out that Misato and She-Hulk were one and the same changed our plans!" Jimmy decreed as he leaned forward and gave the purple-haired woman a broad grin.

"Indeed it did. Because now we know that you're capable of transforming back and forth between your two forms, Misato. You have in your cells the very power that we've been seeking all these years," Simon intoned with a terrifying intensity. "And once we've identified the mechanism that allows you to do so…we'll all be one step closer to finally being free…"


I can't believe that I'm doing this! Maya thought as she anxiously made her way through the various hallways of NERV. I might as well walk right into a holding cell! Or even worse, to a firing squad!

And yet, even as Maya did her all to keep from breaking down in fearful tears, did everything she could to maintain a cool exterior, her rational mind recognized that she had very fortunate thus far.

Getting inside of NERV had proven to be simplicity itself. Maya's NERV ID had granted her passage into the Geofront, just like clockwork. No one had really noticed her on the way in, and all she had gotten was a few stray glances from any NERV personnel as she descended into the depths of NERV Central. Everyone too busy, too distracted by the current situation to pay Maya any heed.

I still haven't seen any sign of whatever's supposed to be attacking or had attacked us! But its obvious things are still bad! Maya thought as she continued onward. Opting for the less traveled passageways and emergency escape whenever and wherever she could. I just hope that it stays bad long enough for me to do what I have to do! And that I can find some way of covering up anything I wind up doing here!

Painfully aware that she could well be destroying her future with NERV and even more painfully aware that she wouldn't have a future unless she dealt with the Angelic nanites inside of her, Maya pressed onward. All the while caught between the temptation to abandon this insanity, find Ritsuko, and throw herself at her mentor's feet and beg for mercy. And the reality that such a move could very likely end in her own death.

And so Maya continued. Heading towards the one place in all of NERV Central where an artifact such as the nanite-infected generator would be stored for further analysis. And hoping against hope that she would be able to escape this madness with her life.


"Incredible…" breathed the man that Misato had once known as Simon Utrecht as he gazed upon a monitor displaying one of her blood samples. A sample that was in the process of shifting from human red to gamma green. "Absolutely incredible…"

"Nothing I haven't seen before," Misato bitterly muttered even as she wracked her brain, trying to think of some way out of this situation. And unfortunately, she kept coming up with nothing.

The creatures that Simon and the others had become were far stronger than anything human and had already demonstrated that they could neutralize Misato and the others in the unlikely event that they managed to slip free. And while it didn't look like Shinji or Samson had been tied up particularly well, Misato couldn't see how they could do much with X-Ray hovering over her.

The only chance we have is if I could become She-Hulk, Misato grimly thought. But that's not going to happen as long as X-Ray and this crazy grid keeping me from changing! So…I need to get away from both of them long enough for Greenie to come out to play. But how am I gonna pull that one off?!

As Misato confronted with the brutal reality that there was presently no way out of this predicament, Vapor announced, "Simon, look at this! The breakdown of Misato's mutation is almost identical to ours!"

"Of course it is!" Vector declared in a superior manner. "After all, she was there, too! She was exposed to the same blast of Angelic power as we were!"

"Yeah, but…she wasn't in the lab, remember?" X-Ray pointed out, looking back over his shoulder at the others. "So how did she get mutated? And with gamma rays instead of cosmic rays?!"

"I don't know how she was exposed to gamma rays," Vector admitted. "But as for her mutation, while she wasn't in the lab with the rest of us, perhaps she suffered enough peripheral exposure during the blast to change her to a degree. Not enough for her to get any powers, but enough to leave her a 'blank slate' when she was later exposed to gamma radiation."

"That makes sense, Simon," Vapor mused with a slight frown. "But I'd still like to know how she was exposed to gamma."

"Oh, I can tell you all about that."

Jolted by these words, Misato looked about. And saw Samson smiling pleasantly, looking completely calm and collected even as Vector and the others looked his way. "What?!" Shinji squawked in clear dismay. "Samson, you can't -!"

"Shinji, I understand that you want to protect Misato, but…well, consider our current situation," Samson began in an understanding tone. "We're tied up on some kind of aircraft, we have no idea where we are, and we're surrounded by – well, supervillains for want of a better word."

"Yep, that's us!" X-Ray decreed with a mocking laugh. "We're definitely the bad guys here!"

"Jimmy…!" Vapor growled irritably. "And as for you, Samson…I would hardly call ourselves villains. Just desperate to reclaim our lives."

"Fair enough," Samson conceded. "But the point is that meaningless defiance won't accomplish anything. Not only are our captors powerful, but it's obvious that they came with everything that they would need to neutralize She-Hulk, as well as safely containing and transporting a creature of her size and power." Even as Shinji lowered his eyes in defeat, the doctor went on to say, "But perhaps if we cooperate, well…we can make things a bit easier for everyone involved. Particularly ourselves."

Shinji just scowled at this, and Misato was sorely tempted to vent her outrage as well. But Vector's expression softened considerably. "Well, I'm glad to see that at least one of you can be reasonable," he declared. "So, Dr. Samson, would you care to explain how Misato wound up being exposed to so much gamma radiation?"

"Certainly," Samson nodded easily. "I assume that you're all familiar with the Jet Alone robot?"

"Jet Alone? Yeah, I heard about that stupid kludge," X-Ray declared. "Heard it almost had a meltdown and nuked an entire city!"

"That's right," Samson confirmed with a nod. "And it would have…if it hadn't been for a certain someone going inside of its nuclear reactor and shutting it down."

The next few seconds passed in silence as Vector, Vapor, and X-Ray turned and stared at Misato. With the humanoid radiation cloud finally laughing in disbelief. "Oh, you didn't!"

"Oh, she did," Samson confirmed with a nod and a smile.

Blinking in surprise, Vector then looked up and shook his head in disbelief. "To think that the little girl I once knew grew up to become such a suicidal fool…"

Stung by this remark, Misato demanded, "And just what is that supposed to mean?!"

"What it means is that I cannot fathom why you do something that foolish?" Vector demanded in an annoyed manner. "Throw your life away…and for what?! A bunch of complete strangers?!"

Misato scowled even more at this, something X-Ray took notice of. "Hey, don't take it personally, Misato! Vector never was one to give a damn about others! Just ask any of his competitors he sent into bankruptcy back in the day!" Then he gave a cocky grin and added, "But while I'm not exactly the most heroic guy on the block, I have to say that doing something like that took some serious guts!"

"Yes, well, 'guts' don't help a person live to a ripe old age," Simon muttered sourly. "You're lucky that you lived through something that stupid."

"She's not the only one," Samson noted with a shrug. "After all, if Misato hadn't absorbed all of that gamma, you wouldn't have the chance of becoming human again."

Vector frowned somewhat at this. A frown that deepened when X-Ray chortled in amusement. "Well, you have to admit, he's got you there!"

Making a noise of displeasure in his throat, Vector gave Samson an ugly look. "I'd be more careful about my choice of words in the future if I were you, Samson…"

"I was merely stating a simple fact," Samson stated in an even manner. "Besides, I didn't think you were above taking risks. And given what you did in the name of gaining power in the first place…I mean, you went on that expedition because you didn't trust anyone else not to betray you. I would say that that's not the action of a coward."

Vector arched a brow at this. "I'm not above taking risks, but only when I feel the potential benefits make it worth it. I don't do things out of the goodness of my heart," he coldly stated. "Now, then, Dr. Samson…since you seem to be in a cooperative mood, perhaps there are other matters regarding Misato and her condition that you can tell us about. Perhaps fill in some of the holes in the data we acquired from NERV."

Samson shrugged at this. "Alright, but…I'd have an easier time with that last part if I could look at the files myself."

Vector seemed to frown at this, but Vapor replied, "Sure, why not?" Then she looked at Vector and added, "I get the feeling that our good doctor is smart enough to stay on his best manners. After all…" Then she gave Samson a vampish smile and added, "It's not like he could do anything to hurt us. And he knows it."

Frowning a bit more, Vector considered this for a time before finally saying, "Alright. But you better watch yourself, Samson. It wouldn't take much for you to make reconsider the value in your continued existence."

"You don't have to worry about me," Samson quickly assured them with a placating smile. "It's not like I'm the one with unbreakable skin. All I've got are rakish wit and roguish good lucks. And I'd like to keep them both, thank you."

"Indeed," Vapor smirked as she glided over to Samson's position. "Now let's get you up and put that wit of yours to work."

As Vapor wrapped her gaseous hands around the bindings holding Samson taut, they quickly melted into steaming goo. "Ah, that's better," the doctor noted as he rose up, pausing to massage his wrists and restore circulation to his hands. "Alright, let's get to this."

As Samson moved to follow Vapor, Misato frowned in consideration, not sure what his angle was in this. He has to know that there's no way that we just walk out of here, right? she frowned unhappily. Simon and the others won't let us go until they get everything that they want from me! And maybe not even then! So…what's he trying to do? Keep them distracted? If he is, he's failed to distract the most important one of this crew!

Pausing to direct a dirty look at X-Ray, who was still busy making sure that She-Hulk wouldn't be able to come to their rescue, Misato slowly scanned her surroundings. Wracking her brain as she looked for something, anything that might help them get out of this mess.

Unfortunately, I'm not seeing much of anything that would help, Misato grimly admitted to herself as she continued to study the interior of the craft. No sign of any weapons – or at least anything that looks like a weapon – and they came equipped with everything they could ever need to keep me caged, and – hold on.

Misato furrowed her brows as something popped into her mind. Samson – he said something before! Said how Simon and the others had brought everything they needed to neutralize She-Hulk, as well as transport her. But they didn't know that I was part of that equation! So…!

With this in mind, Misato quickly glanced at her bindings once again. They were simple bindings, improvised from some kind of tape, the kind of thing you'd find in a lab or a toolkit. And while it was definitely strong enough to keep her tied to the grid-like surface of the panels, she was certain that she could tear the tape with enough effort.

Unfortunately, that doesn't take care of X-Ray. Or stop him from raising the alarm if he sees me trying something like that, Misato grimly realized. But – okay. Let's assume that Samson can distract him and the others, and I get the chance to break free. What happens then?

As Misato considered the situation, she quickly realized that simply surrendering to her bestial other wouldn't work. While the transformation was fairly swift, the seconds in which it took for her to change might well provide X-Ray and Vapor enough time to attack and cancel the transformation before She-Hulk could fully emerge. And then there's the possibility that X-Ray could force me to change back even if I can change, she added sourly. No. Just letting Greenie out to play isn't enough. I need some way to take X-Ray out of the equation. Something -

"Hey! Somebody's gotten quiet!"

"Huh?!" Misato started, only to look and realize that X-Ray was the one who had spoken. And was presently giving her a suspicious look.

"Whatcha up to? Trying to cook up an escape plan?" X-Ray mockingly asked, grinning obnoxiously as he did so. "Or have you figured out that that just isn't going to happen?"

Pausing to kick herself for being too silent and drawing attention to herself, Misato considered her response. "So what happens next?" she finally asked. "Do we just stay in this plane or – whatever it is – until you find a way of curing yourselves or whatever it is you plan on doing?"

This question promptly wiped the smile from X-Ray's face. "I – well, uh…" he got out before turning towards his fellows. "Say, Simon? Sis? What are we gonna do with them? I mean – we weren't exactly planning on this, remember?"

"But we do have a plan in place, X-Ray," Simon declared in an authoritative manner. "We have a place to go to ground as well as a lab to continue our research in."

"Remember, Jimmy? That lab we spent all of that time cobbling together between 'missions'?" Vapor chided him.

"Exactly," Vector nodded while X-Ray was making a sound of comprehension. "Now that we have the final key to taking back our lives, I say it's time we put that lab to good use."

"Hmm. Interesting," Samson noted, giving Vector a look. "But – well, now that Major Katsuragi has brought it up, I do feel compelled to ask what exactly you're planning on doing with us."

"What happens is that you're staying with us. For as long as it takes for us to find a means of finding out how she's able to transform and adapting it to our genetics," Simon declared in a no-nonsense manner.

Blinking a few times at this, Samson returned, "I'm not a geneticist, Mr. Utrecht. But…that strikes me as the sort of thing that could take a long time."

"Possibly, yes," Simon admitted. "How fortunate that we have nothing but time."

Misato wasn't sure what these words meant, but she didn't like the sound of them. As for Samson, he shifted about even as he turned towards the computers. "Even so, I would like to know what exactly you have planned for us." Then he gave Vapor a slight curl of his lip before adding, "I don't get me wrong; I can appreciate the company of a beautiful woman as much as the next guy. But that doesn't mean that being anybody's prisoner is very high on my 'to-do' list."

Simon scowled at this even as Vapor chuckled. "Flatterer," she breathed softly with a devious smirk. "And to be fair, I can't really blame you. It's not like we planned on being SEELE's slaves."

"Unfortunately, life just isn't fair," Vector declared in a harsh manner. "You all stay with us until we find a cure. That's all there is to it."

"Now, hold on!" Misato blurted out in outrage. "You have me, alright?! I'm the one you need to make a cure! So why don't you just drop Shinji and Samson off somewhere and let them go!"

"Not an option," Vector declared without hesitation. "For one thing, those two are our insurance that you'll stay on your best behavior, Misato. Just in case X-Ray slips up."

"Wha-?! Hey!" X-Ray cried out in sudden annoyance. "What're you saying?! That I can't keep Misato down by myself?!"

"Jimmy, settle down," Vapor grumbled in annoyance. "You might be able to keep Misato suppressed while you're awake. But you need to sleep and rest, just as much as the rest of us do."

"Exactly. And having some hostages around will help keep Misato from getting any ideas," Vector declared with clear annoyance. "Besides, we have a personal grievance with the boy."

Shinji blinked a few times in surprise at this. "Huh?! But – I've never met any of you before! So why -?!"

"Because you're Gendo Ikari's son," Vector decreed in a flat manner.

So far, so good. They're all getting distracted, Misato thought as she once again tried to piece together a plan. Now, I just need to think of a way to take down X-Ray. Pausing to study her surroundings, she again glanced back at the panels. Hmm, if these things can suppress my gamma, then I bet that they would do a number on X-Ray. But there's no way I'd be able to get them off the wall, and I can't trust Greenie to be smart enough to do it for me.

"That's right, punk," X-Ray declared, giving Shinji a look of anger. "And don't try and tell us otherwise. We were briefed before we even came to Tokyo-3. So we know all about important people like you!"

Shinji was even more baffled, not that Misato could blame him. But as she was looking for something that might be used as a weapon, he asked, "But – what did he do to -?"

"To make us want him dead? Preferably as slowly and painfully as we can manage?" Vector inquired in a dangerous tone. "Because he knew what was going to happen! He knew that Second Impact would happen and all of the destruction that would result!"

This statement immediately destroyed Misato's ability to focus on anything other than Vector's words. "What?!" she gasped in patent shock. "Wh-what do you mean?! What does Gendo – what does he have to do with any of this?!"

This got the attention of Vector, Vapor, and X-Ray. "Wait – you don't remember?!" the radiant man demanded with clear confusion. "I mean, you remembered us, but not him?!"

When all Misato could do was squeak in confusion, Vapor chuckled ominously. "Maybe it's not so surprising that she doesn't remember. Don't forget who spent most of his days huddled up in his lab. And never really socialized with anyone else."

"Hmph. A good point," Vector noted with a scowl. "Looking back, I did find it unusual, just how much of his time he spent locked away in his lab."

"And he did have a different last name, remember?" Vapor noted. "It was before he was married."

Blinking as she processed this information, Misato's jaw fell open as her brain finally managed to add two and two together. "Wait – you mean Gendo was part of the expedition as well?! But – how did he survive?!"

"Simple. Because the day before the contact experiment that resulted in Second Impact, Gendo returned to Japan. But not before he made a point of copying every bit of data that your father and the other scientists had compiled and left," Vector declared in a hateful voice. "Now if you have a functional brain between your ears, I'm sure it won't be difficult to realize what that means."

While Misato knew that her bad habits with beer and so on hadn't done her body any favors, she did consider her brain to be quite functional. "You're saying that…Gendo knew what was about to happen?"

"He was certainly aware that something would. He might not have expected the world to almost be destroyed, but he knew that there was danger," Vector declared. "Why else would he go out of his way to save the data and escape?"

"I admit that that makes sense," Samson mused. "And given what you've all been through, I take it that you hold Commander Ikari responsible."

"Of course we do!" X-Ray shouted irately. "The rat bastard got the hell out of there the day before the experiment! And he made sure that he had every bit of research Dr. Katsuragi's people had! Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if he stole some of our stuff while he was at it!" Then he turned towards Shinji and added, "So seeing as we didn't have the time to take our payback out of Gendo's hide…we've decided to make his son pay instead!"

If it were possible, Misato would have hulked out in a second. But before she could do more than growl pure hatred at X-Ray, Samson chuckled in a knowing manner. "Now that is the idea of a fool. Not only pointless but self-defeating as well."

"What?!" X-Ray squawked, shooting towards Samson with radiant energy pouring from his hands. "Why, you -!"

"Jimmy, get back to watching Misato!" Vapor cried out in a scolding manner. "If she changes -!"

"She's still stuck to those panels! She's not going anywhere!" X-Ray growled. "And as for you, Samson -!"

"You clearly don't know Gendo Ikari as well as you think you do," Samson broke in a knowing manner. "You think that just because Shinji is his flesh and blood, the Commander actually thinks of him that way? Trust me when I said that Gendo couldn't give a damn whether Shinji lives or dies."

X-Ray looked surprised, but Vector chuckled. "While I admit that that does sound like the Gendo Rokubungi I remember…what makes you feel that way?"

"Because while I haven't been at NERV that long, I've learned a great deal," Samson explained. "Gendo abandoned his son about ten years ago after his wife died. The only reason Shinji's even at Tokyo-3 is that Gendo needed a pilot for Unit 01, and Shinji was apparently the only one he could get at the time."

X-Ray's mouth popped open in clear shock at this. But Vector chortled and Vapor managed a smile. "That definitely sounds like the Gendo I remember."

"Seriously?!" X-Ray demanded in clear shock. "But – the kid's his son! That's got to count for something!"

"Not to Commander Ikari, I'm afraid," Samson informed them. "As I understand it, he wouldn't even let Shinji live in his home. Major Katsuragi was the only one willing to take him in."

As Vector and the others continued to react in shock, Misato realized that she was wasting a critical opportunity. With X-Ray distracted and no longer restraining her gamma power, she had been provided with the chance to make her move. But what move should I make? she asked herself even as she began to stretch and pull at her tape bindings. Even if I get loose in time, I still need a way of knocking X-Ray out of commission long enough for She-Hulk to come out! But what could I use?!

"And while we're on the subject of mistakes, you also have to consider the long-term ramifications of removing Shinji – and for that matter, Misato – from Tokyo-3," Samson went on. "Or haven't you considered just how much danger you've placed us all in?"

"And just what's that supposed to mean?!" X-Ray demanded with increased heat. "And stop it with all of the fancy talk! Don't act like we're stupid!"

"He doesn't have to act like it when you're acting like a blithering imbecile! Now get back to watching Misato!" Vector ordered. The purple-haired woman paused just long enough to confirm that X-Ray was failing to heed this order before continuing her escape attempt. All the while the orange-skinned creature focused on Samson. "And what exactly do you mean? What kind of danger?!"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm talking about the Angels," Samson replied in a tone that made it clear what he thought of some peoples' intellect. "The whole reason NERV even exists is to destroy the Angels. And by extension, preventing a potential Third Impact. Given your experiences in regards to Second Impact, I trust you can appreciate the importance of that."

There! Misato cried out inwardly as she caught sight of what looked like a set of high-tech manacles that appeared to be made of the same material of the panels she was bound to. I bet those things were made with Greenie in mind! And if they work the same way as the panels do, they were made to drain gamma!

Deciding that arranging a close encounter between X-Ray and one of the manacles was her best bet at shutting him down, Misato continued to twist her wrists about. As she worked to tear the tape, the discord between their captors continued to worsen. "Of course we don't want a Third Impact! What does that have to do with the kid or Misato?!"

"You know, it's amazing. Sometimes I feel like I can actually hear your brain grinding to a halt, brother!" Vapor sneered while pointing an accusatory finger in his face. "Shinji is the 3rd Child of NERV! An Eva pilot! And what is it that Eva pilots do?! They fight Angels!"

"How refreshing to meet a woman of both beauty and intelligence," Samson declared in a depreciating manner. "And seeing as the Angels threaten to destroy the planet – which we kind of need to live on, I might add – I would think that you would understand the importance of not weakening NERV's ability to fight when the next one shows up."

"Yeah, but – they have pilots other than Ikari's kid, right?!" X-Ray countered. "How bad could losing one of them be?"

"Losing one pilot might not be that bad. But losing their best pilot would certainly be a problem," Samson informed them. "Trust me, I've seen the reports of the other Children. Rei's synch ability is the worst out of all of them, and Asuka is so arrogant in her abilities that she's more of a detriment to their operations."

"Hmph! Reminds of me of someone else I know!" Vector growled irritably.

"Hey!" X-Ray squawked in outrage.

There! That's one of them! Misato thought, doing her best not to smile or draw attention as she managed to tear free of one of her bindings. Now for the other one!

As Misato worked to free her other arm, X-Ray countered, "Yeah, but they have more than just the Evangelions! There's also that Spirit girl!"

"Perhaps, but she's been proven ineffectual against some of the Angels," Samson coolly countered. "And since we're on the subject of superhumans, She-Hulk has also been crucial in defeating some of the Angels. Unfortunately, NERV won't be able to depend upon her if she's your prisoner."

That's it! Just keep them busy for a few seconds longer, Samson! Misato thought as she freed her other arm. Moving as quietly and quickly as she could, she got to her feet and made her way towards the nearby table with the massive manacles.

"Ugh, that's right!" Vapor groaned in frustration. "Why didn't we think of that?!"

"Sis, why do you keep siding with this jerk?!" X-Ray demanding.

"Because, unlike some people I know, Samson actually knows what he's talking about!" Vapor shot back.

"He certainly knows how to play you like a fiddle!" Vector countered with a sneer.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?!" Vapor snapped.

Oof! This thing sure is heavy! Misato thought as she managed to lift a manacle that would have fit around her thigh with room to spare. Good thing I've been exercising or I'm not sure I'd have even gotten it up off the table!

Trying to move quickly without making a sound and hoping like crazy that Samson could buy her a few more precious seconds, Misato closed in on her bickering captors. Always making certain to keep to X-Ray's back. "You know exactly what I mean!" Vector roared in outrage. "I – this what I've been afraid of this entire time! That you'd – all it takes is a little sweet talk and -!"

"Simon, what are you -?!" Vapor started.;

"Oh, please! Don't act like you can't see it!" X-Ray sneered. "All that buttering up you've been getting from this nerd! It's so -!"

"Hey! What's going on down there?!" came a deep voice from behind. And Misato's heart promptly sank.

Crap! Mike! Misato realized, not even bothering to look back and see Ironclad approaching. Have to move now!

Without hesitation, Misato flung herself forward, holding the manacle up high. Just as Ironclad demanded, "I swear, I feel like a babysitter that's not getting paid, and – Jimmy, behind you!"

"Huh?!" X-Ray squawked, already turning about. And was just in time for Misato to bring the massive manacle down squarely upon his head.

She felt like she had just slammed two chunks of uranium together. An impression that wasn't diminished by the explosion of chaotic lightning and piercing shriek that accompanied it. And topped off by Misato feeling like she was inside of a microwave and had been eating coconut and metal.

"Misato?!" Vapor cried out.

"X-Ray! You damned fool!" Vector sneered as he shielded his eyes.

"Don't worry, you damned punk! I've got this!" Ironclad roared. Right before Misato felt something huge slamming into her.

And as she felt two massive arms wrapping around her slender frame, felt a distant impact of some kind, Misato became aware of a primal force already clawing its way to the surface. And she managed a feral grin before thinking, Big mistake, asshole. Now it's her turn!


"Misato, look out!" Shinji shouted. Barely able to see or hear his own voice over everything that was happening. He felt like he was trapped in a nuclear bomb that was mere seconds away from exploding in his face.

And as Ironclad rushed in and grabbed Misato, falling down on his side in the process, Shinji realized what was about to happen. Because the equivalent of two chunks of uranium had just been slammed together. And there was no stopping the reaction as the situation hit critical mass.

For even as Ironclad was making his way back to his feet, Shinji could see Misato squirming about in his massive metallic arms. Just like he could see the grin splitting her face and the burning fire of emerald fury in her eyes.

"Alright, Misato!" Ironclad growled as Misato began to convulse, green spilling through her veins. "We might need you alive, but that doesn't mean I can't break a few – aw, crap!"

"Grrraaarrrghh!" Misato roared as her transformation began in earnest. Vector and Vapor were frozen, looking as if they didn't know whether to deal with her or continue helping X-Ray. Ironclad's face had sagged with dismay as his captive began to grow. Samson, he had already distanced himself from their captors and was presently taking cover.

As for Shinji…all he could do was sit there and watch with an air of fascination as She-Hulk began to explode out of Misato's slender frame. For every time he saw this transformation, he became more and more enthralled by it. The sounds of bones cracking and reshaping themselves, the sight of muscle pulsating and swelling even as skin shifted from human flesh to a potent green. All the while Misato's face conveyed a woman tumbling down the evolutionary ladder and rejoicing in the plunge. And the potent, powerful noises of something ancient, powerful, primordial. Something that had walked the Earth when dinosaurs still roamed it.

It was awful, terrifying. And in a way, Shinji felt shame in enjoying something that was essentially a curse and a burden for the only person to have ever cared for him.

Another part of him couldn't get enough of it.

"Let go She-Hulk!" the green beast snarled upon being fully released. "Let go right now!"

"Wha-?! Aw -!" Ironclad cried out even as She-Hulk took hold of his arms and wrenched him off of her. Right before she hefted him up over her shoulders and flung him through a nearby wall.

"Stop it! Don't!" Vapor cried out, but it was already too late as a massive gash was torn in the side of the craft by Ironclad's exit. The gaseous woman visibly cringed for a moment before looking about in surprise. "Wha-?! How come we're not getting sucked out?!"

"Ugh…you watch too many movies, sis…" X-Ray groaned. As Shinji looked and saw the radiant man slowly recovering, X-Ray went on to say, "We're flying at a low altitude. There's not enough of a difference between the air pressure in here and out there for that to happen!"

"And now that you've demonstrated that you actually can think, you and your sister stop Misato!" Vector ordered as he darted away. "We need to set down immediately! Before she rips this craft apart and we go down the hard way!"

"Right! Jimmy! Get moving!" Vapor ordered as she began spreading the fumes of her form everywhere. "I'll keep her distracted! You force her to change back!"

"Hey, no problem!" X-Ray replied as he also took to the air. "Though I have to admit, watching her change was smokin' hot!"

As Vapor was grumbling beneath her breath, She-Hulk was rushing towards the panels that she had been imprisoned upon while still Misato. Not sure what she had in mind, Shinji watched helplessly as she ripped the paneling off the wall. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" X-Ray demanded as he loosed twin blasts of radiation at her. "You're not -!"

With a savage roar, She-Hulk turned and leaped at X-Ray, keeping the panels between the two of them. With a cry of dismay, the radioactive man continued to blast at her while the panels absorbed the radiation without penalty. And continued to do so as She-Hulk fell upon him, forcibly wrapping the absorbent material about her foe's form. Causing him to scream in pain as the substance reacted negatively with his own radiant body.

"Jimmy!" Vapor screamed in horror. Horror that quickly turned to outrage as the woman of mist swirled about She-Hulk. "Alright, Misato! Let's see how well you handle some cyanide gas!"

She-Hulk sneered ferally before swinging her arms out to her sides, then smashing them together again. Shinji cried out as a dynamo rang in his ears, but Vapor was even more harshly impacted. The shockwave from the emerald Amazon's clap instantly dissipated her gaseous form, blasting much of it outside of the hole which Ironclad had been forced off of the aircraft.

To Shinji's dismay, however, the sound of glass shattering and metal groaning made it clear that the shockwave clap hadn't done the ship's structural integrity any favors.

"Arrgh! Stop it!" Vector cried out from up in front.

As She-Hulk snarled contemptuously and stomped towards the source of the voice, Samson appeared at Shinji's side. "Whew! I was told that She-Hulk was something to see, but Dr. Akagi didn't do it justice!"

"Uh, right," Shinji replied uncertainly even as Samson removed his bonds. "Um, what do we do?! If we go down -!"

"I recommend taking cover," Samson declared as he helped Shinji back up to his feet. "And staying the heck out of everyone's way!"

Unable to argue with this logic, Shinji allowed himself to be led to the laboratory area. Where he and Samson ducked out of sight and hoped like crazy that Vector could make this a landing that they could walk away from.


I'm starting to think I might actually be able to walk away from this! Maya thought incredulously as she entered her destination. Pausing just long enough to close the door behind her before proceeding. I can hardly believe it, but – here I am! Central Dogma's main storage vault!

Still on pins and needles, feeling her heart pounding furiously in her chest, Maya couldn't help but think of all of the close calls she had suffered on the way here. All of the NERV personnel she had bumped into, all of the security checkpoints she had managed to dodge. Close call after close call, and with each one she very nearly turned and fled back the way she had come. With only the pictures of the death she had already caused, death that she would be doomed to cause again and again, driving her to continue forward.

Alright, I'm here. But I can't stay long, Maya reminded herself even as she began scanning the various objects kept in there. Things that were considered too sensitive or dangerous to stored anywhere else, a place where only someone as familiar as the brunette was with NERV's security protocols to hope to get inside without tripping an alarm. I need to find the generator and use it to access the nanites inside of me. Find out what's wrong with them, correct the problem, and then get out of here as soon as possible.

As Maya looked this way and that, studying the various objects and artifacts and even Angelic remains that NERV kept there, she was aware that she was still in terrible danger. That even though everyone on base was likely distracted with the present crisis, it was only a matter of time before someone came to investigate the vault, make certain that it was secure and nothing dangerous had been taken from NERV. That was standard protocol, and it meant Maya's time there had a limit that she could hit without warning.

"All the more reason to move," Maya said aloud, if only for the sake of hearing a voice. "Now, where – ah!"

There it was. The transformed generator, still in the form of a massive gauntlet that was far too large for Maya now. Sitting pretty on a nearby table with several warning signs making it clear that no one was to even look at it cross-eyed without proper authorization. Something that caused the petite woman to suffer a pang of fear and guilt about what she was doing, things that she needed a moment to shove away before proceeding to work.

"Alright. First things first; I need to hook up the computer to the generator so I can interface with the nanites," Maya declared even as she brought forth a small laptop that she had pilfered on the way to the vault. "Then…I need to connect to the generator and…hope that it can still access the nanites inside of me. It's my only chance of finding out what's wrong with them."

Trying very hard to avoid thinking about the unholy host of things that could go wrong with this and stay focused on what she had to do, Maya went to work. She was caught between the need to get this done as quickly as possible and her fear and hesitation regarding what she was about to do. As a result, she neither hurried nor dawdled, but diligently checked every aspect of her makeshift plan every step of the way.

Still, it wasn't long before Maya had finished connecting the computer to the gauntlet and had everything in place to attempt to tame the nanites inside of her. I'm just glad that sempai managed to establish a programming connection that I can use. Otherwise, this would have taken a lot longer, she thought as she studied the data displayed on her laptop. Now I just have to hope that it syncs with the nanites inside of me just as easily.

And with this thought, Maya heaved a heavy sigh, shuddering a bit as she studied the generator. Because she only knew of one realistic means of establishing a connection between the nanites in it and those within her; she had to once again put her arm inside of it. And hope that the nanites would start talking to each other again.

But if I do that, then…! Maya cringed, recalling the instant of her original transformation. The agony of the initial infestation, followed by her body being remade into a more suitable host for the 11th Angel. A mindless, shambling parasite that only knew how to drain the life from her victims and rend them limb from limb.

Once again cowed by these horrible images, Maya backed a few steps away from the generator. But even as she once again considered fleeing this place, another horrible image popped into her mind. The ghoulish corpse that had once been a living person. The person she – the Angel within her – had killed in order to sustain itself. And as she did so, she knew it was only a matter of time before it happened again.

Just as she knew that she only had two potential means of preventing that from happening. Either she took control of her life…or she ended it.

And as this reality sank in once more, Maya gulped loudly and once more approached the generator. "I just want to live…" she moaned miserably before resigning herself to her fate. "Please…work…"

Without another word, Maya shoved her right hand into the mutated generator. Afraid that the nanites would fail to connect with each other. Even more afraid that they would.

Seconds crawled past as Maya shifted her arms this way and that within the confines of the generator, not exactly sure what to do. But as the notion that her efforts were all in vain crossed her mind, the Angelically-mutated mechanism suddenly lit up and began humming. And just as Maya was wondering what was happening, a sudden jolt flooded through her veins.

"Guh!" Maya gasped, stumbling forward before bracing herself up with her free hand. "Wh-what -?!"

Before panic could truly set in for Maya, a fresh surge of energy began flowing through her body. In seconds, the cruel lethargy that had been plaguing her was immediately chased away. Staggered by this sudden influx of strength, all she could do was pant heavily, her heart pounding in her ears with relief and exhilaration.

"Omigosh…it's working…!" Maya breathed, unable to keep from smiling as she studied the generator. "The nanites in the generator…must have enough power to…feed the ones inside me! Maybe adapted the…generator to keep them alive, and – huh?"

A slight discomfort amidst her euphoria caught Maya's attention, causing her to frown in confusion. Looking about, she was initially unsure of what the problem was. Until the discomfort became more pronounced, a pinching in her feet.

"What the -?" Maya frowned as she stood up straighter and looked down. Pausing to study her booted feet, she frowned as the sensation got worse, even spreading to the rest of her body.

And as the sound of creaking leather and groaning fabric reached her ears, Maya gasped in horrified realization.

"Oh, no…it's happening again!" Maya cried out in fear as she looked down at her body. And watched as her clothes tightened about her frame, her boots slowly warping around her feet. And realized that she was once again growing into the creature that had ravaged NERV. "I-I've got to stop it! Got to – no!"

Maya immediately tried to pull her arm free of the generator, only to find that it was stuck inside. Gasping in shock, the brunette brought her free hand up to the generator and began pulling with all her might. But no matter how she tugged and pulled, her arm remained a prisoner of the infernal device. All the while her clothes continued to creak and groan, with her pants splitting down the middle.

"No! Stop it!" Maya pleaded even as her transformation progressed, her toes erupting from the front of her boots. "I won't be that – that monster again! I – I – ahhh…!"

Before Maya realized what was happening, the sensation of power intensified and carried something else with it.

Pleasure.

It started slowly, just enough to numb her panic and leave Maya somewhat confused as to what was happening. But then it grew, spreading through her entire body, her heart pounding faster as she gasped lightly. "Wha…what's happening…?" she managed to get out even as her legs sagged beneath her. Collapsing to the floor, she dragged the heavy generator down with her. Completely oblivious to the crashing sound this made, Maya managed to catch herself with her free hand. But as more and more waves of ecstasy came crashing down upon her, she flipped herself onto her back. Arching her chest higher into the air as her breasts swelled beneath her uniform, Maya could no longer focus on what was happening to her body. All she could was ride the waves of pleasure. "Whooooa..."

Incapable of rational thought as her body was bombarded with pleasure, Maya could only writhe in delight as she continued to change. The cuffs of her pants rode up her legs even as her boots broke apart at the seams, leather creaking in protest. The sleeves of her uniform tightened about her arms even as she involuntarily flexed her biceps, causing huge bulges of muscle to erupt from the cloth. Her shoulders burst through the seams of her uniform even as her zipper burst apart, allowing increasingly massive breasts to break free of their confines. All the while Maya panted, her heart pounding as the ecstasy built up to the breaking point.

"Yes…hmmmmmm! Yes!" Maya gasped as her top burst further apart, rendering it but rags that barely protected her modesty. "Omigod…ahhhh!" she moaned as her thighs burst her pants legs apart at the seams. "Oh…my…gaaawd!"

The transformation hit its peak, causing sheer euphoria exploding through Maya's entire body. Leaving her unable to do anything but lie on the ground for a while, bathing in the warm afterglow as she panted and moaned.

It took a few minutes for Maya's mind to recover from her experience. At least enough for her to recall that, no, she really shouldn't be in this vault. And that, yes, she still had to worry about someone showing up and finding her. So while she was still delirious from what she had experienced, she managed to force herself up into a seated position, then stood up and took in what she had become. And was nothing short of awestruck.

Holy…I'm huge! I mean not She-Hulk huge, but still…I have to be seven feet tall at least! Maya gasped inwardly as she looked herself over. And this body…wow…!

While not as heavily muscled as She-Hulk, Maya was still extremely fit, like a very tall female bodybuilder. "And this figure…!" she gushed, pausing to fondle her now-ample assets, feeling their firm resilience. "I could go into modeling with a body like -!"

It was then that Maya was hit with a realization that left her staggered. "But – hold on! The Angel, it -!" she gasped, holding up her right arm and the transformed generator that now functioned as a high-tech gauntlet. And as she once again took stock of her situation, she gasped in purest relief. "I – I'm still me! The Angel, it – it isn't taking over!"

Flexing the metal right hand of her gauntlet, Maya then moved about in various ways. Stretching, flexing, moving this way and that. And encountered no problems, no sign of resistance. Nothing to indicate that the Angel within her was trying to take over. "Whatever was wrong with the nanites inside of me…connecting with the other nanites must've fixed it!" Maya declared, heaving a deep sigh of relief. "So all I have to do is take this thing off, and…uh, and…!"

But as Maya again tried to remove the generator, she found it akin to be trying to rip off her actual arm. No matter how she tugged and pulled at it, the mutated device simply refused to be separated from her flesh and blood.

"But – I have to get this thing off!" Maya cried out in renewed fear. "They'll notice that it's missing when they inventory this place, and – oh, no! My body! My clothes!"

Pausing to once again glance down at her powerful frame, as well as the tattered remains of her NERV uniform. "There's no way I'll be able to sneak out like this without somebody noticing it!" Maya cried out in dismay. "And if people see me like this, then – what do I do now?!"

Once again, Maya suffered the urge to panic, but she was able to squelch it more readily this time. "No. I – I haven't gotten this far just for everything to fall apart now!" she declared as she started pacing about. "Alright, so – how do I do this? I need to get out of here, but I need to be sure that people don't realize that it's me! So…wait a minute!"

It was then that Maya was hit by an idea. The whole reason she had been called to NERV in the first place was because of a meta-level breach. Meaning that there had to have been at least one metahuman attacking the Geofront.

But had NERV been able to identify all of the attacking metahumans? Would they be able to tell that, if one of them started trying to break out, that it hadn't been one of the ones that had been seen breaking in?

"So maybe if I could – disguise myself, somehow – maybe they'll think that I'm one of the attackers trying to break out! And then all I'd have to do is get out of here without anyone following me!" Maya declared. Only to groan heavily and place her hand to her forehead. "Sure, like that will be easy…!" Pausing to consider her situation, she then sighed and admitted, "Still, I made it this far. And…it's not like I have any other choice."

First thing was first. Maya quickly gathered up the ruined remains of her uniform, then went to work wiping down anywhere she might have left fingerprints. Then she started planning out her next move. "Okay. There's a storage room with containers near here. I could grab one and make it look like I took the generator. But I'll still need to disguise this arm," the Amazonian brunette mused. "Heck, I need to disguise my entire body! I just look like a bigger, supermodel version of me! That won't fool anybody!"

Pausing to shake her head, Maya grumbled, "It's too bad I can't just…make myself look like someone else!" Then her eyes popped wide open and she added, "Or…can I?"

With this, Maya looked down at her hands, particularly the metal one. "Sempai – she said that the Angel allowed me to absorb things like metal and Misato's gamma radiation! So maybe I could absorb some metal, so I wouldn't look human! Then a mask, maybe wrap something around my arms so that people can't see the generator…!"

Maya nodded, deciding that this might work. Assuming that I get spotted. Which I'd much rather avoid if all possible, she added inwardly. Now…let's see if I can make this absorbing thing work…

Without hesitation made her way over to a nearby wall and placed her hands upon it. Without any ideas how to make her absorption abilities work, she started concentrating on the metal plating of the wall. Imagining its strength and durability flowing into her veins.

To Maya's considerable surprise, it worked.

"Whoa…!" Maya gasped as her body shifted and changed, taking on the properties of the metal. "Well…I certainly don't look human! And maybe I can find some more stuff to disguise myself with. Just in case." Deciding that this was the best she was going to be able to manage, at least for the moment, she then focused on the door. "Well, if I'm going to be a supervillain, I might as well make a supervillain exit. And that means -! Oh, wait! If I was breaking in here, then I would have ripped the door off from the outside, and then gone back out that way! So I better do that instead!"

Shaking her head at this, Maya sighed and exited the vault the way normal people did. "I sure hope I can pull this off. I'm just not mean and nasty enough to make for an actual supervillain…"


"Perhaps not yet, Captain Ibuki," oozed a voice in a location not too distant from where Maya was. "But once we've cleared the path for you, given you both the chance and incentive to master your powers…I have no doubt that you will make a fine 'supervillain', as you so put it." Then the figure sat back and chuckled to himself. "And an excellent tool in our future plans…"


"Ouch…" Shinji groaned feebly as he massaged his head. "Uh…Dr. Samson? Are you alright?"

"Hmmm…well, I'd hate to think of 'being in pain' as qualifying as 'alright'," Samson muttered as he pushed himself up to his feet. "But…it's a lot better than the alternative…"

Unable to argue with this, Shinji heaved a deep breath and took in their situation. Both he and Samson had clearly seen better days; they were both covered with dust and debris, and Samson's suit and tie had been ripped and torn when the ship they were had made a rough landing that felt more like a crash than anything else.

As he looked this way and that, Shinji asked, "Have you seen Misato? Or that orange man…what was he -?"

"Vector. Or Simon. Whichever," Samson reminded Shinji. "To be honest, with all of the screaming, snarling, smashing, and our less than stellar landing, I wasn't able to tell what happened to either of them. I was more focused on keeping us both alive."

Deciding that this made sense, Shinji rose up with Samson's help. Then he glanced about at their surroundings and took in the various computers. "Wow…looks like everything's still on," he noted with some surprise. "This thing must be pretty tough."

"Maybe, but I doubt it's still airworthy," Samson noted with some grim humor. "And – oh, dear. Shinji, I think I need your help here."

Noting Samson's concern but also hearing no real fear in his voice, the 3rd Child immediately realized what was happening. And sure enough, when Shinji turned and looked up, he saw She-Hulk approaching with a look of concern on her face.

And…no clothes. Again, Shinji thought as he fought down a blush. Maybe Ritsuko could come up with something that won't get ripped apart so easily…

"Shinji-kun not hurt?" She-Hulk asked in her simple manner as she studied both him and Samson.

"We're fine, Misato," Shinji assured her with a broad smile. Then he glanced back at their other companion and decided to square away a potential problem. "Oh, and – you remember Dr. Samson, right? He's a friend, and – he helped save me!"

Pausing to study the doctor, She-Hulk nodded and smiled. "Thank you…help Shinji-kun," she beamed before wrapping her massive arms around the boy's frame and lifting him up into her massive cleavage. "Shinji-kun safe…She-Hulk glad…"

Surrendering himself to the emerald Amazon's mighty embrace and warm touch, Shinji returned the hug as best as he could. Once again reassured that he was safe, that someone truly loved and cared about him.

"Aw, man!" came an annoyed, whiny voice. The moment ruined, Shinji frowned as he looked to see X-Ray glowering at him. "Some guys get all the luck!"

She-Hulk growled angrily and took a step forward. But then Samson held his hands up to her in a placating manner. "Don't worry about him, Misato. Remember, he's helpless while he's stuck in that plating," he reminded her. "But what Vector? What happened to him?"

Snorting, She-Hulk pointed towards the front of the craft. "Smashed him out."

"Ooh…that couldn't have felt good," Samson decided. "Well, for Vector, at least."

"Well, at least we escaped," Shinji reminded them. "So let's get back to Tokyo-3, and –"

"You…you're not going anywhere…!"

"Huh?!" Shinji squawked as She-Hulk turned towards the source of the voice and growled ominously. And it wasn't long before he saw why; Vapor and Ironclad had returned.

"There's no way…we're letting you escape!" Vapor hissed as she flowed into the badly damaged aircraft. "We've never been this close…to finding a way of…becoming human again! And we're not letting that go! Not now!"

"I don't really care about being human! But nobody punches me through a wall and gets away with it!" Ironclad snarled as he drove a fist into his other hand.

Growling lowly in her throat, She-Hulk turned and set Shinji down behind her. "Shinji-kun. Samson. Stay safe," she rumbled as she turned to face their foes once again. "Now…go away or get smashed!"

"That sounds like a challenge, Misato!" Ironclad declared as he started forward. "And I gladly accept it!"

"You come at her from the front!" Vapor instructed her teammate as she flew forward. "I'll circle around and -!"

She-Hulk's eyes glowed brightly before she roared, sending a wave of gamma destruction out towards their attackers. The Impact Roar decimated Vapor, blowing her way once more, while it left Ironclad off-balanced. This was a situation that the raging green beast was quick to take advantage of as she charged in and drove her fist into his face. And so both muscle-bound behemoths went flying out of the craft, the fight well and truly joined.

"This is bad, Shinji," Samson morosely intoned.

"Huh?" Shinji frowned, partly watching the battle that was going on outside. "What do you mean? Now that Misato's become She-Hulk, everything's going to be okay! I know that she'll win!"

"Maybe, but that's not what I meant," Samson replied. "Remember, she's up against three opponents, all of them formidable in their own right. Four, if one of them thinks of freeing X-Ray."

"Which is something I wish they had thought of…" X-Ray grumbled sourly.

"So the longer this fight goes on, the better the chance of something going wrong. Either they get lucky, or we wind up hostages again," Samson went on. "We need to end this fight, and as quickly as possible."

Blinking a few times, Shinji found himself unable to refute Samson's logic. "But…what can we do?" he then asked. "We can't help her fight Vapor or the others!"

"I know that. But that's not what I had in mind," Samson stated as he studied the tatter lab. "C'mon, Shinji. We've got work to do."


She-Hulk's mind was driven by primitive savage fury, all the while being nudged by Misato's own rational thoughts. And this combination led to half a ton of gamma-power muscle lashing out savagely at a man made of living metal. With every punch they threw shaking the air and cracking the blighted desert ground that had been the site of their forced landing.

"Argh…get…off…of…me!" Ironclad cried out between punches dealt to him. Punches he responded to by driving one of his feet into She-Hulk's abdomen with enough force to launch her into the air and up over his head.

Growling her displeasure at both the blow and the unceremonious landing that resulted of it, She-Hulk landed a short distance away before quickly recovering. Coming to stand on her feet again, she glanced this way and that, searching for any signs of Ironclad.

Only to be dumbfounded when something fell on top of her. Something large and heavy.

"Surprise, Misato!" came Ironclad's voice in She-Hulk's ear. "Bet you weren't expecting me to drop in like that, huh?!"

"Graargghh!" She-Hulk snarled, reaching up to grab her foe and wrench him off of her person. But to her surprise, she wasn't able to lift him up. Not only was he holding her tightly, but he seemed to be getting heavier as well.

Then don't try and lift him up, stupid! came Misato's voice in She-Hulk's mind. Use his weight against him!

Through a mix of this advice and savage instinct, She-Hulk snarled and jumped backward. With Ironclad still clinging to her back, he landed with a thunderous crash. "Gah! What the -?!"

Surprised by this turnabout, Ironclad allowed his grip to slacken just enough for his emerald adversary to slip free and take the initiative. Quickly shifting so as to drive her elbow into the burly behemoth's belly, She-Hulk then got up to her feet and jumped up to piledrive both of her fists into him. But Ironclad dodged and rolled out of the way with surprising ease before jumping away. Growling her frustration, She-Hulk gathered her powerful legs beneath her before launching herself after him.

Only to grunt in surprise when Ironclad floated and dodged in mid-air. Leaving her to soar harmlessly in the wrong direction before coming to a graceless landing. "Ha! Surprised ya, didn't I, Misato?" he crowed as She-Hulk pulled her face out of the hole her impact had left. "I didn't just get turned in a pile of dumb metal muscle, you know! I can also manipulate my mass and density! In other words, I can literally float like a butterfly!"

Growling furiously at this, She-Hulk glared pure hatred at her floating foe. But even as she tensed herself to make another leap, a bolt of energy rammed into her from behind. Crying out in guttural surprise, more confused than anything else, the jade destroyer was launched several meters before again crashing to the ground.

"We're not letting you escape, Misato! You're our key to freedom! And we're not letting that go! Not when we're so close!" Vector declared, having returned to the battle. "Ironclad! Secure and hold her!"

"Not a problem! Here's the part where I sting like a swarm of bees!" Ironclad declared, grinning as he suddenly began to plummet towards She-Hulk.

Realizing her peril, She-Hulk quickly forced herself back up to her feet. And with Ironclad shooting in to tackle her, he was too close to be punched away. But once more, Misato's combat training served the gamma-spawned beast woman well. Acting on instinct and muscle memory, She-Hulk quickly snatched hold of one of Ironclad's arms, did a quick pivot on her heel that increased his momentum, and then launched him towards Vector.

"Arrghh!" Ironclad cried out as he shot towards his unintended target. "Vector, look out!"

"But I – ahhh!" Vector replied, and reacted to the approach of a massive projectile in a purely instinctive manner. He used his power to repel anything to blast Ironclad away with all the force he could muster. And he aimed his ally directly at She-Hulk, hoping to kill two birds with one stone.

She-Hulk snarled and also acted on instinct, already charging towards her enemies. And when she saw Ironclad shooting towards her once more, she reacted to this threat by adjusting her direction a bit and extending her right arm. And was just in time to catch Ironclad by the neck in an impressive clothesline.

"No! I – I didn't mean -!" Vector cried out as Ironclad was sent spinning out of control and plummeting to the ground, face first. But then his attention was drawn to the green behemoth that was charging towards him, as was his ire. "Dammit, Misato! You're not leaving me any choice!"

And with this enraged announcement, Vector aimed both hands at She-Hulk and unleashed his full power on the green beast.

Twin bolts of pure force slammed into She-Hulk, threatening to knock her off her feet and send her flying away. But before that could happen, she was able to grab hold of the ground. Her fingers digging furrows into the earth, she was sent back a distance before digging in with her feet as well.

"Dammit, Misato! Just give it up, already!" Vector howled as he continued to bombard his emerald adversary. "I don't know what happens to your mind when you transform, but you have to realize it's no use!"

Grabbing another handhold, She-Hulk looked up from the ground. Looked straight towards vector, her eyes burning with baleful green energy. And in spite of the kinetic blasts he was bombarding her with, she took a step closer to him. And then another.

"I'm serious, Misato!" Vector roared as he intensified the force of his blast. "I can use my power to repel anything! I've shattered entire cities, blasted them to dust, and all by just willing it! You don't stand a chance against me!"

She-Hulk growled in response. A growl that betrayed some discomfort, but mostly outrage as she continued to close the gap between them.

"Give it up already!" Vector ordered as he redoubled his efforts. "I don't want to do this! We need you alive, remember?"

The jade she-beast continued to press forward. Snarling as sections of skin were worn down and torn off of her, as her blood was sent streaking through the sky.

"I'm serious! You won't survive this!" Vector howled even as he pushed against her with every scrap of power at his command. "It's only a matter of time before I rip the flesh from your bones! You'll die, Misato! You'll be ripped apart and blasted to…to…!"

It was at that moment that Vector realized that he was punishing She-Hulk with every last drop of power he could summon, and she was still coming. She was suffering, hurting from his assault, but she was still coming. Her emerald irises glaring pure hatred at him. Only a few feet from where he stood.

"Oh…god…" Vector breathed. All he had time to do before a large, green hand snaked past his blasts and grabbed him by the leg.

Without warning, Vector was hauled up into the air. The sudden pain of his leg almost being yanked out of its socket breaking his concentration and ending his blasts of telekinetic force. Pain that was dwarfed when She-Hulk smashed him down upon the ground, only to whip him back up into the air and smash him down again and again. Then she growled and hauled Vector up to glare wrathfully at him, all the while he could do nothing but whimper in fear and gasp in pain. Right before she decided to smash him down once more before tossing him away to smash one more crater in the earthen landscape.

And as Vector lay there, agony unlike any he had felt before leaving himself unable to do anything other than moan feebly, She-Hulk roared in triumph.


"Oh, you have got to be kidding me…" Vapor murmured in horrified awe as she took in the scene before her.

Vector had been utterly and completely trounced by She-Hulk, and now lay defeated in one of several craters he had been used to create. And while it was clear that Misato had taken serious damage from him, patches of her skin, hair, and even some muscle missing, those wounds were fading rapidly. And in mere moments, were gone completely, leaving the bestial woman looking hale and whole and ready for another round of battle.

Even as Vapor processed this reality, along with the fact that she absolutely no idea as to what to do next, a familiar voice was heard. "Simon?!" Looking up, the gaseous woman saw Ironclad standing a distance away. And while his armored skin was damaged, there was no ignoring the outrage on his face as he roared, "Alright, Misato! The gloves are off!"

She-Hulk reacted to this by snarling and turning towards Ironclad, who was already charging towards her. And as he did, Vapor got an idea. "Mike! Keep her busy!" she cried out, already edging towards where she had seen their ship go down. "I'll get Jimmy! If we can't change Misato back, we don't stand a -!"

"That won't be necessary," came a voice from somewhat off to the side.

"Misato, stop it!" came another, much younger voice.

"Huh?" Vapor got out even as she looked to see Samson and Shinji approach the field of battle. Both of them were carrying objects, with the boy hauling something twice as long as he was tall. But even though Vapor couldn't make out the objects in question, now that night had shrouded the lands, she could definitely see Shinji making his way over to She-Hulk. Completely without fear as he placed a hand on her hip, the conflict grinding to a halt as every combatant looked on in confusion.

"Its okay, Misato," Shinji assured her, the green beast looking intently at him. "It's over. You don't have to fight them. You've already won."

Befuddled by this statement, Vapor could only stand there and watch as Ironclad grunted in annoyance. "Hey, what are you talking about?! I'm not done with -!"

"Yes, you are done. And if you had any sense, you'd realize that it was in the best interests of everyone – including yourselves – to end this battle and just walk away," Samson declared as he approached Vapor. Holding up a specimen container with a determined look. "Here. Take it."

Frowning at this, frustrated by the reality that Samson had kept her and the others distracted while Misato had freed herself, Vapor eyed the container. "What is it?"

"It's the container with all of the vials of blood you took from Misato," Samson stated firmly as he placed the container on the ground before Vapor. "I assume that it's designed to keep them cold and preserved. So go on. Take it. Take it and go to that…hidden lab that you and Vector told us about. I presume that you have everything you need there in order to analyze these samples, as well as the data you stole from NERV."

Pausing to glance down at a container that she couldn't remain solid long enough to carry, Vapor frowned. "What's the deal, Samson? What are you up to?"

"What am I up to? Well, isn't it obvious?" Samson wondered with a knowing look. "I want myself, Shinji, and Misato to go free. And the best way of making that happen is for us to stop fighting this futile battle. Immediately."

"Futile?!" Ironclad repeated with incredulous rage. "What's that supposed to mean?! We're not beat yet! And -!"

"Mike, be quiet," Vapor ordered before again focusing on Samson. While it was clear that he had manipulated them earlier, she realized that he was smart. And so he wasn't going to pull a stunt like this unless he could back it up somehow. "What are you talking about?"

"Several things. First and foremost, your airship – or whatever it is – is damaged too badly to fly again. Meaning that you have no real way of transporting Misato to this lab of yours in an efficient manner. Even assuming you and the others could subdue her." Then Samson glanced over at the battlefield and added, "And that's looking highly unlikely at the moment."

"Hey, I can take her!" Ironclad bellowed. "Just you -!"

"Mike, not now!" Vapor shouted with greater intensity.

"Which brings me to my next point. Namely, NERV," Samson continued, not letting anyone else break in. "You kidnapped us and stole vital secrets from NERV. You have to realize that they'll do whatever they can to recover us, or at the very least, retrieve Misato. And while I assume that your ship had shielding that prevented them from tracking radioactivity, we're all outside of it. And now that she's in her She-Hulk form and clear of the ship's shielding, NERV will have no trouble tracking our position. Her gamma signature is like a flare gun; it's impossible for them to miss."

Vapor realized that Samson had a valid point. That's how SEELE tracked us down all those years ago, she thought with a bitter scowl. And even though they found ways of masking our signatures, the reports we saw make it clear that NERV either hasn't bothered with Misato, or her gamma levels are too high to hide.

"And NERV has considerable resources to bring to bear. Even if they don't mobilize the Evangelions, they could send the JSSDF. You would have an entire army to contend with, in addition to Misato," Samson went on. "I don't know about you, but I sure wouldn't like those odds."

Vapor wouldn't admit it, but she didn't care for those odds, either. "But – we need her!" she groaned, painfully aware of how pitiful she sounded. "We've waited so long for a cure! And she -!"

"You don't need Misato. All you really need is…those blood samples, and the NERV files. Which you already have," Samson stated firmly. "So I would say that it's in everybody's best interests if you were to…cut your losses and run. While you still have time."

"But – but we don't -!" Ironclad cried out.

"Mike, just shut up."

It wasn't Vapor who said these words. And after a second of searching for the source, she saw Vector staggering towards them with a heavy scowl. "Alright, Samson…you've made excellent points on all fronts," the former millionaire grumbled sourly. "But that begs the question; if you're so confident that we've already been beaten, why are you so willing to hand over Misato's blood and leave us to go on our way?"

"Oh, I have several reasons," Samson smirked in a knowing manner. "First and foremost, while I am confident that Misato can handle you and all the rest of it…well, as you may have noticed, Shinji and I are a lot squishier than she is. Which leads me to think that ending this fight is the best way of guaranteeing we get out of this mess in one piece. Next, I believe that having you four go rogue would cause some headaches for SEELE. Which might distract them from causing us headaches. And finally…" Samson then took a deep breath and sighed, "Whether you believe it or not, I do agree that you deserve a chance to regain your lives. And as long as it doesn't hurt us, I see no reason to not let you go with what you need to do so."

As Vapor frowned uncertainly at this, Vector chuckled. "Well, I might not believe that last part, but…self-interest and self-preservation? I consider those both very valid and logical reasons for your actions," he admitted. "Alright, Samson, you and Misato win. I didn't build a business by failing to learn when to cut my losses. And as you've pointed out, this is the time to do so."

"Wha-?! But Simon -!" Ironclad howled in outrage.

"We have nothing to gain from staying out in the open like this, Mike! Just get to the ship, salvage whatever you can carry, and get moving!" Vector ordered. "We need to be clear of here before the JSSDF arrives!"

"I'll get Jimmy loose," Vapor announced wearily, having had to look after her brother more times than she really cared to think about.

Ironclad opened and closed his mouth several times in rapid succession. But eventually, he threw up his hands in disgust. "Alright, fine!" Then he shot a deadly glare at She-Hulk and added, "But don't think this is over, Misato! One of these days, I'll be back! And next time, I'll show you what I can really do!"

She-Hulk growled lowly at this, but was dissuaded from doing anything by Shinji speaking softly to her. Leaving Vapor to sigh. "I see Misato's transformation doesn't come without its own problems."

"Yeah, I know," Samson agreed. "That's part of the reason I'm at NERV. To help her get past them…if I can."

Deciding this made sense, Vapor then shook her head. "Even so…tell her that she's lucky. To still be able to touch. And that…people want to touch her." Heaving a deep sigh as she thought about the long road that had led to this point, the being that had once been an ordinary woman named Ann Darnell gave Samson a look. "I hope you can help her."

"Hmm. I'm hoping that as well," Samson replied even as Vapor floated away. Hoping against hope that she was finally on the road to a better future.


"And that's pretty much what happened, Rits," Misato said as she sat in Ritsuko's lab, with the faux-blonde scientist poking and prodding her. Doing her all to make sure that there had been no negative consequences of her misadventure. "By the time I changed back, the JSSDF and a Section 2 detail had arrived. They secured what was left of their ship and everything in it, and brought us back to NERV."

"I see," Ritsuko muttered as she continued her work. "And Shinji? Dr. Samson? Where are they now?"

"Last I saw of them, they were being brought in for debriefing regarding everything that happened," Misato informed her friend. "I expect that I'll be next. Once you're done putting more pinholes in me." Then she frowned and asked, "So…how bad is it here? Did Simon and the others – how much damage did they do?"

"We were lucky. At least, for the most part," Ritsuko muttered solemnly. "Section 2 and other essential personnel were knocked out by some kind of anesthetic gas, so no one was killed."

"That was probably Ann," Misato nodded, frowning as she thought back to the past. To the woman Ann Darnell had once been before her transformation and living under SEELE's thrall had turned her into Vapor.

"Based on what you've said, that seems likely," Ritsuko agreed. Then she frowned and shook her head. "Honestly, I wish I could have gotten her and all the rest of them under a microscope! A human being transformed into a creature made of sentient gas?! Or living radiation?! Or metal!? Can you imagine what we could learn?! The potential discoveries?!"

"Given that I'm not a scientist…I'd say no," Misato stated flatly. "So…that's it, huh? They gassed Section 2 and kidnapped me, Shinji, and Samson. Anything else happen while I was being a damsel in distress?"

Several seconds passed before Ritsuko replied, time in which a heavy scowl darkened her face. "I'm afraid that – something did happen," she admitted with a sour expression. "Once we got Section 2 back on their feet and we confirmed that you and the others were safe, we had people go over NERV from top to bottom. See if anything or anyone else was missing."

Now Misato was also frowning. "And since we're even having this conversation, I can safely guess that something or someone was taken?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Ritsuko confirmed with a frown. "Remember the EMP generator? The one that was infested by the 11th Angel and merged with Maya?"

Misato's eyes widened at this. "It's missing?!"

"That's right," Ritsuko confirmed with a dark scowl. "And whatever did was definitely strong. Tore the vault open with bare hands."

Misato frowned at this. "But – that doesn't make any sense! If Mike had stolen the generator, then it would've been on that flying saucer thing that we were on! And I never saw any signs of it!"

"It's possible that it was stored in another section of the ship," Ritsuko pointed out. "You said it yourself; you didn't really search the ship. And after She-Hulk had beaten the U-Foes, it's possible that they –"

"Wait wait wait wait wait! U-Foes?!" Misato repeated perplexedly. "That's what we're calling them?!"

"It's what Makoto is calling them," Ritsuko announced in a tired voice. "He kept going on about how a bunch of supervillains needed a team name, and when he saw that their ship was shaped like a UFO –"

"I get the idea, Rits," Misato groaned, allowing her forehead to fall into the palm of her hand. "Just how many comic books does that guy read, anyway…?"

"I think I'm happier not knowing," Ritsuko admitted. "But as I was saying, that thing was large. They probably had the generator stored somewhere you never saw it. And then made off with it as while you were still…well, out."

Misato frowned at this. "I guess it's…possible," she muttered. "Still…this feels strange…"

"Misato, you turn into an enormous green monster whenever you lose your temper and we were invaded by freaks right out of a comic book. What part of this isn't strange?" Ritsuko wondered. As the purple-haired woman silently conceded her friend's point, the scientist continued. "Still, we might be able to salvage something from this mess."

"Meaning…?" Misato asked.

"The U-Foes ship and the lab in it. Even though they took whatever they could carry, they didn't bother destroying the rest," Ritsuko explained in a more interested tone. "And it turns out that Shinji managed to take something important from it as well."

"Something important?" Misato repeated, only for her eyes to widen in surprise. "Wait…I remember! When I was She-Hulk, Shinji, he…he was carrying something! It looked like…a sci-fi laser gun or something!"

"Looks like you're getting better at remembering things from when you're transformed," Ritsuko with a raised eyebrow. "Well, Chihiro's already been going over it. And according to the files from the ship, what Shinji found is called a Neogenic Recombinator."

"Neogenic – wait! Jimmy – X-Ray – he said something about that!" Misato blurted out.

"If what Chihiro's found is accurate, then this Recombinator is nothing short of the Holy Grail of genetic engineering," Ritsuko breathed excitedly. "We don't know a lot about it yet, or what it can do. But the files we've found are very promising!"

"Great. You get a new toy to play with," Misato muttered disinterestedly. "So…do I get a clean bill of health? I'd like to check on Shinji. See how he's doing."

"Just give me a few more minutes, Misato," Ritsuko instructed the impatient mutant. "I'm still analyzing the blood samples we took from you, among other things."

Groaning despondently, Misato shook her head. "So, Rits…still think 'curing' me is a good idea?"

Now it was Ritsuko who was frowning. "What do you mean?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Misato demanded, a bit annoyed with her best friend. "This isn't the first time we've had trouble show up that we couldn't have handled if not for Greenie. And as long as the Angels keep showing up, there's no way in hell it's going to be the last."

"That might be true. But on the other hand, the only reason we've had to deal with Rhino, Grey Gargoyle, and the U-Foes is because of She-Hulk," Ritsuko calmly countered.

"Maybe, but I don't think we're going to discourage them by hanging a sign on the front of NERV saying, 'Sorry! All out of big green rage monsters!'," Misato evenly countered. "The genie's out of the bottle, Rits! Might as well deal with it."

Sighing at this, Ritsuko countered, "I can see how that would make sense, Misato. But even so –" The a loud electronic chime was heard, causing her to look up towards her equipment. "Saved by the bell. Let me go check your test results."

Rolling her eyes at this, Misato watched as Ritsuko went over to the console. "Look, Rits! I've heard all the arguments for getting rid of Greenie! But none of them change the fact that we are at war! Both with the Angels and SEELE! And -!"

Ritsuko gasped loudly before turning towards Misato. "I – where – what's SEELE?"

Frowning somewhat at both the sharp gasp and the odd way in which Ritsuko responded, Misato hesitated before answering, "Simon mentioned them – it – whatever. Said that they were the ones who sent him and the others. And probably Grey Gargoyle and Rhino." Then she gave her friend a hard look before asking, "Why? Do you know anything about this?"

Ritsuko froze again, and Misato couldn't help but furrow her brows in suspicion. But eventually, the faux-blonde replied, "Just…myths and rumors I heard a long time ago. An urban legend, I guess. Some…Illuminati-like organization that's supposed to have been around since the end of World War II."

"You sure seemed to take notice," Misato pointed out, still giving her friend a look. "I can't remember seeing you jump like that before."

"Well, you…surprised me, I guess," Ritsuko replied with a shrug even as she returned her focus to her equipment. "It's been…so long since I've heard those old stories that I…oh, no…"

Caught between being annoyed by Ritsuko's non-answer and concerned by the way she trailed off, Misato watched as the faux-blonde made her way over to a nearby phone. "Rits?" she asked, only to get no response as the doctor dialed. "Ritsuko, what is it?!"

But Ritsuko didn't respond. All she did was put the receiver to her ear. "Sub-Commander? Yes, I just got the results of the tests," she announced in a stern, even manner. "I'm afraid I have bad news. We need to proceed with the gamma purge of Misato's physiology as soon as possible. Within the next two to three days at the latest."

"What?!" Misato bellowed, taken aback by this. Rising from her seat, she marched over to Ritsuko and grabbed her by the shoulder. "Rits, what are you talking about?!"

But Ritsuko didn't respond at first. She just gave Misato a look before continuing with, "I'll give you the full report later. But for now, we need to have everything in place as soon as possible. Contact the needed personnel and make arrangements. I'll have everything prepared as soon as I can."

Ritsuko then returned the receiver to its holder. Giving Misato the chance to look her best friend in the face, scowl balefully and demand, "Alright, Rits, what the hell was that about?!"

"It's your gamma count, Misato," Ritsuko replied in an even manner. "Whatever it was that X-Ray was doing to suppress your transformation, it caused the amount of gamma radiation in your cells to skyrocket."

Blinking a few times at this, Misato then asked, "So…wait. He made She-Hulk stronger?"

"I'm not sure what the exact consequences will be. But what I do know that this gamma increase will make it harder to purge the radiation from your physiology," Ritsuko tersely explained. "For all we know, it could eventually lead to you not being able to becoming trapped in your She-Hulk state! Like how you said the U-Foes are trapped in theirs!"

With these words, Misato felt her eyes widen in shock. "I – wait!" she gasped, shaking her head as she tried to recover from this blow. "You – you seriously think that – that I could wind up – trapped like that?! Forever?!"

"I don't know! There's still a great deal we don't know about this mutation!" Ritsuko declared with increasing. "But do me a favor, Misato; for once in your goddamned life, stop letting your hatred for the Angels override what few self-preservation instincts you have! Because if you think that I want to see you dead or trapped within a mindless monster forever, then you're seriously mistaken!"

With that, Ritsuko went over to a couple of Section 2 people and ordered them to escort to escort Misato back to her enclosure. But as the purple-haired woman herself, she was distracted by some new, dangerous possibilities.

It never even occurred to me… Misato thought, her eyes falling to the floor. I mean, Spirit changes, I change…it never even occurred to me that…that whatever it is that causes me to change…might ever stop working…

And as she thought back to Simon and Ann, people who had had their lives ruined by the power that they had sought, Misato couldn't help but fear that Ritsuko might be right. That she might wind up like them, but instead of having her intact human mind, would instead be buried beneath a savage beast forever…


Author's Notes: I'm betting that you weren't expecting another chapter this soon. But as it happens, I've been getting some fresh inspiration. Here's hoping that it lasts, because I'm about halfway through the next chapter. In the meantime, please read and review this one. And maybe check out my other stories?

Quathis, yeah, the U-Foes are rather lucky that they got away in more-or-less one piece. Misato is long past being fed up with this BS.

Panther-Strife, I have every intention of having Stan Lee make more cameos. May he never be forgotten. You'll have to wait and see which lady will become a Red She-Hulk, as for the rest of it. I'm up in the air about Shinji learning to become a Sorcerer Supreme, let alone which story that will take place in. Not to mention those other ideas. You'll have to wait and see what happens when Misato gains control. And as for her and Shinji's relationship, Samson will be helping them on that front.

Lexarius, hope this was soon enough. Yes, Samson is a favorite of mine as well. Thought that's partly because I'd say that people in the superhero business need all of the therapists that they can get. But don't be surprised if Samson gets his green on soon.

TheGunmaster, no, not dead. Though there have been plenty of days when I felt halfway there.

Gijinka Renamon, here's hoping that I don't disappoint.

artifactBC, sigh. That's another story that I want to get going again. I need some inspiration on that front. I'll see what I can come up with.

Omake 1

With the still-transforming Misato whirling about to confront the others, her movements hampered by random spasms and more as her body continued to bulge and grow, Vapor sent a surge of gas to draw her attention. The increasingly brutish woman immediately focused on the waves of gas coming at her, keeping her distracted long enough for Ironclad to come at her from behind. Reaching out beneath Misato's shoulders, the metallic behemoth lifted her up off of the ground even as she continued to grow. "Wha-?!" the half-transformed Misato snarled in surprise. "Let go! Let go or get smashed!"

"Cripes, she isn't kidding!" Ironclad cried out even as his growing captive thrashed wildly about in his grasp. "Jimmy, Ann, hurry! She's getting stronger by the second!"

"Right, right! Just like we rehearsed it!" X-Ray assured his companions even as he unleashed twin bolts of radiation at Misato. "This anti-gamma blast should calm her down a bit! At least enough to keep her from going all the way!"

"Good work, little brother!" Vapor smirked even as Misato howled in outrage beneath X-Ray's barrage. "As for you, Misato…time to go night-night!"

Without another word, Vapor poured her substance down Misato's nose and throat. Still occupied by X-Ray's assault, she was unprepared for the massive amounts of sedative gas that were now flooding her lungs.

"Stop! Stop or get…get sm-smashed…!" the partially transformed Misato got out around lungs filled with Vapor. "G-get…s-sm-smashed…mwa-ha-ha!"

Vector frowned, because these were not the noises of a woman about to fall asleep. "Ann, what's going on?!"

"Uh-oh…!" Vapor groaned in dismay.

"Uh-oh, what?!" Vector demanded even as Misato's laughter became more and more uncontrollable. "What's wrong?!"

"I – I think I became the wrong gas!" Vapor confessed with a look of alarm. "This – this isn't sleeping gas! It's laughing gas!"

"Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Misato shrieked in laughter. Her partial transformation propelling the gas out of her lungs and spreading it all over the place.

"Are you kidding me?!" Ironclad demanded, looking on incredulously. "Vapor, how could you…you…heh heh…!"

Not long afterward, Misato and her would-be kidnappers came down with the worst case of the giggles in human history. And thanks to Vapor losing control of her emanations during her own hysterical laughter, it wasn't long before all of NERV joined in.

Omake 2

"Arrgh! Stop it!" Vector cried out from up in front.

As She-Hulk snarled contemptuously and stomped towards the source of the voice, Samson appeared at Shinji's side. "Whew! I was told that She-Hulk was something to see, but Dr. Akagi didn't do it justice!"

"Uh, right," Shinji replied uncertainly even as Samson removed his bonds. "Um, what do we do?! If we go down -!"

"I recommend taking cover," Samson declared as he helped Shinji back up to his feet. "And staying the heck out of everyone's way!"

Unable to argue with this logic, Shinji allowed himself to be led to the laboratory area. Where he and Samson ducked out of sight and hoped like crazy that Vector could make this a landing that they could walk away from.

"Aaaaaand…cut!" came a voice from off to the side. Where Orion was sagging into his director's chair with a look of patent relief. "It's in the can, people! We can call it a day!"

Sighs of relief were issued by everyone on the set. "Thank god!" Ironclad grumbled as he made his way back onto the set. "With this place's track record, I thought for sure we'd be doing retake after retake!"

"So did I!" Orion declared, mopping his brow of the sweat as he gazed up at the ceiling. "All of the blown takes, all of the setbacks, all of it…and to get a scene into the can without a single thing going wrong?! It's a miracle! It's an Australian Christmas bloody miracle!"

"And now we know which fanfic writer has been playing Team Fortress 2!" She-Hulk said in a teasing manner.

"Guilty as charged! Oh, and…by the way…" Orion smirked, glancing past She-Hulk. "I suggest you move quickly unless you want another video of you up on some porn site."

"Huh?!" She-Hulk squawked out in surprise. Right before she turned to see X-Ray holding a smartphone up at her, an inane smirk on his face. "Jimmy!"

"Heh, this is great!" X-Ray chortled nastily even as Vapor floated up behind him. "I bet this gets me a million hits in less than an hour!"

"And here's your first one!" Vapor grumbled, smacking her brother over the head with a lead pipe.

Blinking as Misato thanked Vapor, Orion sighed. "Normally, I'm death on female-on-male abuse as comedy, but right now, I'm too relieved to have gotten through that shoot without any problems. And I am not about to jinx myself…"

Omake 3

"Hey, Maya," Misato greeted her friend, who was in the wardrobe department of Orion's production studio. "How're you doing?"

"Oh, okay, I guess," Maya replied with a shrug as she studied herself in the mirror.

Noting the way Maya said this, Misato frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"Hmm? Well…not really," Maya replied with a shrug. "Although…well, I do have some concerns with becoming the Absorbing Woman in one of his stories."

Making a noise of comprehension, Misato nodded. "Let me guess; you read about what happened to the Absorbing Man in 'The Immortal Hulk'," she guessed. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don't think Orion will do anything like – well, that to you! He generally saves the worst of his viciousness for Asuka!"

"Oh, I wasn't worried about that," Maya assured Misato. "I know he's not mean enough to do – well, that!"

"Then what are you worried about?" Misato asked with a slight frown. "Having to play the part of a villain?"

"Uh, no. I mean, well…actually…" Then Maya turned and gave Misato a broad grin. "I'm actually looking forward to it!"

Now Misato was even more confused. "Wait…what?!"

"I'm serious! In pretty much everything I'm in – anime, mangas, games, fanfictions – I'm the sweet young woman who barely gets any screen time!" Maya complained. "But now, I get to show off a part of me people don't get to see! All of the anger, the frustration, all of it…I finally get to show off a dangerous part of me! And besides -!"

Maya's grin deepened even as her bust began to swell up beneath her uniform. And it wasn't long before the rest of her body followed suit. Her boots burst apart even as her pants split along the seams. Her jacket practically exploded off of her even as she grew to an impressive seven feet tall. "I've been wanting a figure like this my entire life!" Maya declared even as she struck a pose. "Tall, the figure of a supermodel and a bust to match? I'm gonna have some fun with this body!"

Watching as Maya twirled about, her bosom bouncing in the class Gainax style, Misato shook her head. "Well…if you don't mind being a bad guy and aren't worried about Orion shafting you…then what's the problem?!"

"Ugh…well the problem is…this!" Maya replied, gesturing down at the ragged top and tattered pants she now wore.

"You're worried about ruining your clothing?" Misato guessed.

"No! I just – I'd rather be wearing something more flattering than – this!" Maya declared. "I want a costume, Misato! Not just ruined pants and a top!"

"Consider yourself lucky, Maya!" Misato grumbled sourly. "That's a lot more than I end up wearing by the time my fights are wrapped up!"

"I know, I know! Just like I know you enjoy showing off that big, green body of yours!" Maya pointed out with a snide look. "But seriously, I'd like to wear something that'll show off this body! Not a bunch of rags left over from outgrowing my clothes! But at the same time, I don't want something frilly or cute!"

Misato gave a helpless shrug at this. "I don't know what to say, Maya," she admitted. "Maybe you should talk to Ritsuko about this. After all, she's going to get one hell of a costume to show off her figure when the time comes."

Blinking at this, Maya then nodded. "That's true," she admitted…right before licking her chops. "And I'm definitely looking forward to seeing sempai in that…"

Just like I'm sure you're eager to see her out of it as well, Misato added, taking this as her cue to make herself scarce.