Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is the creation of Anno and Gainax. I don't own it, make no claims to it, and am making no profit from this fan fiction. No infringement of copyright is intended. In other words, please don't sue.
Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics or anything associated with it, and I am making no profit from this fan fiction. No infringement of copyright is intended. In other words, please don't sue.
Chapter Three: Plots and Counterplots
True Blue Heroine in Town?
This was the headline that blared forth from the cover of the Tokyo Tattler, a total rag of a tabloid which Ritsuko normally wouldn't touch with a ten-foot-pole…but when she'd happened to see a drawing of herself in the armor on the cover as she was passing by a newsstand, well, she'd decided to make an exception.
Apparently, the man she'd saved from the yakuza thugs the other day had decided to tell (and possibly sell) his story, giving a fairly accurate account of what had happened. Fortunately, he'd neglected to mention that she had literally fallen into the whole situation.
(Are we…famous?) The scarab spoke up as she skimmed through the article.
I guess we sort of are, Ritsuko replied.
(Is that good?) It asked.
I'm honestly not sure, she answered.
It fell silent after that, seemingly satisfied for the moment, and Ritsuko resumed reading the article. However, after the basic rundown of events provided by the man she'd saved, the piece wandering into a lot of baseless speculation about where she'd gotten her powers. For some reason, most of them seemed to involve one thing and one thing only.
Honestly, why is it always radiation? She wondered.
(Because most people don't understand what radioactivity is or how it works, instead holding common misconceptions, most of them from science fiction.) The scarab replied.
That was a rhetorical question, she told it.
(How was I supposed to know that?)
You got the answer from my mind, Ritsuko pointed out. So I don't see why you couldn't have gotten the nature of the question, too.
The scarab fell silent at that, apparently defeated, and the blonde turned her attention back to the tabloid, this time focusing on the artist's illustrations of her in the armor. It was accurate…up to a point. Some of the details the armor were wrong, and ironically, the picture looked a lot more like she did in the present than she had back then, before the scarab had decided to improve upon her.
Why do these sort of publications always have to increase the size of the breasts? And the armor isn't exactly skin tight, so you can't see my abs, anyway, she thought.
The train she was on came to a stop at the station she wanted, and the scientist got off, tossing her tabloid away into the first trashcan she found on. Why is the Tokyo Tattler so popular, anyway? She wondered. I mean, they can't even come up with good names for people like me. I mean, the Blue Beetle? Really?
(I like it.) The scarab chimed in.
Deciding it was probably wisest not to reply directly to that, Ritsuko instead changed the subject. Maybe the Green Lantern will see it and realize we're not the bad guys.
The scarab just released a wordless hiss at the mention of the emerald super heroine, dampening Ritsuko's hopes considerably.
By this time, Ritsuko had arrived outside NERV headquarters. After scanning her ID card, she again decided to forego the use of the elevator and took the stairs.
Have I told you yet how much I'm enjoying the changes you made to my body? She asked the scarab.
(Only several dozen times.) It answered, though it still sounded quite pleased with itself and not at all tired of Ritsuko's gratitude.
It was about at this point that she arrived at the lab where she spent most of her time at headquarters, finding that her assistant was already present.
"Good morning, Maya," she greeted cheerfully.
"Good morning, sempai," Maya replied in kind. "How are you feeling today?"
"Much better, thank you," Ritsuko said. "So, what's on the agenda for today?"
Looking down at a clipboard she was holding, Maya answered, "EVA maintenance, research…nothing out of the ordinary. Oh, except for that physical you scheduled Shinji for this afternoon."
"Right, well, let's get to work, then," Ritsuko said. "There are a lot of side projects that I'd like to work on today, too."
The day began to unfold normally enough for the scientist, except that she was ahead of the curve instead of behind it, for once. Turned out that having energy to burn and a chunk of alien hardware with enough computing power to rival the MAGI inside her made doing her job easier.
Who knew? She thought with a smirk.
The scarab was only too happy to offer up the use of its abilities to help her through the day, only reinforcing Ritsuko's image of it as akin to a child looking for a grateful or congratulatory pat on the head.
Not that she took full advantage of what it could do, though. If she started typing at 20,000 words per minute or instantly figuring out computations that the MAGI had to chew on for several seconds before spitting out an answer, well, it would soon become clear that something was strange with her.
Regardless of the way she held herself back, Ritsuko was still done with her morning's duties before it was time for her to see the Third Child. Taking advantage of her free time, she quickly made her way to her small, rarely used office and booted up her computer. Not long afterwards, she was browsing through the thousands of files inside the MAGI database.
(What are you looking for?) The scarab asked after a minute.
"Nothing specific," she muttered, reaching into a pocket and withdrawing a pack of gum. Unwrapping a piece of it, she popped it into her mouth and began chewing.
(Then how will you know when you've found it? And what's with the gum?)
"The gum is to keep me from reaching for a cigarette. I'm just accustomed to doing something with my mouth," she explained between chews. "Are you sure you can't cure the psychological aspect of my addiction, too?"
(For the hundredth time, yes, you're on your own with that part of it.)The scarab replied. (Now, how can you expect to find something when you see it if you don't know it while you're searching for it?)
"Trust me, I'll just know," Ritsuko responded.
"Know what, Doctor?"
Ritsuko was so shocked by the sound of the flat voice coming from behind her that she accidentally swallowed her gum and nearly jumped right off her chair. Recovering somewhat, she spun around and got to her feet, commanding her suddenly hammering heart to slow down. It didn't.
"Hello, Commander," she greeted, then practically had to bite her tongue to keep herself from adding some remark about knocking before entering her office.
She knew it wouldn't have been appreciated, or heeded, for that matter.
"Know what?" Gendo reiterated.
Ritsuko knew that the slightest hesitation in answering would arouse suspicion, so she said the first thing that came to her mind. "When I'm finished with developing the Dummy System," she said.
Gendo tilted his head ever so slightly to the side. It was a gesture so subtle that most people wouldn't have noticed it, but Ritsuko knew him as well as anyone alive, except perhaps for Kozo Fuyutski.
"How could you complete the Dummy System without knowing it?" Gendo asked.
"It's like how an artist will have trouble knowing when to put down the brush or chisel," Ritsuko replied, more because she was now committed to the lie she'd just told than because she thought of herself as a technological Michelangelo.
"I didn't know you were so…poetic," Gendo commented, his eyes seeming to bore into her, despite the amber tinted glasses that separated them from her.
Ritsuko shrugged. "Well, perhaps it's not as…artistic as all that. I doubt that I'll have time to perfect the technology, so I have to judge when I can label it serviceable. Then again," she frowned, "there are a lot of things about me you don't know."
And a lot of things about you I don't know, she mentally added.
Indeed, now that she thought about it, she realized just how little she knew about the man before her. She had no idea what his favorite food was, what kind of music he liked, or…any of those little details you were supposed to learn about someone you were in a relationship with.
How the hell had she never realized just how empty her so-called relationship with Gendo Ikari was, how lacking it had been in any intimacy aside from the purely physical?
Gendo didn't respond to her little remark, instead saying, "I expect that I'll be spending the night at home, unless an urgent situation arises."
She heard the unspoken question, and it annoyed her that he didn't just come out and ask it, expecting her to read between the lines and come when called. A lot of things about Gendo Ikari were annoying her lately, now that she let them.
"I'm sorry, sir, but I really am very busy," Ritsuko said in an apologetic tone.
It was subtle, but Ritsuko still caught it, mostly because she was watching for it. A faint twitch passed over Gendo's face, as though he was about to narrow his eyes at her but stopped himself. Her second evasion had irked him.
"I see," Gendo said, "in that case, carry on."
With that, he departed from her office without another word.
(Just give me the okay and he dies. Right now.) The scarab piped up.
I told you, that's not the plan, Ritsuko replied sharply, this time making sure to keep her communication with the scarab silent. Then, in a softer "tone" she added, but thank you for keeping quiet and letting me deal with him.
(You're welcome.) The scarab replied. (But if killing him isn't the plan, then what is? You don't seem to have one.)
Damn it, Jim, I'm a scientist, not a schemer, Ritsuko replied, a small smile forming over her face. That's always been his job.
The scarab didn't immediately reply. Instead, it went rustling about through her mind as it tried to figure out the reference.
Look, I've got several ideas, as you probably know, Ritsuko continued. Commander Ikari has a lot of nightmare scenarios. I just have to figure out which ones will be the easiest to bring about…without getting the world destroyed by the Angels in the process.
(That would be bad.) The scarab said dryly.
Yes, yes it would, Ritsuko said. Which is part of the reason I have to be so careful about what I'm doing…why we can't just rush in with guns blazing.
She could feel the scarab's displeasure at the little jab, but it didn't argue the point.
(Hey, aren't you supposed to be giving that pilot his physical right about now?)It asked instead.
Ritsuko's eyes widened as she looked at the clock in her office. "Oh damn, I almost forgot!"
Sitting on the examination table within a room in the NERV infirmary, Shinji shivered slightly. For some reason, the room was kept on the chilly side, and he was wearing only the thin gown that the nurse who had seen him in had instructed him to change into. That was almost twenty minutes ago.
Looking at the clock again, Shinji decided he'd give it a few more minutes before he dressed and ventured out to see if he'd been forgotten.
Then, just as his considerable store of patience was nearly expended, the door to the examination room was thrown open, and the chairperson of Project-E burst in.
"Sorry, I'm late, Shinji," she said in a rush. "I was working on some other projects and I lost track of time."
Shinji blinked. "Dr. Akagi, you're the one doing the physical?"
"Yes," she said, visibly regaining her composure and grabbing a file that contained the Third Child's basic medical history.
"Um, okay," Shinji said, confused. "Why?"
She turned away from his file to look at him. "Well, I know that I'm not really a medical doctor, but I'm more than qualified to give you a simple physical."
"Oh, that's not what I meant at all," Shinji rushed to clarify, as usual not wanting to give offense. "It's just that, well, don't you have more important things to do than conduct my physical, Dr. Akagi?"
"You can just call me Ritsuko when we're alone, Shinji," she said as she opened one of the drawers in a nearby container of medical supplies and withdrew a stethoscope, "and I'd say that making sure our best EVA pilot is in good health is pretty high on NERV's list of priorities. Really, this should have been done as soon as you decided to pilot permanently. I don't know how it slipped through the cracks."
"I…I'm not the best pilot," Shinji stammered bashfully, feeling his face heat up.
"Slow, deep breaths, please," Ritsuko said as she pressed the stethoscope to his chest.
He complied, and the conversation came to a brief halt while she listened to his heartbeat.
After a brief moment, she was done. Taking the stethoscope away, she began to write something into his file. "You're not the best pilot? You could have fooled me," she said. "With the exception of the Eleventh, you were instrumental in the defeat of all the Angels we've fought so far, if I remember right."
"Um, well…" he stuttered. "Asuka was really the one who defeated the Eighth."
"And you saved Asuka immediately afterwards," Ritsuko countered. "So, am I correct in saying that you've played an important role in every battle?"
"Well, I guess so," Shinji finally admitted, wondering why she was so insistent about debating this point. "But, I mean, it's not like I'm really all that good. Half the time it seems like it's more Unit One doing it than me, and I just happen to be in the right place at the right time a lot."
"Some say that history is made when the right man meets the right machine at the right moment. Which make a bit of sense, when you think about it. Even most of the greatest men who ever lived might well have never been remembered if they'd been born at a different time," Ritsuko commented. "Even if there was an element of luck involved, it doesn't mean that what you've done for NERV is any less significant."
"I guess you're right," Shinji said uncertainly, wanting to debate the issue further but unable to come up with a decent argument.
Nodding in satisfaction, Ritsuko grabbed a small flashlight. "Then you understand why your continued good health is important to NERV?"
"I…I guess," he said again as she shined the flashlight's beam first in one of his eyes and then the other.
"Good," Ritsuko said. "It would be a shame if you didn't realize how valuable you are."
"If you say so," Shinji replied mildly.
She smiled. "I'm just trying to congratulate you a little for all the work you've done for us, Shinji," she said. "There's no need to look so uncomfortable."
"Sorry," he replied reflexively.
"No need to apologize, either," she said in an amused tone.
"S…I mean, right," he said with a sheepish smile.
Ritsuko smirked, then produced a blood pressure cuff and instructed Shinji to roll up his sleeve. The Third Child complied obediently, silently enduring the test as the strip of synthetic fabric and Velcro around his upper arm began to gradually tighten.
I've never seen Ritsuko so… His mind went groping through his vocabulary for the appropriate word, but didn't find one.
Or rather, it did, but it felt wrong to him to describe Ritsuko as acting "human" now—thus implying that she usually didn't behave that way—even in the privacy of his own head.
Still, it wouldn't be inaccurate to say that in the past, Ritsuko had always behaved in a very professional manner, to the point of being cold even.
I guess I just never saw this side of her before, he mused, looking at her. You know, come to think of it…
Shinji Ikari was not, contrary to what a certain roommate and fellow EVA pilot of his maintained, a pervert by any reasonable person's definition of the term. He was, however, a fourteen-year-old boy, and as such he couldn't help but notice how much younger she appeared than he remembered her looking, the luster her golden hair seemed to have acquired…or the way her breasts bulged against the confines of her closed lab coat, for that matter.
He looked away from Ritsuko, blushing. I shouldn't be thinking such things about Dr. Akagi, Shinji told himself.
Yet curiosity gnawed at him as he submitted himself to the battery of routine tests; he had always considered Ritsuko to be attractive, but she'd never looked this attractive to him before.
"Dr. Akagi," he finally spoke up as she was drawing a vial of his blood for testing, "can I ask you a question?"
"Of course," she replied, "you can ask me anything."
Despite how amicably delivered this offer was, Shinji decided to wait until she'd gotten as much of his blood as she needed and had removed the needle from his arm before he actually posed the question he had in mind. The past few months had given him a keen survival instinct when it came to women, if nothing else.
"Well, um, I just noticed that you look…different. In a good way," he quickly added. "I was just wondering why. Or if it was all in my head. Or…?"
He trailed off, suddenly wishing that he'd never spoken up or asked such a potentially dangerous question. However, the blonde smiled, as though she was pleased he'd mentioned it.
"I recently decided that if I was going to survive this job, I'd need to take better care of myself," she told him. "I've been eating better and making more time in my schedule for exercise. Also, I stopped smoking."
"Oh, well, congratulations," Shinji said, offering her a small smile. "My uncle could never quit smoking, though he tried several times."
That was something of an exaggeration on his part; his uncle had never tried to stop smoking, at least not voluntarily. Shinji just hated the smell of cigarette smoke so much that when he was younger, he'd briefly taken to hiding his uncle's packs of cancer sticks.
He still shivered slightly when he recalled how angry the man had been upon discovering what his nephew was doing.
"Well, it is pretty hard to stop. Speaking of which…" she pulled a pack of chewing gum out of one of her pockets. "I've been chewing this to substitute for the cigarettes. Would you like a piece?"
"No, thank you," Shinji politely declined.
Shrugging, Ritsuko began to take out a piece, then she seemed to think the better of it as an expression of distaste briefly appeared on her face and she put the chewing gum away.
"In any case, I'm glad someone noticed," Ritsuko said, spinning about once as though she were modeling a piece of clothing. "I wasn't really sure if I was actually getting any results for my efforts."
Somehow, Shinji just knew that if he opened his mouth at this point in time he'd jam his foot right into it, so he just nodded, painfully aware of the heat in his face. This was almost like getting teased by Misato, except that he wasn't truly sure if he was being teased, or if Ritsuko was just pleased with herself.
"Anyway, it looks like we're done here," Ritsuko said. "Assuming, that is, that it's okay with you if we skip the hernia check." She added in a dry tone.
Shinji paled, which was not exactly the way he'd hoped to lose the mild blush he'd been sporting. "That's fine," he quickly agreed.
"Good," Ritsuko said. "I'll make sure NERV knows you're still fit for duty."
Shinji nodded. "So are we done? Can I go?"
"Hold on just a moment, Shinji," Ritsuko instructed as she finished writing in his file and put it away. "There's something I wanted to give you."
Shinji blinked in surprise. "You got me…a present?" he asked, wondering why the scientist would ever feel compelled to do such a thing, seeing as how they didn't even know each other very well.
"It's just a little something," Ritsuko said, reaching into one her lab coat's large pockets and producing a trio of SDAT tapes.
"Thank you," Shinji said, reaching out for them. "What's on them?"
"Lectures about the science of metaphysical biology," Ritsuko answered.
The Third Child's hand stopped halfway to the tapes. There was a brief, but noticeable pause.
"Uh, Doctor…um, I mean, Ritsuko, you do know that Asuka's the one who's already graduated college, not me, right?" he asked slowly.
Ritsuko chuckled. "Of course, I know that, Shinji. I'm not giving you these because of the subject matter—which I'm sure will probably bore you to tears—but because of the person who gave the lecture."
He frowned slightly. "Who…?"
The Third Child trailed off as realization hit.
No, he thought. It couldn't be…
"The lectures were given by a very bright young scientist named Yui Ikari," Ritsuko said with a smile.
Speechless, Shinji finally allowed his hand to complete its journey to the tapes Ritsuko was offering him, accepting them reverently.
"I learned about how your father destroyed every picture of your mother," Ritsuko said. "I thought hearing her voice would be the next best thing to seeing her, even if she is just giving a lecture."
"Dr. Akagi…Ritsuko, I don't know how to thank you," Shinji said softly.
"No thanks necessary, Shinji," she replied with a smile. "In fact, this is just my way of thanking you for piloting."
"All the same, thank you," he said, getting off the examination table and bowing formally to her.
"You're welcome," she said. "Now, I'll just leave you to get changed. I'll see you around, Shinji."
A few hours later, Ritsuko punched out for the day and headed for the parking lot. The scarab, which had mostly kept silent as she went about her usual work, spoke up as she was getting behind the wheel of her car.
(He was attracted to you, you know.)
Ritsuko frowned in confusion. What are you talking about?
(Shinji Ikari. I was monitoring him while you were giving him that physical, and his heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature all went up.) The scarab said. (He's attracted to you.)
Ritsuko resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she started her car and pulled out of her parking space. Of course he is. He's a fourteen-year-old boy, and I look like I belong on a centerfold, thanks to you.
(So…is this part of the plan?)
"Him being attracted to me? No," Ritsuko answered flatly.
She and the scarab didn't speak any more for the rest of the drive, which passed quickly. Soon finding herself pulling into her driveway, Ritsuko got out of the car, stretched…and then slapped herself on the forehead.
(What is it?) The scarab asked.
I told Gendo that I was too busy to go over to his place, and now here I am, at home, right on time, she thought, cursing her stupidity. I should have stayed and worked late. God knows I'll never want for work at headquarters. Now I'll bet he'll check the logs and realize I was lying to him.
(Oh…that's bad, isn't it?)
Yes, that's bad, Ritsuko confirmed grimly.
(Maybe we should kill him before he can check the logs.) The scarab suggested hopefully.
For the last time, we're not killing Gendo, Ritsuko responded wearily, even as she tried to calculate how much this strategic blunder would hurt her.
That Gendo would check the logs and discover that the chairperson of Project-E hadn't worked late as she said she would was almost a given, Ritsuko felt. That was just the kind of person he was. Meticulous, detail-oriented, and paranoid.
The real question was what his response would be. Would he believe that she was just losing interest in him, or would he start worrying that she might be scheming against him?
If it was the latter—and knowing Gendo, there was a very real chance that it would be—she'd need to be extremely careful in the future, because he'd be paying close attention to her, looking for any sure signs of treachery.
Wonderful. I need this, she thought to herself. And all because I didn't stay at the office late for once.
Unfortunately, there was nothing to be done about it now. Even if she went back to headquarters, the logs would still show that she had been off the clock for a while. And as there were paper backups printed out, not even she could change the records.
"I wonder if Green Lantern ever has to deal with this sort of crap," she muttered as she opened the door to her home and walked inside.
Putting the issue aside for the moment, Ritsuko went to her kitchen and quickly prepared an early dinner for herself. The scarab chided her about the lack of variety in her diet as she ate. She ignored it, then went about the task of cleaning the dishes once she was done.
"So, it looks like my evening's free, for once," Ritsuko observed once she was done, then she smirked slightly. "Think the city can take another sighting of the Blue Beetle?"
The scarab didn't even bother responding with words. Ritsuko felt a blast of excitement coming from it, and she suddenly realized that she was wearing the armor. The scarab had put her in it so quickly she hadn't even noticed the transition.
"Now, unfortunately, it's still light out, so I can't just fly out my window and expect no one to notice," she said. "You have anything that could fix that problem?"
Ritsuko could feel that the scarab was a little annoyed at her for even feeling the need to ask the question. However, its irritation was quickly swept away as it realized that its host was presenting it with an opportunity to show off what it could do.
(Altering vibrational frequency.) The scarab announced.
Ritsuko, or the Blue Beetle as she supposed she was now known as when she was in the armor, was aware of a strange tingling sensation sweeping over her body. However, it quickly ended, and when she looked down at her hands, she saw that they looked unchanged and still entirely visible.
"Hey, I can still see myself," she said.
(Yes, you can still see yourself.) The scarab said.
The Blue Beetle blinked. "What did you do?" she demanded.
(I told you, I altered our vibrational frequency.) The scarab said. (We're now slightly out of phase with this dimension, which means that no one who's normal can see us, hear us, or touch us.)
"Okay…that's extremely cool," Blue Beetle admitted. "Thanks."
(Welcome.) The scarab replied cheerfully.
"All right, let's get out of here," Blue Beetle said, commanding the dragonfly-like wings to emerge from her back with a thought.
She briefly attempted to open one of her windows, but her hands ghosted through them as if they were smoke. For a very brief moment, the problem of how to get outside befuddled her, then she realized the solution and felt like smacking herself. Ignoring the amusement she could sense from the scarab, Blue Beetle stepped right through the wall of her home and outside.
Once outside, the Beetle took to the air, feeling her pulse quicken pleasantly with the excitement of flight. I've missed this, she realized, luxuriating in the feeling of total freedom.
Blue Beetle didn't allow herself to do nothing but enjoy the moment for long, however. If Gendo got seriously paranoid after viewing the day's duty logs, this might be the last time she'd be able to do this for a while, at least without having to exercise extreme caution.
And she had things she wanted to accomplish.
"Wish I knew where I could find some kind of situation that requires a superwoman's assistance," she muttered aloud.
(I can pick up the radio transmissions being used by the city's emergency services, if we shift back into phase.) The scarab offered.
"Go ahead," Blue Beetle said. "It's not like we're still on my front porch."
She felt that strange tingling sensation again, and moments later, the scarab began to pipe radio broadcasts right into her ears through the helmet of her armor.
"Pursuing speeding car on…"
"Suspicious looking individual…"
"Possible instance of…"
The Blue Beetle grimaced and, without immediately realizing she was doing it, shut off the radio feeds with a mental command. "Okay, I can't listen to all those transmissions at once and actually make sense of them," she said. "Plus, I need something a little more urgent than jay-walking."
(I'll see if I can filter out the excess for you.) The scarab said, and a moment later, only one message was conveyed to Blue Beetle's ears.
"Calling all available units, there is a massive fire at the Yamagata apartment complex. All available fire units please respond."
"That'll do for a start," Blue Beetle decided. "Now if only I knew where the Yamagata apartment complex was." She added with a small grin.
The scarab was quick to leap to the challenge. (Establishing connection to GPS satellite network…) It announced.
A map suddenly appeared before her eyes, showing her the location of both her destination and herself.
"Thanks," she said, setting off in the direction of the building.
In seconds, Blue Beetle soon located the facility in question, thanks mostly to the column of black smoke that was rising up from it.
Guess I didn't need to make the scarab bother with the GPS, after all, she thought as she flew closer, dismissing the map on her HUD with a thought.
The apartment complex was composed of several short, squat builds, nearly all of which were completely ablaze with flames. Several fire trucks were present, and one of them was spraying the fire with a steady stream of water from its hose, but in the face of the inferno, these efforts seemed pretty pathetic.
"You have any fire extinguisher guns or anything?" she asked as looked down at the burning buildings.
(Yes, but I can't put out that fire.) The scarab answered. (…not without totally destroying the buildings in the process, anyway.)
"Yeah, we don't want to do that," Blue Beetle replied, "so let's focus on getting anybody trapped inside out of there, okay?"
(Right.) The scarab agreed gamely. (I'm picking up several human bio-signatures from inside.)
Blue Beetle blinked in surprise as the scarab overlaid several glowing blue dots on her HUD, showing her the location of the people trapped inside. She hadn't expected for a moment that it would be able to lead her to the people who needed her help, since the fire would have obviously rendered any sort of thermal imagining ineffective. Apparently, the scarab wasn't anywhere near exhausting its supply of tricks.
Picking out a dot that was all alone, Blue Beetle quickly began to fly toward the apartment complex, doing her best to avoid all the smoke as she did so. Picking a window that didn't have flames leaping out of it, she entered the building, finding it stifling inside despite the lack of any fire in immediate sight.
(Cooling system online.) The scarab announced, and immediately the temperature inside the armor dropped several degrees, to the Blue Beetle's relief.
Running through the building as quickly as she dared, she quickly encountered the fire, but she ran through the flames, heedless of the heat and smoke. Reaching to door to the apartment where the person she intended to save was located, she wasted no time in kicking it with her foot.
The door was metal, not wood, but Blue Beetle had superhuman strength behind her. The door crumpled like it was made out of tin foil, allowing her entry.
"Hello?" she shouted as she walked inside. "Hello?"
A low groan answered her, and Blue Beetle went running to the far side of the apartment, keeping herself hunched down so as not to breath in any more of the smoke that hung thick in the air.
After so long without a cigarette, you'd almost think I'd be enjoying this, actually, she mused with a small grin.
She soon came upon a very old man who was sitting in an overstuff easy chair at the back of the room. Judging by the tubes in his nose that were connected to a small oxygen tank he held in his lap, as well as the folded up wheelchair that sat in a corner of the room, it was obvious that the man couldn't hope to escape the burning building under his own power.
"Are you all right, sir?" she asked.
"Holy crap," the old man blurted out, totally ignoring her question, "you're the Blue Beetle!"
She was taken aback for a moment, shocked that she'd apparently gained so much notoriety already.
Then she saw the stack of Tokyo Tattlers sitting on a small table next to the man's chair, including the most recent issue, and she was a little less blown away by her newfound fame.
"I'm going to get you out of here," she told the man. "Just, uh, stay calm."
(You have no idea what you're supposed to say while doing this superhero thing, do you?) The scarab asked dryly. If it had had a face, it would have been trying not to smirk.
Do I seem like someone who reads comic books? Blue Beetle asked.
(Yes.) The scarab replied, even though it could see into her mind and knew full well that she did not.
Ignoring the chunk of mysterious alien hardware, Blue Beetle carefully picked up the old man, making sure not to drop his oxygen tank. Once she was certain she had a good hold on him, she shifted him so she could carry him with one arm.
The strength she possessed while in the armor impressed her; it was well within the superhuman range. Though had she time to reflect upon it, the Blue Beetle would have realized that she probably could have carried the wizened old man even without the armor.
With a thought, she commanded the metal covering her free hand to shift and change into a fire retardant gun, aware that getting out with a passenger was going to be harder than getting in alone had been.
Moving as quickly as she dared, Blue Beetle headed toward the nearest window, squirting the fire suppressant whenever necessary. To her relief, she soon managed to get to a window. Gingerly getting herself and her passenger through it, she summoned the wings from the back of her armor, and soon she was heading toward an ambulance in the cluster of emergency vehicles that had gathered outside.
As she flew down, people started to point up at the woman in the blue and black armor. Several took pictures with cell phone cameras, and still more began to chatter softly amongst themselves, their attention momentarily taken away from the fire.
Looks like everything's going according to plan so far, Blue Beetle thought.
Landing right behind the ambulance, the Blue Beetle gently placed the old man she'd rescued from the building down on a waiting gurney, though the man indignantly waved off the attentions of the EMTs, insisting he was fine.
The small crowd of onlookers appeared as though they wanted nothing more than to swamp her and barrage her with questions and requests for autographs. However, they all held back, perhaps fearful of upsetting the old man or just unwilling to get in the way of the various emergency service personnel present.
A cop who happened to be on the scene, however, was not so timid. "Who are you?" he asked, sounding more stunned than anything.
The old man answered for her before she could. "That's the Blue Beetle!" he exclaimed. "Geeze, what's wrong with you kids today? Don't you read the paper anymore?"
Blue Beetle smirked, thinking that referring to a rag like the Tokyo Tattler was exaggerating, at best.
"That's what they call me," Blue Beetle said to the cop, smiling in as friendly a manner as she could. "Now, if you'll excuse me…"
With that, she took off, heading for the burning buildings again, very conscious of the several camera flashes that followed her off.
Naru coughed, the thick smoke bringing tears to her eyes as she sat, curled into a ball in the corner.
"It's okay, Tokio," the little girl told the doll she held clutched to her chest. "We'll be okay."
The little girl wished she was certain that she was telling her doll the truth, but the fact of the matter was that she just wasn't sure. The fire was all over now, and she couldn't hear the sounds of firemen approaching.
"Hey!" she heard someone shout all of a sudden. "Hello?"
"Here!" Naru yelled. "I'm here! Please, come and—" a fit of coughing overtook her at that moment, and she couldn't continue.
Fortunately, whoever it was had obviously heard her. Naru could hear approaching footsteps over the crackling of the flames, and she looked up hopefully. When her would-be rescuer came into view, the little girl's eyes widened.
It was no firefighter coming to save her. Instead, the person approaching her was a figure in blue and black armor unlike anything she'd ever seen before. Horn-like prongs came up from somewhere on her back, and the lenses covering her eyes blazed red in the firelight.
Naru screamed, trying to back up further into her corner, even though that was impossible.
"Kid! Kid! It's all right!" the armored woman shouted. "I'm here to save you, not hurt you! I'm a…superwoman."
That changed everything so far as the little girl was concerned. "Like the Green Lantern?" she asked.
"Uh, yeah, exactly the Green Lantern," the woman said, though she didn't seem very pleased by the comparison. "I'm the Blue Beetle."
"Why did you name yourself after a—look out!" Naru shouted, pointing at the ceiling.
The Blue Beetle looked up, but all that did was let her see what was coming. A pile of burning debris crashed down on top of her, and she collapsed beneath its weight. Naru put her hands over her mouth, horrified.
Ohmigosh! Did she…? Is she…? Naru thought.
Naru suddenly realized that the Blue Beetle probably wouldn't have been standing there at that moment if she hadn't been questioning the new superwoman. For a brief moment, she wondered if she could be blamed for the death of the Blue Beetle.
That moment was cut short as the Blue Beetle suddenly burst from the pile of burning debris with a cry, sending bits of flaming refuse flying everywhere. Amazingly, she looked not one bit hurt by what she'd just endured.
"I have to get you out of here," Blue Beetle said. "Now!"
"Okay," Naru agreed immediately.
(You know, there was no reason to be so afraid when that stuff fell down on top of you back there.) The scarab chided Blue Beetle as they were flying away from the apartment complex, some time later.
"It was on fire," she replied flatly.
(Oh please, that armor can protect you from the temperature extremes of outer space. You think a little fire would overwhelm the cooling systems?) The scarab asked.
"Look, if flaming chunks of wood, plaster, and rock are falling down toward me, I'm going to be scared. That's just the way humans are, so you might as well get used to it," Blue Beetle grumbled.
Though everything had gone well back at the burning apartments, the scarab's reaction to her very natural response to seeing burning debris falling toward her was quickly getting under her skin.
She decided that since she had to make the most of this day, she might as well do the one thing she was certain would distract the scarab.
"So, do you think you can find another situation that requires the Blue Beetle's attention?" she asked.
She could feel the scarab's excitement at the prospect of more action that day. (There's a hostage situation down at Yoshimata Tower.)
"Point me the way," Blue Beetle said.
The scarab obliged, a new map popping up on her HUD. Blue Beetle changed her course through the air.
In mere moments, the skyscraper came into view. It was a towering spire covered in black glass. The setting sun was perfectly reflected off the side of the building, looking like a great, bloody eye.
Even from her viewpoint up in the air, the Blue Beetle could clearly see the police cars that surrounded the tall building, their red and blue lights flashing. This was definitely the place all right.
She didn't even need to ask the scarab for help this time. With a thought, Blue Beetle activated her armor's thermal imaging, and he could see several glowing forms inside the skyscraper.
Hmm, looks like the police have already evacuated the building, she observed, seeing that the skyscraper was mostly empty. That should make this a little easier.
(I'm guessing those guys are the hostages.) The scarab said, giving her a mental nudge to indicate a cluster of people crammed inside one room.
Probably, Blue Beetle replied, but I'm not sure they're the only…ah, see?
She indicated a pair of people who were standing very close to each other. They were near one of the windows.
Some of the bad guys are using human shields, she said.
(Charming.) The scarab said. (Which one do we kill first?)
No killing! She snapped.
(Not even these guys?!) The scarab asked incredulously. Then with the mental equivalent of a sigh said, (Fine.)
All right, now listen, this has to go just right. If hostages get killed, it'll go against everything I'm trying to do, Blue Beetle said. I'm going to need your help to make sure this works, but you have to follow the plan.
(Okay, okay.) The scarab replied. (What's the plan?)
You can shift us out of phase with the rest of reality again, right? She began.
Ichigo didn't like what he was seeing. The place was totally surrounded by police, and it didn't look like they were going to be going anywhere anytime soon. The boss had said again and again that they would use the hostages to force the authorities to give them a helicopter, but really, when was the last time anyone had heard of that sort of thing actually working?
I always knew this was a bad idea. Why the hell did I agree to this job? He wondered to himself.
He paused, then…
Oh, right, the gambling debts, he remembered, thinking of the way his bookie had been breathing down his neck for days now. If he didn't pay up in cash soon, Ichigo had no doubt that his lenders would come and collect a pound of flesh from him.
Wonder if everybody else on this job needs money so bad, he wondered, glancing at one of his colleagues, Akito, who had a relatively small man as a hostage.
Well, I'm in it now, so there's no point in bitching about it, Ichigo finally decided.
"H-Hey," his hostage, a tall but thin woman spoke up timidly, "I really have to go to the bathroom, so—"
"Hold it," Ichigo growled.
"P-Please, I—"
She was cut off again, this time by a cry from Akito. Ichigo's head snapped to the side, to see one of his partners in crime just before his limp form tumbled to the floor. He had no idea what had just happened, but he instantly knew one thing: the little runt of a man that Akito had been using as a hostage wasn't responsible. The wimp looked as shocked and confused as Ichigo felt.
Before he could even process what he was seeing before him, there was an electric crackle from his side. He turned—
—and found himself staring at a woman in blue and black full-body armor. At the end of one of her arms was an implausible but very nasty looking gun. The woman did not look pleased.
He tried to raise his gun and point it as his hostage's head, but the blue chick was in action before he'd even managed to take in what was happening before him. That weird looking weapon at the end of her arm discharged, firing a thin blast of blue energy at him.
And then Ichigo's world went black.
"Listen, getting a hold of a helicopter isn't a simple process. We can't just come up with one at the drop of a hat."
Akira smirked as he put his feet up on the desk of some hotshot executive or another. "You know, I'd almost believe that, if it wasn't for the helicopters you had circling overhead until I started asking for one," he said.
"That's different. They—"
"Spare me," Akira said. "I want a fully fueled helicopter landing on the roof in an hour, or I'll start executing hostages, one every fifteen minutes."
"That's not—"
"I think I may start with the owner of this building," Akira said. "He owns a couple of choppers, doesn't he? Maybe his people could send one to prevent him from getting shot."
"Now wait a—"
"Good day, sir," Akira said, hanging up the phone. "That should get us what we need."
No sooner had he said this, however, than did one of his underlings enter the office he'd commandeered.
"We've got trouble, boss," the man said breathlessly, as though he'd been in a great rush. "All the boys are going silent. We don't know what's happening. I can't raise anybody!" he said, frantically waving around a walkie-talkie.
Akira's eyes widened. It couldn't be the cops; they wouldn't dare make a move while there were so many hostages trapped in the building.
…would they?
Not bothering to wonder about it any longer, he quickly got up and took his sidearm from its holster. "Come on," he ordered. "We have to check on the other hostages."
He almost made it to the door before a woman in blue and black appeared out of thin air in front of him.
"Well, I'd say that went all right," Blue Beetle commented as she flew off, but not before releasing the hostages who'd been trapped inside that little room, making sure they knew who'd saved them.
(That was awesome!) The scarab said. (Can we do it again?)
Blue Beetle smiled beneath her armor. "Not that exactly, but I expect we'll be doing a quite a lot of heroics before I'm done."
(Nice.) The scarab said. (Now, not that I'm complaining, but what's the point of all of this? I know you this is part of some kind of plan, and I can see it in your head…but I can't really understand it.)
"Fair enough," Blue Beetle said. "You see, the problem is that while there are a lot of ways to bring Gendo and SEELE's little house of cards tumbling down, but a lot of those ways would result in the Angels destroying the world. Or at least, a number of people dying."
(And you think you found a way to stop the bad guys without any of that?) The scarab asked, a tad skeptically.
"Yes," Blue Beetle answered. "I'm going to make Ikari's and SEELE's worst nightmare come true. I'm going to get the UN to de-fund NERV."
There was a brief pause. Then the scarab spoke up again. (So how does Shinji come into that?)
She frowned. "He doesn't."
(But I thought that trying to help him was the plan.) The scarab said, obviously confused.
"That's the backup plan," Blue Beetle said. "If spending so much time around Gendo has taught me anything, it's that you should always have as many backup plans as possible when trying to manipulate events."
The scarab didn't make a reply, leaving her alone with her thoughts. On a whim, she began to fly toward the apartment building that Misato, and Shinji, called home, making sure to stay high enough in the air that the likelihood of anyone seeing her was minimal. And even if someone did spot her, it would be impossible to tell what she was looking down at.
"I really should be focusing on Ayanami, not Shinji," Blue Beetle mused aloud. "Gendo values her place in the scenario more."
(Then why aren't you doing anything with her?) The scarab asked.
"I don't like her," Blue Beetle answered darkly. "She's always taken everything I ever cared about, and she does it just by…existing."
She didn't explain further; she didn't need to. The scarab could see in her mind what she was talking about. First, a dark day in Ritsuko's memory. Watching as a tiny blue haired girl confronts a brunette in a white lab coat. The girl says something to the woman, but in her mind, the child's lips move soundlessly; Ritsuko never heard what she said. However, it must have been bad, because the woman goes berserk, grabbing the child by the throat and squeezing until there is a meaty snap. Then…only once the deed was done, the brunette seems to realize what she had done. Ritsuko can only watch, paralyzed with horror, as the woman throws herself off the tier of the command center she was on, landing on the protective casing of one of the MAGI. There is a sickening crunch as her skull hits it and cracks.
Rei Ayanami came back from that. Naoko Akagi, her mother, did not.
Then the scarab saw a series of memories, which collectively held almost as much significance in the blonde's mind. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of instances when Gendo had brushed her off in favor of Rei, had shown that his current lover was secondary to the living ghost of his wife.
(Wait a minute.) The scarab said. (You don't even like that man. Why did you mate with him for so long? And why does it matter that he cares for Ayanami more than you?)
"Well, after Mother died, he was really the only one that comforted me," Blue Beetle said, remembering a time when Gendo hadn't been quite as cold as he was now, or at least, a time when he'd acted less cold than he was now. "Everyone else, well, they just looked at the psycho's daughter funny for a very long time. He was my rock, and I suppose I was feeling lonely. No other man ever really gave me that kind of attention before. As for why the way he still favors Rei irritates me even now, well, I never said that human emotions were logical."
(Your species is very strange sometimes.) The scarab commented softly.
"No argument here," Blue Beetle responded. "But it's not like Shinji doesn't deserve some attention. He's been through so much, and he's trying so hard to earn something that—"
(We've got a problem.) The scarab suddenly interrupted her.
Blue Beetle didn't even have to ask what that problem was. Only one thing could incite the level of panic that she could feel coming from the scarab.
"You have got to be kidding me," she said.
It was a perfectly ordinary evening in the Katsuragi household. Shinji was cleaning up after dinner, Asuka was parked in front of the television, and Misato was at the kitchen table, sipping at her fourth beer of the evening. The whole thing was the picture of normalcy, the image of the domestic, and Misato was feeling pretty pleased with herself for providing these two children with this island of stability in the insane lives fate had foisted upon them.
She was about to reward herself by taking another swig of her beer when an increasingly familiar pain hit.
It came all at once, like before. One minute she was fine, and the next minute she felt like she had the migraine from hell. She could practically see the fist that had wrapped its fingers around her brain, trying to squeeze it to jelly.
And then there was her ring. It felt like it was vibrating, almost as if it was alive. It wasn't; it was neither alive nor was it moving, but that it felt so much like it was made Misato certain there was no chance her sudden migraine was normal.
That…thing was in the area. It might even be after her charges.
"Misato?" Shinji's voice somehow managed to cut through the pain and the sudden spike of rage she was feeling.
"Are you all right?" Asuka added.
Misato suddenly realized that she had started clutching at her head without even realizing that she was doing it. Trying her best to ignore the pain, she moved her hand away and forced a smile for the two teenagers.
"I'm fine, I just…remembered that there's something I need to do at headquarters," she said.
"This late?" Shinji asked. "Can't it wait until tomorrow?"
"Nope," Misato said, heaving a gusty sigh for effect as she got up from her chair. "I need to head there right now. Don't worry, though. I shouldn't be gone long. I hope." She added.
"Don't you want to change first?" Asuka asked, gesturing to Misato's attire, which consisted of a tank top and her favorite denim shorts.
Misato, who was already on her way out the door, barely bothered to mutter something in response to the Second Child's query, so driven was she by her ring. The moment the door had slid shut behind her, she quickly looked about to make sure that no one was watching her, then she willed the uniform of the Green Lantern Corps to appear over her form. Once she had assumed her alter ego, she flew into the air.
"Ring," she said, "locate the alien."
(The Lantern is coming for us!) The scarab exclaimed, fear lancing its mental voice. (We should get out of here. I can transport us back into the—)
"We are not retreating into the Bleed again," Blue Beetle said sternly. "In fact, we're not going to be running away from the Green Lantern at all. I can't hope to do what I need to do if I constantly have to worry about her attacking me out of nowhere."
(So we're fighting then?) The scarab asked, sounding fearful at the prospect. It was the first time she'd ever heard it display anything but glee at the prospect of getting involved with some mayhem and violence.
"Yes," she said firmly.
(I hope you know what you're doing.) The scarab said as they both saw a pinprick of green light rapidly approaching from below them.
"Me, too," Blue Beetle said. "Here's the plan…"
Author's Notes: A lot of things to say in this note, so strap yourself in for the long haul.
First, the usual ramblings. The scenes where Ritsuko goes out hero-ing hit me as a tad bit excessive in quantity here, but they were such a pain to write that I just couldn't bring myself to delete them. Plus, I wanted to show that Ritsuko's trying to gain a whole lot of superhero cred very quickly. Readers of the various other SOE stories out there can probably figure out how this works into Ritsuko's plan to get the UN to cut NERV's funds. For the rest of you, it'll become more clear as the story goes along. The Blue Beetle and Green Lantern were actually supposed to have their second fight this chapter, but it just seemed appropriate to end it here. Next chapter, the two of them will settle things once and for all.
Next up, a general announcement about the SOE2 series. Much like in the original SOE series, every story is its own continuity. Some of the super ladies may make an appearance in fics other than their own, however, as you've seen here.
Now, about the reaction Blue Beetle scarab and the Green Lantern ring have to each other. None of my reviewers seem to know the reasons behind this, but rest assured, it will eventually be explained.
Moving along, we reach the all important issue of shipping. I've been considering having the pairing be one-sided, with Shinji basically developing a huge crush on Ritsuko. Normally, I wouldn't even suggest this (though I didn't say anything at the time, I have to admit I was kind of annoyed when orionpax09 floated the idea of not having the Shinji/Asuka pairing in "Vengeful Devil"), but a few of my reviewers have put the idea forward. And to be honest, I always found Shinji/Ritsuko to be a pretty damn weird pairing. Even if you ignore the age gap entirely, there's still the fact that she more or less treated all the pilots like components or machines for the length of the series and she did so quite consistently (in one early episode, she mentions that it's Misato's job to "maintain" Shinji). And of course, she was also sleeping with Gendo. Speaking for myself, I have to say I'd find the idea of having a romantic relationship with an ex-girlfriend of my father's to be more than a little unnerving.
Still, I knew when I started the SOE2 series that it would involve me writing some things I wouldn't otherwise. I wouldn't want to have a one-sided pairing here unless you, dear readers, want that. So tell what you think on this issue, and if it turns out that the bulk of you want a full fledged Shinji/Ritsuko pairing, then I shall write it and do my best to do it well despite my personal opinion on the matter.
Cevgar, you're right, curves and excessive athleticism are mutually exclusive…in real life. Among comic books super heroines, though, it's pretty much the norm. And these were always meant to be as much comic book stories as they are Eva stories, which means an element of comic book shamelessness is there. I'm not exactly proud of it, but, well, there it is.
Also, I will do my best to write Gendo as very competent, because it's never good to have a moron for a villain. However, I personally think the issue of how smart Gendo actually is really is open for debate. On the one hand, it is true that given what his job entails, he really should be frightening competent. On the other hand…he did some stupid crap in the series, and the only reason he never paid for it was because it wasn't yet time for the pilots' character shields to fail spectacularly. For instance, he pretty much knew an Angel would attack the fleet transporting Unit Two and Asuka to Japan, so he ensures that Shinji would be there, presumably to back up Asuka and/or pilot in her place if she choked under pressure. It would have been a much more sensible precaution if he'd just had Unit Two equipped for fighting underwater instead. The way he did it, he easily could have lost two-thirds of NERV's pilots and one-third of its active Evangelions. All the Sixth Angel had to do was sever Unit Two's umbilical cable and Gendo would've been completely boned.
On the whole Third Impact issue, well, the series is so damn vague on what exactly the various factions involved (Gendo, Yui, SEELE) actually wanted to happen that I usually don't stray from fanon on the issue. I get fewer headaches that way than when I try and figure the whole thing out.
Oh, and sorry you don't like the scarab. In the comic book, usually when it talks some "alien" text is put up on the panel, and the scarab's host, who can understand it, responds. I couldn't really get away with that in this format, so I tried to extrapolate what the scarab's personality was like from the hints in the book.
Anyway, thanks as always to my readers and reviewers. Now, enough of my (unusually excessive) rambling. Time for a little fun.
Omake
Wrong Tape
I can't believe I'm going to get to hear my mother's voice, Shinji thought excitedly as he returned to the apartment he called home.
Quickly making his way to his room, he slid the door shut, put down his backpack, and took out his SDAT player. Placing one of the tapes Ritsuko had given him into it, he put in his ear buds and pressed play.
Heavy breathing was the first thing he heard on the tape, which caused Shinji to frown. Why would anyone record that?
"Hello, stud," a female voice said, causing Shinji's eyes to widen.
It wasn't the voice of his mother (and thank goodness for that). Shinji knew this even though he didn't know what his mother's voice sounded like, because he could identify the voice on the tape, though he'd never heard it speaking in such a…sultry tone before.
The person who'd made this tape was Ritsuko Akagi.
"Do you know what I'm going to do to you the next time we get together?" the blonde's voice purred into his ear.
I shouldn't be listening to this, Shinji thought. Ritsuko obviously didn't mean to give this to me. It's wrong, and—
And then Ritsuko started detailing exactly what she intended to do to "him" and suddenly matters of propriety seemed less important to the Third Child.
Is that even physically possible? He wondered after the blonde had detailed a particularly lurid bedroom maneuver.
He wasn't at all sure, but he thought that even if it wasn't, it would be a lot of fun trying it.
"Oh, yes," Ritsuko's voice cooed into Shinji's ears, "we're going to be enjoying ourselves a lot with that, but we still won't be finished, will we, Gendo?"
The blood drained from Shinji's face at the mention of this name. Where a moment ago he had been picturing himself doing all the things Ritsuko was describing with her, now he was picturing…someone else with her.
In bed.
Naked.
The Third Child threw his head back and released a scream that came from the depths of his very soul.