Super-revised chapter 3!
"… And then POW! The attempted rapist goes down! And then, the Batman just WHOOSH! Flies away!" Kensuke Aida enthusiastically related, grinning throughout the entire story. Sharing the shade of the oak tree, Shinji Ikari and Touji Suzuhara looked up at the otaku with mirrored expressions of disbelief.
"C'mon, Kensuke… You don't really believe in this crap, do you?" Touji shook his head. "You've been reading too many comic books…"
"But it's true!" Kensuke protested. "Ask lots of kids around school! They know people who were saved by Batman!" Kensuke frowned. "In fact, it began after the first Angel attack. Batman showing up and saving people."
"Come off it, Kensuke," Touji sighed. "It's bad enough that Mari talks about it all the time when I visit her - The 'Batman'! Yeah, right." The athlete turned to the Eva pilot.
"I think 'Suke's lost his head." Shinji smiled slightly.
"Yeah. C'mon Kensuke-What kind of guy would seriously go around, dressed like a giant bat, saving people?"
"Totally! See, Shinji agrees with me," Touji grinned. "Now… When are you gonna slip your old pals some of Misato's underwear, hm?" Shinji frowned, just as the sounds of police sirens filled the air.
"She's just my guardian, you guys," Shinji protested, before getting up. "I've got to go to the bathroom."
The Third Child departed, just as a fleet of police cruisers raced past the school. Kensuke grinned and turned to Touji.
"C'mon! Let's go!"
"We have class," pointed out Touji.
"Come on! That many police cars? It's got to be something big!" Touji rolled his eyes.
"Fine, fine… Only to make sure you don't do something stupid got it?"
"THIS ENTIRE CITY SHALL BURN! BURN FOR its CRIMES AGAINST THE LORD!" Shrieked the man dressed like a pastor in the center of the bank, over the heads of the terrified people. A number of his accomplices were busy filling bags with money, or pouring gasoline over the floor.
"This is the Tokyo-3 police. We have you surrounded," was announced through the glass doors of the bank. "Come out with your hands up and surrender."
"INFIDELS!" The 'pastor' screamed again, hefting a sobbing woman to her feet and holding a gun to her head. "YOU WILL ALL BURN! BEGINNING WITH YOU!"
At that moment, a small sphere dropped from the ceiling onto the pastor's head. It burst into a red sludge that covered the pastor's face, making him scream in agony and fall away from the frightened woman.The other men looked up, only to see the dark shape of a wraith drop from an air conditioning duct.
Batman threw four batarangs on his way down, each one hitting one of the 'pastor's' men, making them scream or fall as the tiny blades imbedded themselves into their flesh, causing intense pain. A few others raised their guns as the Dark Knight of Tokyo-3 landed, but a second pair of batarangs knocked their weapons away.
The goons rushed Batman, trying to close the range and take him down with their fists. The Batman jumped and drop-kicked one man, before throwing two more gas capsules into the faces of two more, making them scream and fall as the high-concentration pepper spray burned their faces. Batman brought them down by a roundhouse kick, before dodging a blow from another man and rabbit-punching him in the groin.
The 'pastor' saw his flock easily defeated by this lone man, this… demon. Breathing heavily, he grabbed the same woman by the hair and held his gun to her head as the Batman turned to him.
"Not a step closer, demon!" Shouted the madman over the woman's whimpers. "Or I'll send her to Hell! Then, I'll send you to follow her!" The Batman paused, his opaque eyes boring into the pastor.
"Let her go. She has no part in this crusade of yours," Batman ground out. The pastor laughed.
"ALL OF YOU HAVE A PART IN MY CRUSADE! THE PART OF THE DEAD! DEAD! BUR-" While the madman ranted, a single batarang had knocked his weapon from his hand. The woman he held then violently elbowed him in the solar plexus, before punching him in the nose and sending him to the floor in a beaten, mumbling heap. She turned, brushing her short black hair out of her eyes. Batman was still there, staring at her.
"… Um…" The Batman dropped a capsule, which exploded into dark, harmless smoke. As it cleared, it revealed the former hostages rising to their feet, confused, but no Batman.
Maya Ibuki sighed. I didn't even thank him…
A few blocks away, Kensuke Aida and Touji Suzuhara had nearly been run down by a police cruiser, had it not been for Batman's timely interference. The Dark Knight told the two to stop being so reckless, before heading off to the bank, leaving a squealing happy Kensuke and a completely shocked Touji.
The former of which being compelled to chant," I told you so! I told you so!" all the way back to school…
Gendo Ikari frowned as he watched the bank security footage yet again, Fuyutsuki ever at his side. Dr. Ritsuko Akagi watched with them as well, a single un-dyed eyebrow raised as the Caped Crusader of Tokyo-3 took down a terrorist cell that NERV had been unable to track and stop for about six months.
"He's serious," Fuyutsuki commented. "This is no mere cosplayer. He knows what he's doing." Ritsuko nodded.
"He is…" The faux-blonde agreed. And he has a nice ass in tights, too.
Ritsuko's cheeks colored slightly at that thought. Down girl.
"The committee is concerned about the appearances of this 'Batman'," Gendo broke the silence. "I told them that there is no danger to the scenario…"
"Was this before or after he interfered in the Jet Alone incident?" Fuyutsuki observed dryly. Gendo frowned as Ritsuko winced.
"This Batman was able to defeat your programming skills, Doctor," The Commander said flatly. "And he has struck down Section 2's undercover gangs, for use in keeping the public in order." Gendo assumed his trademark position.
"I want him eliminated. His continued interference may yet endanger the scenario."
"Curiously, he's never shown up during an Angel attack," commented Fuyutsuki. "Well… His vehicle has been sighted in the city, but physically, he has not appeared during any of the attacks."
"Even so, how long will that last?" Ritsuko asked. "The Second Child is due to arrive soon," added the false blonde. "If we're to do anything about him, we should probably do it quickly."
"What about trying to recruit him," Suggested Fuyutsuki. Gendo and Ritsuko looked at him.
"Think about it: The majority of the public approves of him. He has obviously great skill, as a fighter, a computer expert, an investigator… Can you think of a better addition to NERV?"
"He is also fighting while masked, Sensei," Gendo countered. "And clearly has great intelligence and determination. Were he to discover our projects, he would most certainly attempt to stop them."
"Well… What about this?" Ritsuko began. "We try to talk to him, at least… Make him make contact with us. If we use the proper means, we could probably manipulate him into doing things for us." Gendo looked thoughtful, before he opened a drawer of his desk. He reached into it, and retrieved a stack of plastic-wrapped papers. He slid them across the desktop to Ritsuko, who picked the first off the top of the stack and blinked.
"Detective Comic's Batman?" The doctor looked up at Gendo. "You can't be serious."
"Begin a new project, Doctor," Gendo ordered. "Offer a reward to whoever of our staff can make contact with Batman. Perhaps some clue to how to accomplish it exists in these Pre-Impact graphic novels." He turned his chair to face the window of the office, "Dismissed."
Ritsuko and Fuyutsuki departed, leaving the Commander to brood once more… Before he turned and opened another drawer. He retrieved another plastic-bound comic book, which he carefully, meticulously, opened, before opening the book itself and beginning to read.
"Superman is such a moron… Shame we couldn't have him instead of Batman," Gendo muttered to himself, engrossed in the ancient serial.
"No! It's my project!" Ritsuko growled to Misato, the lavender-haired Head of Operations snarling back.
"I don't care! I'm the head of Tactical Operations! This is a Tactical operation, Doctor!"
"It's also my project, Major," Ritsuko sniffed.
"But… But I look better in the costume!" Misato pouted, indicating the skin-tight leather jumpsuit she now wore. Ritsuko, in her usual lab coat, scowled.
"Misato…"
"I even look like Catwoman! C'mon! Purple leather… Purple hair… Not to mention I've got the 'talent'," she commented mildly, indicating her bust. Ritsuko groaned.
"Then who am I supposed to be, hm? Harley Quinn! I'm allergic to clown make-up, and besides, I'm not a sycophant to some deranged jerk!"
Misato stared at her former college roommate. Ritsuko coughed.
"Well, at least he doesn't wear a purple suit and clown make-up, right?" Misato offered, grinning cattily. Ritsuko glared, before sighing and turning back to the "research material".
"Hm… I could always go as another villainess," Ritsuko mused. "On the other hand, there's no reason I can't come up with something original, now is there?"
"Rits, if this is Batman, then this guy is probably just as clue-oriented as the comic book guy," Misato pointed out. "Any mention of the Rogue's Gallery will make him, well… Batty." She grinned.
"Now then… What about the… Riddler! C'mon, you're smart… And you look good in green, matches your eyes…"
"The Riddler was a guy!"
"So? The comic Batman was like… Six feet tall! And this Batman's barely taller than Shinji! We'd call him Batboy if he didn't kick ass so well!" Misato grinned lecherously.
"And speaking of his ass…"
"Mmm…" Ritsuko murmured, smiling naughtily. It'd been a while since she'd engaged in this kind of banter with Misato. Far too long… She'd forgotten how much amusement she could get out of it.
"You know what they say about short guys," Misato added. Ritsuko raised an eyebrow.
"What do they say?"
"Sempai! Sempai! I'm done!" Maya Ibuki announced happily. The two older women turned… And blinked.
Slightly flushed, Maya Ibuki stood, dressed in her costume. Green tights showed off her long, thin legs, while a tight red tunic with a stylized R on the left breast showed off her slim, attractive torso. She wore black boots, a yellow utility belt, and green gloves, with a short, black and yellow cape hanging from her shoulders. On her face was a domino mask with opaque, one-way lenses that hid her eyes.
"Nice, Maya," Misato grinned. "Where'd you get it?"
"Er… Old Halloween costume," Maya blushed. "It's a bit tighter than I remember…"
"So, you had to go commando to get into it?" Misato grinned. "That'll get his attention, all right."
Maya blushed prettily, looking at the floor.
"Well… I should try to thank him… For, you know… Saving my life," she mumbled.
"And how would you consider going about 'thanking' him, hm?" Misato purred. Maya's blush deepened.
"You're really getting too into this cat thing," Ritsuko noted, reading one of the comic books. Misato stuck out her tongue.
"Meow."
"So Sempai, how are you going to… Attract Batman?" Maya asked, blushing. Ritsuko smirked.
"Well, the simple way would just be to put up a Bat-signal and wait," the faux blonde observed mildly. "It would be the easiest method, actually."
"Aw… Where's the fun in that?" Misato pouted. "Give him a good riddle and see if he follows it. C'mon… Test him. See if he's really as good as we think he is."
"Oh… All right. But, if we all fail, I'm putting up the Batsignal, got it?" Ritsuko stated firmly. She then leaned back in her chair thoughtfully. Now where did I put my green leotard…?
Shinji couldn't help but feel pride well up in him as he finally sat back in the main chair of his finished headquarters. It had taken some doing, but he'd managed to clean up and equip the supposedly "useless" Angel shelter only a few blocks away from Misato's apartment complex. It was easily assessable via maintenance tunnels that suddenly became "caved in", at least to the city's monitoring system. And it had plenty of room for his arsenal.
He'd "borrowed" a few million in American dollars from his father's personal accounts (when would that man get more creative than using his mother's name for a password?), spending it on getting a few essentials for his base of operations - A vehicle, for starters. It was a heavily modified Dodge Viper, with bulletproof, lightweight armor panels, ejection seats, satellite communications systems, and booster jets, not to mention enough defensive weaponry to make James Bond's car look like a Pinto. It's sleek black paint job and wing-like extensions made it look like a horrifying demon of the night-Which was the point.
A few super computers and crime lab accessories were next, that Shinji had picked up at various drop-off points in different points in the city, under fake company names and always under disguise. He'd set them up here, along with an independent power source, advanced security technology, and at least three doors made of three-inch thick high-tensile steel.
Finally, there were several secret and hidden entrances to the shelter
Batman may have been paranoid. But, he'd hacked enough of NERV's files (not the entire mainframe but certainly a fair amount of top-secret info) to know the depths of his father's ruthlessness. He had no doubt that if the Commander found out who Batman really was, the best thing he could look forward to would be exile or imprisonment.
It was therefore completely understandable for Shinji, dressed in full costume, to immediately strike out with a cutting batarang the instant he heard a footstep behind his chair.
He stared at the intruder. The intruder, holding his batarang between her hands, dropped the weapon to the floor and stared back.
"Ikari-kun," Rei Ayanami nodded.
Shit, thought Batman.
TO BE CONTINUED