This takes place during the battle with the Thirteenth Angel. So, keep that in mind, okay? The battles with the Eleventh and Twelfth Angels went basically like they did in the anime, only Shinji, with Rei and Asuka's help, was able to break free of the Twelfth's grip with a fiery exit that seemed to give his Evangelion the wings of a angel-Or, in his case, the wings of a bat.

----

Damn damn damn… Why can't my father give me a straight answer BEFORE we enter combat? Shinji mentally snarled, as he magnified the image of the warped Evangelion 03 stalking towards NERV. On the outside his gaze was determined, cool, and rational. Inside he felt like screaming in rage.

God damnit… Why did it have to be Touji? Why can't you alien freaks leave us alone?

"NERV Control to all units-Commence attack!" Commander Ikari ordered over the radio. Shinji gritted his teeth, and began moving forward.

"Shinji, we have to stay in formation!" Asuka protested. "That's an Eva!"

"Yeah, I know…" Shinji chewed over the information his sensors were giving him on the target. "Rei-chan? Can you tell if the pilot is still in the Eva?"

"It would appear so," Rei stated. "The entry plug is still inserted."

Shinji nodded. "Allright Asuka… How do we get him out of that thin without killing him?"

"Well… We can't get too close or we'll also be invaded," the redhead surmised. "So… Rei, start firing to it's left. We need to draw it to where we can hit it from multiple angles and disable it."

"Limit your targets to the legs and the arms," Shinji added. "Asuka, you're a better shot so you fire for disabling him. I'll move in closer and try to grab the plug."

"Confirmed. Move out!" Asuka ordered.

Commander Ikari, monitoring the communications between the Evas, frowned. In the sims and their most recent battle, the Third, Second and First had all been acting as a coordinated team. His field reports at their school indicated that the Second still tormented the Third, while the Third's growing relationship with Rei had apparently brought some strain to the school social structure.

All this should have indicated that, in combat, the three would begin to distrust each other and their effectiveness drop. In reality, it seemed as though the three dropped all their personal issues the minute they entered the Evas and became a single, fluid body.

This was causing some distress to the commander.

"Pilots, this is Command. You are to engage the Thirteenth and destroy it, is that clear?"

"Sir, there's a pilot still inside. We have to at least try to rescue him!"

"Your orders are to destroy the Angel, Pilot Sorhyu. That is all." Ikari's eyebrows shot up slightly when he saw all but one of the Evas begin to take heavy fire positions.

"Pilot Ikari, you are ordered to cease forward movement. That is an order."

There was a pause.

"Sorry Command. You're breaking up. There maybe -scorch!- wrong with -screech!- equipment. Repeat -grrch!- Over?" Commander Ikari's expression became annoyed.

"Pilot Ikari, disengage. That is a direct order."

"… Hello. You've reached Evangelion Unit Zero One. The pilot is not here at the moment. Please leave a message at the sound of the beep. Beeeep!"

Fuyutsuki stifled a snicker. The rest of the bridge crew looked caught between astonishment and amusement. Ikari's expression became positively lethal.

"Cut the neural interface to the pilot of Zero one! Switch to the dummy plug system!" Maya Ibuki worked rapidly at her station, before gasping.

"Sir… The, uh… The Dummy System protocols are locked. It won't accept the commands."

"What! Who did that?" Ikari snarled. He turned to the holomonitor and glared as Unit 01 continued to approach Unit 03.

"Pilot Ikari, open fire! That is an order! If you disobey I will have you thrown into the brig!"

"… Que? No habla japoneis. No comprende!"

Unit Three leaped at Unit One, which skillfully grabbed the possessed Eva's arm and threw it into the ground using it's own momentum. The Eva quickly made a grab for the Angels' entry plug, before the Thirteenth smacked Unit One away as easily as it might a car. Unit One crashed into a stand of trees, as the Thirteenth scrambled after it, a predatory grin on it's deformed face. It howled in inhuman pain as Shinji kicked it in the face, swinging itself back up to it's feet.

"Lt Ibuki, we need the dummy system online. Now," Gendo snarled. This was not going as the scenario dictated. Shinji lashed out with a Mawashi roundhouse kick, sending the possessed Unit 3 crashing to the ground once again. The 13th Angel rose and tackled Unit One, sending both tumbling down a mountainside.

"The Dummy Plug system still refuses to activate!" Maya warned.

"Keep trying!" Gendo roared.

"Unit One is forcing the target away from NERV!" Hyuuga added. "The umbilical cord is beginning to reach maximum length!"

"I am in range," Rei noted over the comm. Gendo, having focused entirely on Shinji's antics, at last saw that Units 00 and 02 had been moving to the other side of the valley.

Directly in line with where Unit 03 and 01 were grappling.

"Shinji! Execute!" Asuka ordered.

"Roger!" Unit 01 ducked and pulled it's umbilical cord taught around Unit 03. The Angel roared as it struggled against the elastic cord. It wouldn't last much longer than a few seconds at best…

But it was enough. The Angel's arms and ankles were blown off by the combined, accurate fire of Rei and Asuka. It writhed and roared on the ground, as Unit 01 stepped forward, reaching for the possessed Eva.

"The Dummy Plug system is online!" Announced Maya. Gendo nodded.

"Execute attack!" The Bridge Bunnies looked back curiously at Gendo.

"Sir?" Gendo glared down at them all, and Maya, reluctantly, pressed the command.

The Eva's eyes glowed brightly, before it lunged for Unit 03.

"Huh? What the-Disengage! Disengage!" Shinji shouted frantically. "Repeat, the target is down! Disengage!" Gendo smirked, as Unit 01 began to tear 03 apart.

"Not so confident now, hm?" Gendo whispered to himself, as the Evangelion crushed Unit 3's entry plug. Shinji screamed loudly in anguish, as Asuka and Rei watched, both of them silent.

"The uh… Target has gone silent," Hyuuga noted quietly. The rest of the bridge was empty.

" Target pilot status?"

"… Gone." Maya murmured. Gendo nodded, hiding his smirk behind his fingers.

The scenario has resumed…

-----

"YOU BASTARD!" Shinji roared, grabbing for his father's neck with an unholy rage. Only the two Section 2 guards accompanying Gendo saved him from his furious son. Gendo looked coldly at the struggling Shinji, his eyes burning with hatred.

"YOU BASTARD! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR!" Shinji bellowed. "I HATE YOU, YOU SON OF A BITCH! WHAT THE HELL WOULD MOM THINK OF YOU NOW, HUH? YOU'RE A MONSTER! A SICK PSYCHOPATH!"

The insults continued, as well as promises of death, as Gendo turned and coldly ordered the security agents to lock the Third up in the brig. The Commander turned, and felt astonished as Shinji began to break through the increasing number of guards that had to restrain him. Ikari's eyes widened as he started to recognize some of the moves his son was using.

It can't be… Shinji ducked as one agent tried to tackle him and pitched him into another guard, before deftly snapping the arm of another, quickly shoving an elbow into the face of yet another agent and smashing his nose. The fury in Shinji's eyes made Gendo back up in fear.

"You're dead," Shinji growled menacingly, as he moved with incredible speed for Gendo. At once, his eyes widened, and he slowed. He still snarled and reached for Gendo's neck… Before slumping against his father and dropping to the deck, unconscious.

"Sorry sir… We had to…" Panted a Section 2 guard on the floor, wincing as he braced himself against the wall. Gendo nodded curtly as still more guards appeared.

"Take him to solitary confinement. I want guards on him around the clock. A full body search as well." The guards dragged the slim form of the Third Child away, as Gendo adjusted his glasses. He frowned.

Why have I never seen it before? Why?

-----

"You've been staring at him for hours, Ikari," Fuyutsuki drank deep of his coffee mug, and continued boredly watching the holoscreen of Shinji's cell. At his desk, Gendo sipped deeply of his own coffee, his eyes never leaving the screen.

"He's Batman, sensei… I know it. I can see it." He shook his head. "How did I never see it before?" Fuyutsuki stiffened, before carefully guarding his body language.

"Perhaps you made a mistake. Lt. Ibuki says that the constant training and LCL exposure would result in increased strength and fighting ability for all pilots…" Ikari shook his head.

"No… No, this is too close. He fought like Batman. The same speed and tactics. The same deadly grace."

"But Batman doesn't kill, remember?" Fuyutsuki noted. "And your son seemed rather intent on killing you." Gendo managed to hide his shudder at the memory of the hate in his son's eyes. It was something he'd never seen before in Shinji's eyes, directed at him. Hope, anger, sorrow, shame-All of that, his son had shown him, but never such raw anger.

"He is Batman. I know he is," Gendo reiterated.

"So, now what? You keep him locked up until the next Angel attack?" Fuyutsuki observed mildly. "If you don't do something, the next time he's in an Eva he's going to destroy this entire facility."

"No, he won't. He'd never attack innocents. That, Sensei, is Batman's greatest weakness. And our greatest strength." Gendo smirked. "It's all so clear to me now. The disappearances from Section 2, the fighting skills in his Eva… What other explanation is there?"

"That you're insane." Gendo turned and glared at the impudence of his second in command… Only to be met with frightened confusion. Both men stared at each other, and as one, turned around.

Standing in the open window, his cape fluttering in the wind, stood Batman. The Dark Knight stood salient as a statue. Gendo turned and looked back at the holoscreen, before looking back at Batman. Gendo then smirked.

"Who are you? One of Shinji's friends? Covering for him? It won't work…" Batman smirked. He stepped into the office, body language perfectly Batman. Gendo's smirk began to fade. He hit a button on his desk.

"Section 2, visual report on the Third and his friends." A silent moment passed.

"The Third is in his cell. Our reports state that his friends are all at home. The other pilots are also where they are supposed to be."Gendo gritted his teeth and regarded Batman cooly. Batman's smirk remained in place.

"I'm watching you, Ikari. I know all your dealings. I know all your crimes."

"What are you going to do? Testify? In that mask?" Gendo asked coldly. "You know how far I'm willing to go… How far are you?" Batman's smirk never wavered.

"Your bosses aren't very happy about what you've been up to. Give it a month… Perhaps two… And you're going to be in a world of hurt. And when you finally fall… I'll be there." A flash of bright light made Fuyutsuki and Gendo turn away. As Gendo expected, when they looked back, Batman had vanished. Gendo gritted his teeth and looked back at his son, still snug in his cell.

"… Damnit…"

-----

"Shinji. Shinji? Hello… Baka, wake up!"

"Nngh… It's too early for breakfast," Shinji complained, leaning over to one side of his snug, warm bed. It was then he realized that he was strapped down to his bed. Which was not warm, and not snug, but cold and metallic. He opened his eyes, and tilted his head slightly to the right.

"… Asuka? Rei?" Both girls stood on the other side of the super-thick glass that kept Shinji from the outside world. A guard kept a constant eye on them.

"You really have perfect timing, baka," Asuka sighed. She gave him an amazed look. "You actually tried to strangle the Commander?"

Shinji turned and looked up at the ceiling. Rei remained silent.

"Wow. I never though you'd have the guts." Asuka smiled in admiration. Shinji lifted his head in a form of constrained shrug.

"We had the Angel… We had Touji. And he still…" Shinji gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, focusing all his will to calm himself. Asuka looked to the side, looking uncharacteristically nervous.

"Well… Batman put the fear of God into him, so I don't think you'll be in here much longer. Besides, we need you to cook and clean at home…"

Shinji looked up and stared at Asuka, his gaze piercing and intense.

"What? Batman?" Rei nodded.

"He apparently appeared in the Commander's office last night." Rei's hands began moving in their specialized sign language. Did you…?

"Really, huh?" Shinji asked. He shook his head. Rei frowned.

"Yeah… Weird, huh?" Asuka asked. Rei continued: It was not I or Miss Ibuki.

"Check it out for me, please? I don't exactly get news in here," Shinji requested, giving a pointed look to Rei. Asuka shrugged and laughed.

"Hey, no sweat. Until another Angel shows up, I've got nothing better to do." Rei nodded simply.

"Allright, time is up," the guard said flatly. Asuka harrumphed and headed out, followed by Rei who gave Shinji a last, tender look. And so, Shinji resumed staring up at the ceiling, the gears in his mind spinning over this new mystery.

------

TBC…