Prey
It rained in Tokyo-3.
Little droplets of water splashed themselves across the pavement, the few people outside beginning to regret their choice to be out in the grey skies. The rain fell hard, creating a gloomy atmosphere.
Somewhere in the rain, a man sat alone on a park bench.
He had it rough. He had been someone with aspirations; he had dreams, of a loving family waiting at home grateful for the money he earned to keep the whole afloat. Children who slept soundly in the night, a wife he could hold in his arms…these dreams, and more, had been cruelly dashed away on the day of the storm.
The Storm of Kokoro left many displaced. He had no more family to call his own. No house, no money… he took to the streets when he was unable to get a job anywhere. His skills were mediocre, not even fit to be some lowly technician at NERV. He was alone and no one could care less.
NERV did not care. Tokyo-3, this entire fucking city, did not care.
The shelters were filled to the max, leaving countless people out in the street unable to escape the battles that waged on. The Evangelion and the Angels… there was no difference, they're titans struggling for supremacy ignorant of the humans beneath them.
It was misery or death. There was nothing else for people like himself, the unlucky.
A rustling disturbed the man's thoughts. He instantly panicked, getting up.
"Who's there?"
He raised his fists, ready for a fight. His eyes searched around. At this time other hoodlums could come and attack for cash or take his spot. He had to be careful.
"Come out there, nobody's going to get hurt."
The rustling got louder. The man shuddered, gritting his teeth.
"I said come out you stinkin' asswi-"
In an uncaring Tokyo-3, no one cared when a man disappears from the face of the Earth.
"Shinji why did you ignore my orders up there?"
The NERV locker room. Captain Misato Katsuragi stood over her ward, who sat quietly on a bench. He had his arms over his knees, his head looking down on the floor.
"Well Shinji?"
"…"
"I'm your superior officer in charge of your missions. You have an obligation to follow my orders no matter what. Do you understand?"
"… Yeah, I understand." Shinji said finally.
"Then make sure this never happens again."
His hands gripped the pants. "I'll make sure it doesn't happen again, captain."
Misato's eyes hardened. "I don't like the tone you just had."
At that, Shinji got up. He slammed his feet to the floor.
"Look, we beat the Angel and saved the day! Why am I still here? Why can't I just go home already?!"
"You went against orders and nearly got yourself killed out there!" Misato yelled. "What you did was ridiculously stupid and reckless. You should've headed back when we ordered you to, yet you ignored it."
"If I did what you told me to, the Angel would have just kept going and attacked the city before heading right down for NERV! I did what I had to do."
"Need I remind you Shinji that your EVA was running out of power and it was only a split second miracle you managed to kill it before the battery ran out? It was a bad strategy and you shouldn't have done that."
"And why not? We beat it didn't we?"
"Because you're a pilot now. We can't have our pilots running half cocked, we need you to follow orders so that humanity can live. Your risk could have potentially gotten everyone killed. And for what? A need to satisfy your ego?"
"I had a chance and I took it! What did you expect me to do just run away? I can't do that, I won't do that!"
Suddenly, Shinji found the sleeves of his shirt being gripped. He was slammed against the wall while Misato's face was right up in his face, directly within his line of sight.
"Now you listen to me." Misato said, her tone lower than anything Shinji had heard before. "I don't care if you want to run away or not. None of this has ever been about you! You're an EVA pilot, a soldier. Soldiers have to follow orders. You know why? Because one accident, one tiny little slip up, could have dangerous consequences. Not just for you, but for the people you're trying to protect. Your actions put everyone at risk, and you can't expect luck to win out every time. Only idiots think that way."
She let go of his shirt.
"We're done here. Go home and get some rest, I'll be there soon."
Silence between the two. Misato expected Shinji to say something, to fire back.
However, that didn't happen. Shinji merely hung his head low. Whether in shame or something else, he remained quiet as he walked over to the door.
As the door closed behind him, Misato sighed.
"I expected better from you…"
A door slides open.
"Misato?"
Shinji found an empty bed on the floor with the sheets spread about. He sighed, heading to the kitchen.
On the dinner table was a note. Shinji picked it up.
Hey Shinji, I'm gonna be out all day at NERV so make sure to buy some groceries when you get back! 3 Misato!
"Alrighty then." Shinji said. He placed the note down and headed out.
The day was cloudy. The few pockets of light from above did little to remove the gloomy atmosphere. It had been like this all weekend, the afternoons usually suffering from rain. As Shinji walked alone, he thought about the situation.
Ever since that confrontation in the locker room, he and Misato barely spoke. They were on edge the whole week, avoiding each other in subtle ways. Today was no different.
'I did the right thing didn't I?' Shinji thought. 'The Angel was gonna kill everyone, what does Misato know?'
However, Shinji didn't quite believe his own words. he didn't want to admit it, but the longer Shinji thought about it the more he was thinking Misato might have had a point. He vividly remembered the sparks from the Angel's core as he stabbed the knife inside of it. His focus at the time was on making sure it died… he forgot about how the entry plug's lights dimmed during his attack. He screamed so loudly he didn't hear the two others in the entry plug who were frightened and terrified. If he hadn't stabbed the progressive knife all the way through…
Shinji clutched his head in frustration. Any time he was near the Eva his spider-sense went off but inside of it… he felt at peace. Comforted. Anytime he left it he was angry. Exhausted.
He needed a break. He doesn't have any synch tests, so he could probably use a swing around town. Good thing he packed up his new costume tod-
"Hey new kid! Wait up!"
Shinji turned around. Two boys were running towards him, the one with glasses more out of breath than the other.
"Hold on… whoah Touji don't ever run like that again."
Immediately, Shinji remembered. They were the students that got into the entry plug with him during the attack. Touji and… Kensuke? Did he remember correctly? They knew he was a pilot.
Didn't one of them have a grudge against him?
"Yes? Something I can help you with?" Shinji said with caution. He took a step back, ready to flee.
Kensuke waved his hands. "We're- cough- we're to say thanks. We would have died if it weren't for you saving us the other day. Touji here-"
He punched Touji's gut, causing the other boy to grunt in pain.
"-has something he wants to say I think."
Touji glared at Kensuke, but he just sighed heavily. He crossed his arms as he tried not to look at Shinji.
"Listen new kid," Touji let out, "I'm really glad you saved us the other day… We owe ya. And…"
He scratched the back of his head. "I saw you overhearin' us the other day. Ya probably heard all the nasty shit I said huh? I'm… sorry for makin' assumptions about ya. I was hopin' we could start over?"
Shinji blinked. He placed the foot next the other one.
"I wouldn't mind." Shinji said. "I don't blame you for what you said. Honestly, I kind of deserved some of that."
"Wow nice and humble! Truly NERV knew how to pick 'em!" Kensuke smiled. "Guess he ain't so bad after all eh Touji?"
"Whatever Ken." Touji grumbled. "He still wasn't that good."
"I'm sorry," Shinji said. "I tried to be careful but since it was my first time piloting the Eva. I should have been more careful."
Kensuke's eyes widened as he caught that statement. "Your first time?"
Shinji realized that he had just blurted out.
"Wait I-"
"You mean you never got into an Eva that first fight?!" Kensuke asked, shocked.
"DUDE! What the hell?!" Touji angrily said. "Weren't they supposed to have the best of the best fighting for us or somethun?!"
"You gotta tell us more!" Kensuke said excitedly, pointing the camera he had in his pocket at Shinji. "How did you even get the job to begin with if you never even seen an Eva before?"
Shinji placed a hand over the lens of the camera. "Look, I'll explain on the way. Let's head to school."
"So you got a letter from your old man and just accepted it without so much as a little 'hey dad why are you suddenly contacting me right now when we didn't even talk for years'?"
The trio hung out in the cafeteria, eating food. Shinji noticed the cafeteria seemed fuller today. It seemed like an influx of students came in, since several didn't even have the proper uniform, others were older than they were supposed to be.
"Of course not," Shinji rebuked Touji. "I didn't have much of a choice though. Kokoro was a wreck and I couldn't stay since my father controlled the finances. I was plenty suspicious about what he wanted, but how was I supposed to know I was gonna pilot a giant robot and fight a monster I had never heard of before three weeks ago."
"That's so messed up!" Kensuke said. "A military organization like NERV sends untrained civilians to fight without any warning? What were they thinking?"
"My father… said that I was chosen by the Marduk Institute about a week before the Angel attack," Shinji said. "Whatever they are they apparently make the decisions about who's a pilot or not.
Shinji looked down. "Touji… I tried the best I could."
"I heard ya, your old man had a spectacular case of shit timing." Touji said. "It's a good thing you haven't told anyone about being a pilot though. I've heard some of our classmates were eager to fight whoever piloted that purple green monster."
"What? But Touji, he's a pilot! Why would they insult him?" Kensuke asked.
"A lot of these guys came from Kokoro." Touji said "Some of 'em had family and friends locked outside of the shelters during the battles. Most of 'em survived but… they ain't exactly singing your praises either."
"Outside the shelters…" Shinji said under his breath. "I'm so sorry-"
"If you say what I think you're gonna say, screw that." Touji said holding a hand up. "If your really wanna apologize, you should say it straight to her face in the hospital. The doctors said she'll be cleared for visitors tomorrow. If you wanna…"
Shinji nodded. "I promise I'll go there."
"Good. Otherwise I'd have to clobber ya." Touji said cracking a knuckle.
"Don't mind him," Kensuke winked, "deep down underneath his rocky exterior is a big ol' softie."
"Kensuke!" Touji wrapped a shoulder around Kensuke's neck, giving him a noogie. "You don't get to say such things!"
"WAH! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"
Shinji let out a tiny laugh at the sight. He hadn't laughed that much in a while, so seeing something funny was.. refreshing.
"Suzuhara!" Hikari Horaki said. "What did I tell you about disturbing the peace at lunch?"
"Yeah yeah, whatever." Touji said, letting Kensuke go. "My sister's allowing visitors tomorrow, just so you know."
"Oh that's great Touji!" Hikari noticed a stranger sitting with them. "Oh this is the new kid right?"
"Yeah he's uh…" Touji turned his head to Shinji. "What was your name again new kid?"
"Oh!" Shinji nodded. "Ikari Shinji. Pleased to meet you."
Touji nodded back, raising his arm up. "Suzuhara Touji. The geek over here is Kensuke."
"Aida Kensuke. Pleased to meet you Ikari!" Kensuke smiled.
"My name is Horaki Hikari," Hikari chimed in, bowing. "I'm the class representative so if there's anything you need to ask me about you come to me okay?"
Shinji smiled at them.
"Got it."
School ended.
The trio walked in the direction of their homes.
"Hey Ikari," Kensuke said, "me and Touji are gonna be heading out to play soldiers out in the fields. We'll see ya tomorrow… unless you wanna volunteer?"
"Just 'cause I lost a bet…" Touji grumbled underneath his breath.
A van passed by the three.
Shinji shook his head. "I can't. Misato- she's my guardian- she needs me back home for um…"
"Probably some chores you need to do." Kensuke guessed. "Oh well, see you tomorrow!"
"You better not be late for our visit to the hospital tomorrow, Ikari!" Touji waved his fist. "Or else!"
"Won't miss it!" Shinji said
He ran off, leaving the duo behind. As soon as he was sure they couldn't see, he dove into an alley. Shinji took off his backpack, webbing it to the wall as he removed his uniform piece by piece.
His costume was shredded during his encounter with the Goblin, so Shinji had to come up with something new for later. He was starting to itch from the jacket anyway.
The new costume was simpler. A short sleeved shirt, skin tight blue pants, a pair of brown gloves and a mask. The shirt had a simple design, blue with a red midsection that created a red belt at the lower end, a small spider symbol in the chest. His hands were initially burned from the encounter with the Goblin, so to protect them he wore a thick cast over them along with brown gloves. Even after his hands were healed, Shinji kept them around. It made knocking bad guys out a little faster after all.
His mask was different too. In addition to the webbing that were added to the mask, Shinji replaced the goggles from the original with a see through lens, the type where he could see out but no one could see in. This idea he got from an American special effects artist he read about named Quentin Beck when he discussed how he designed some of the suits he made for the films in the 60's. Not a particularly talented individual, Beck mostly handled B Movie shlock, but it was useful information all the same.
As he launched a web line into the air, Shinji couldn't help but grin.
"Look out world, here comes the Spider-Man!"
He swung from building, basking in the rush he was feeling. His first real night on the town. Now Shinji has had, shall we say, negative experiences with the police (an itching on his leg reminded him of that). As such, he thought it wise to stay out of sight. He stayed high, did more running between the buildings.
Tokyo-3 was different from Kokoro. Compared to the more homogenized feel of his own city, Tokyo-3 was a practice of contrasts. You have older, dilapidated buildings that have been scheduled for takedown, a remnant of an older Japan; on the other, bleeding modern technological marvels that not even Kokoro, the supposed heart of Japan, even had. The government had pushed serious finance into building the weapons and technology for NERV.
The new shone brightly… the old was left to rot.
Spider-Man payed close attention to the streets to see if anything suspicious was going on. Sure enough, the web swinger noticed a NERV van taking a wrong turn towards an alley way. Now, usually NERV vehicles were supposed to park… well… at NERV. So that detour would naturally seem a touch suspicious to some people. Probably nothing, but it wouldn't hurt to investigate.
Spider-Man jumped from one roof to the next. He crawled through the floor, not leaving a sound as he moved with precision. When he got the ledge, he raised a head to see what was down there.
As it turns out, his suspicions were true. These guys- five of them- were not wearing NERV uniforms. They had gotten out of the van and started bringing out boxes.
'A hijacking.' Shinji surmised. He leaned forward to listen in.
"Alright guys, remember to be careful with the stuff." said one of the goons.
"Don't you think this a little too suspicious? We don't even know who hired us." said another.
"Hey if the pay is good, the pay is good. We're supposed to drop it off here for the caller to pick up later."
"Hope it's fucking worth it, hijacking the van was a pain in the ass."
"For supposed saviors of mankind, NERV sure had crap security."
"Saviors of mankind my ass! The hell were they when Kokoro happened? Fuck 'em they deserved to rot."
So they were hired by someone to bring in cargo. Where to? Who for? Shinji would look into these questions later. Right now though-
The goons were startled by a thud.
"Hello everyone, I hope you don't mind me uh… dropping in?"
The fight began quickly. They pulled out their guns and fired, but the wall crawler was faster then them. He jumped upwards and dropped to the floor, swiftly kicking their legs so they'd fall.
"Don't let him near the cargo, shoot dammit!"
One criminal recovered quickly and pointed the gun, but Spider-Man webbed it, pulling on it so it hit on the goon behind him punching the first guy out.
Spider-Sense tingling, Shinji jumped away to avoid a swarm of bullets.
"Thought Spider-Man was just a myth. Well you're about to be!"
Spider-Man stuck to the wall, avoiding each bullet through quick acrobatic feats.
"You've heard of me? How nice! Maybe you can tell all your friends, I'd be willing to take a pic!"
Spider-Man webbed up the goon's gun, jamming it just in time for a boot to the head. He probably needed a dentist soon after.
The remaining two evidently did not want a visit, since they tried to run. However, they were pulled back by web lines attached to their back.
"I was having a lonely day out here and what do I find?" Spider-Man said wrapping the last two thugs to the wall. "Some guys carrying party supplies! Who's the birthday boy? I'd like to join in on the fun."
"Look don't hurt us!" said one of the tied up criminals. "We were just doin' a job! We don't know shit about our client."
"Yeah he called us we don't know shit." said the other. "Wanted some equipment from NERV."
Spider-Man inspected the crates as they talked. He broke off one handle. Sure enough, what they said was true. It was components for lab materials. Shinji had seen stuff like this in Central Dogma for the MAGI systems.
"Looks like you were telling the truth." Spider-Man said out loud. "Guess that means I'll have to find my own invite. Now you're just gonna sit there while the cops show up."
Shinji noticed an odd sight. A shadowy figure stood on a rooftop. Just as quickly as Shinji blinked, he was gone.
"What was that-?"
"FREEZE!"
The police pointed their guns at the wall crawler.
"Ah here we go." Spider-Man rolled his eyes. "The more things change the more they stay the same as the saying goes."
"Look just put your hands and nobody gets hurt." said one of the officers ready to fire.
"Hmmm… I'm gonna have to put a no on that." Spider-Man said. "So much time, so much to do and all that. See ya!"
He jumped faster than they could get a lock on him. As he launched a web line and swung through the day, Shinji grinned at a job well done.
'Ah, too good.' He thought. 'NERV synch tests ate up a lot of time, but I'm back in business.'
As he said that, he heard the sound of thunder. The clouds had gotten darker.
"Hm… it looks it might rain later." Shinji said out loud. "Oh well, I still got time. The forecast said the rain would fall at 6:00 and it's still earlier. I'll just finish my patrol, get the groceries and be home by 7:00. Piece of cake."
Looking down, he noticed the shadowy figure running across the rooftops. Shinji narrowed his eyes.
"Now who are you?"
Today, Misato had woken up mad.
At what exactly, she wasn't sure. Maybe she just hated Fridays. Maybe she hated getting lost even after three weeks of being here. Maybe she was mad at Shinji, the kid she woke up early enough to avoid.
Or maybe… maybe she hated the goddamn paperwork she had to do.
The last Angel slashed through several buildings in it's rampage, costing a crap ton of the money that Misato had to sign some checks on. This was the part of the job she absolutely hated. Who wanted to spend hours going through the same dull papers when she could be spending time doing anything else.
Her heart belonged in the command center, leading the charge against her hated enemies. Not… this.
"Looks like somebody's being a little grumpy today!"
Misato narrowed her eyes at the voice. She turned around to meet the recipient. "Oh hey Ritsuko."
"Hey Misato. I got the test results you wanted." Ritsuko said, handing a folder over to her. "I made sure to check three times but fortunately there were no signs of mental contamination from the Eva during the fight and after it."
"Are you sure about that?" Misato raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
After the conversation she had with Shinji, she went to Ritsuko to ask if the Evangelion left some traces of mental contamination. It wasn't like he was spineless or anything, but during both fights with the Angels he seemed angrier and fiercer than she had seen of him. It could have been the threat of the situation but Misato wanted to be sure.
"Positive." Ritsuko said. "I had the MAGI do additional readings make sure."
"Right. " Misato crossed her arms. "You seem to trust the MAGI a lot considering…."
Ritusko sighed heavily. "Mother is an insane nut job who should be thrown in jail as soon as possible. However, if I can say one anything about her, is that she's not stupid. The MAGI is her life's work, she worked on it to near perfection. We can trust it."
"Right right… Say Ritsu? Do you think I might have been harsh on Shinji?"
"It doesn't matter if you were." Ritsuko said. "You're his captain, he has to obey your orders. If he can't fall in line he has to be disciplined. It's a fact."
"You're right. Still…"
"If you really want to make sure he's alright, you should to talk to him. You running around and going behind his back isn't doing anyone favors."
Misato nodded. "Yeah. I'll talk to him when I get back."
"Joy." Ritsuko took out a cigarette. "Anyway Section-2 has reported that Spider-Man is in the city."
"Spider-Man…" Misato narrowed her eyes. "Now there's a real joker."
"Not a fan I take it?"
"I don't like him. He's an unknown… some masked freak running around thinking he owns the place!"
"Well he apparently had been spotted foiling a robbery of stolen NERV equipment. Section 2 is interrogating the thugs for information."
"Let me know what they say when they're done."
"I will." Ritsuko took a puff of smoke from the lit up cigar. "Anyway, I got some work to do. See you."
"Bye Ritsu!"
With that, Ritsuko left leaving Misato all by herself.
So that was that. She was gonna have to talk to Shinji when he got back. Misato hopes he hasn't run away before then. Or gotten into trouble with Spider-Man.
She's gonna give that wall crawler a piece of her mind if he did anything to Shinji.
"BAM BAM BAM!"
Kensuke yelled out as he shot at the enemy soldier. He was wrapped in an epic battle, the soldiers marching across the beaches to capture the base. An incoming foe came at him with a knife, but Kensuke bravely defending himself with his machine gun. His enemy fell to the floor, bleeding to death as he said his final words.
"Oh no… you got me… bleh." Touji said, fake coughing.
"Aw come on man, at least pretend that you give a crap." Kensuke said, pulling Touji up by his hand.
"No can do Kensuke." Touji said. "That would mean less fun for me."
"You're no fun." Kensuke pouted as he punched Touji's arm.
"Darn right."
Soon Touji felt something dropping on his shoulder. He looked up to the sky. Little droplets fell from the clouds.
"It's gonna rain soon." Touji said.
"You're right," Kensuke nodded. "Let's head back."
Packing up was easy. Kensuke was originally going to set up camp in the fields for the weekend, but with Touji coming along he had to adjust plans so they'd only be there for a few hours. The pair walked home.
It took only half an hour to get back to the city. At this time, the rain drops were getting harder. It wasn't quite a downpour yet, but neither had packed any raincoats. Touji in particular was not pleased.
"Shit, last thing I want is to come home wet." Touji said. "Told ya we should have finished sooner."
"I lost track of time! Besides you promised anyway" Kensuke said.
"I did and I regret it immensely." Touji started to shiver. "Brrr… isn't there a faster way back."
"Hmmm… I know a shortcut."
"You do? Where Ken, I wanna get home before my dad kills me!"
"Hmmmm…" Kensuke pointed to the right. "That way."
Touji looked in that direction. He immediately got angry. "Ken, are you fuckin' suicidal?! We could get attacked by some creeps or somethun if we go down that alleyway."
"Well if you don't want to get wet we're just gonna have to go that way so follow me!"
Kensuke ran into the alleyway, Touji reluctantly coming along.
It was a rather long and dark alleyway. There is no sign of care here, only the rats infesting the place, the trash that littered the floor and the dirt. The rain did not make things any better, the pair getting wet and shivering from the cold air.
Touji hated this. "Can we go faster?"
"We're going we're going!" Kensuke said, not really listening. He was trying to focus on the path ahead.
The duo continued ahead. They took careful steps, but it did nothing to calm their worries.
The sound of boxes falling alerted Touji.
"What the fuck was that?" Touji almost yelled.
"It's probably just a cat or something." Kensuke shrugged it off. "No one else goes here. Except us that is. We'll be fine."
"You're not exactly raising the vote of confidence." Touji grumbled.
They kept walking. The duo heard more noises around them, something scratching the edge but never within their line of sight.
"Maybe… maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Kensuke said, now getting worried. "L-let's hurry up."
"Go for it," Touji agreed.
They kept walking.
"Heh, hey Touji" Kensuke chuckles. " Wouldn't it be funny if we were being stalked by Spider-Man?"
"Seriously Ken? That guy's an urban legend, he's not real."
"Oh come on, we live in a world with giant robots and weird aliens, but a guy with spider powers oh no that's too much for you?"
"Whatever man, it's not like he's gonna show up right in front of us or someth-"
WHAM!
Suddenly the duo were knocked back. Something crashed in front of them…
The creature was utterly bizarre. It had the lithe shape of a man, but with a scaled, brownish green armored visage. It's clawed hand smashed the floor with it's strength, it's it's eyes were a blaring red with it's mouth replaced by a set of pincers. Behind it was a Scorpion's long tail that slithered in the background, it's stinger ready to strike.
The duo raised their heads up… and screamed.
"HOLY CRAP!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The Scorpion hissed at them, taking glee in their torment. It readied it's tail to stab at them…
It was suddenly thrown to the side, leaving a dent on the building it smashed in. The Scorpion raised it's hand to wipe the blood from it's mouth. It looked back to find the one who struck him.
"I've been trying to meet up with you all night, yet you stop for a bunch of strangers? Gotta say I'm pretty disappointed."
The Scorpion glared at it's opponent. The spider will die.
"HOLY SHIT, SPIDER-MAN IS REAL?!"
Shinji gritted his teeth. Touji and Kensuke were going to be caught in the crossfire if he wasn't careful.
"Crud, is my camera on? I need it on!" Kensuke yelled excitedly, trying to fumble with the camera he carried. "Spider-Man I have a ton of questions! Are you a bunch of spiders inhabiting the costume? Do you have stingers that paralyze people? ARE YOU A REFUGEE FROM AN ALIEN PLANET?!"
The Scorpion lunged at Spider-Man, sending him to the floor before Spider-Man kicked him away into the window.
"Listen I usually love talking but you should probably get to safety."
"But my questions-
Kensuke was cut off when the Scorpion dropped down from the broken window. Touji grabbed his arm and forcefully dragged him.
"Shut up Kensuke, he told us to go!" Touji yelled. Kensuke, reluctantly, moved along with him.
Spider-Man took a defensive stance. The Scorpion crouched, circling the wall crawler while his tail wiggled about. Spider-Man knew he couldn't get in too close. He wasn't sure if the tail was poisonous, but even without that being stabbed by it was probably painful. Shinji wasn't going to take that risk. The Scorpion was staring at him the whole time.
How to get through his defense…
THWIP!
Spider-Man shot a web the Scorpion's face. The villain, growling, cut the webbing with it's clawed hand, but it didn't matter. Spider-Man got close enough and decked it
"Not much of a talker are you?" Spider-Man said as he punched the Scorpion. "Bummer, I was looking for a partner to bounce off of my dashing quips!"
His spider sense tingling, Spider-Man moved away. A slash through the shirt was enough warning. He had barely dodged the Scorpion's stinger, his chest bleeding from the wound.
"Ngh!" Shinji grunted, holding the slashed up chest with a hand.
Soon the Scorpion… multiplied? No… things were getting blurry. Shinji was barely able to make a blob of green. He realized it almost immediately. The stinger had been poisoned, and he was succumbing to it's effects.
'This isn't good!' Shinji thought, 'I have to protect Touji, Kensuke… I need to use my-'
SPIDER-SENSE!
He moved to the left, feeling something move past him. He moved right, feeling a similar sensation.
The Scorpion was attacking using it's the tail. Spider-Man surmised it was afraid to get too close, otherwise it would have starting punching him at least. He dodged the tail more and more, relying on his spider-sense as a radar to move out of the way of the stinger.
Shinji heard growling. The stinger strikes were getting faster and angrier. Scorpion was getting impatient. Good, it might make a mistake.
Something changed. No stinger strike.
The brief pause proved dangerous as a clawed hand scratched off Shinji's face.
"Whoah, too close!" Shinji yelled. Thankfully, the creature only got a chunk of the mask. Now that it was close…
Spider-Man punched what he assumed was Scorpion's face. He felt something break off. Perhaps he might have ripped off one of the pincers from it's mouth. Either way, he heard the creature yell furiously.
SPIDER-SENSE!
Shinji barely managed to trap the pincer in place with both hands. He grunted, trying to hold it in place.
"Okay… I can see you're a solo act…" Spider-Man said. "Shame, we could have taken the audience-"
He grabbed the tail.
"-for a whirl!"
The Scorpion was thrown right into a dumpster, leaving a rather large dent on it. It let out a breath, groaning in pain.
Meanwhile, Shinji clutched his head from the pain. Slowly, but surely, he could feel his dizziness disappearing. He opened his eyes and his vision was clearer now.
'Could it be my healing factor?' Shinji guessed. 'It would probably impact normal people harder, but my metabolism burned the poison off quickly.'
Spider-Man heard two things slamming to the ground. He looked up just in time to see the Scorpion lunging at him, tail ready to strike.
"Okay doc, let's see how you like a taste of your own medicine!" Shinji yelled.
As the Scorpion stopped to make a tail strike, Spider-Man grabbed it once more. He turned it-
"GRRAAAAAAAGGGHHHH!"
-and stabbed the stinger right onto the Scorpion.
"Gotta tell ya Scorpy- Do you mind if I call you that?" Spider-Man got into a fighting stance. "Anyways I've been having a rough night thanks to you so why don't you just… stay there? Sure the cops will probably have a hard time keeping you down, but NERV probably has containment cells or whatever. You okay with that? Okay good now sit."
The sound of lightning struck in the distance. Deep down, the Scorpion was panicking. It suddenly realized it wasn't going to make any head way in this fight. Spider-Man had it right where he wanted. The choice was clear. Retreat was the only option.
From the corner of it's eye, the Scorpion noticed the pair of students. They had apparently stuck around. Big mistake.
It slammed Spider-Man away with it's tail. The Scorpion jumped upwards, landing next to the dumpster. It held it with both hands, foisting the thing over itself while looking directly at Touji and Kensuke
"Hey Ken! He's staring at us!"
"Could he be… OH NO!"
Spider-Man got up just in time to watch the Scorpion throw the dumpster right at them. The creature looked like it was smirking as it climbed up the walls.
"Crap, HOLD ON YOU TWO!" Shinji quickly got to work.
He launched a web at the moving dumpster. Then another, and another, and several-
"AAAAHHHH!" Kensuke had closed his eyes, thinking death would come.
However… nothing happened.
He opened his eyes… it was stopped. Before Kensuke could sing any praises, Spider-Man came staggering towards them.
Shinji took off the rest of his tattered mask and let out a huge breath. He placed both hands on the wall of the dumpster. He was angry at himself, he allowed the Scorpion to get away. Now he won't know what happened. He slammed his forehead against the wall in frustration.
"Great, what am I gonna do now?" Shinji spoke out loud.
"Holy shit… you're Spider-Man?!"
Shinji's eyes widened. He turned to the duo who had shocked and bewildered expressions At that moment. on their faces.
"Umm… this is just a cosplay?"
Touji pointed at him. "If that was cosplay Second Impact was fucking homecoming prom night."
"No way! You're not only an Eva pilot but you're Spider-Man too?" Kensuke grinned excitedly, practically jumping for joy. "Is this some secret NERV experiment thing? I have to know!"
Shinji was utterly mortified. His first night out and he already blew his secret to two random people he just met.
"Look uh," Shinji said. "I promise to answer anything later, I gotta go!"
He put on the mask, launching another web line and swung away. Touji and Kensuke looked on in amazement.
"Kensuke, I don't think our lives are gonna be normal ever again."
"I know… it's like we're in an amazing fantasy!"
"Tch… Moron."
"Well this is humiliating."
Shinji found out his backpack had been stolen in between the time he swung away and now. His clothes had also evidently been used as a nest for birds, as they left their feces for him to find.
He just has the worst luck doesn't he?
With not much options left, Shinji simply sighed and swallowed his pride. He placed the mask inside of his pant's pockets while he put the uniform on over his costume. It was uncomfortable, he didn't really like it, but it would have to do.
From there, he walked the rest of the way back to the apartment. The rain poured hard, and as he reached the entrance he was already drenched.
"Achoo!" Shinji sneezed. "Please let me not be sick…"
At least his card wasn't stolen. He slid it across the door, and it opened.
"Hey Shinji you're back-" Misato noticed his state. "Oh God you're drenched!"
"Yeah I uh, went out for a walk." Shinji scratched the back of his head. "To clear my mind and all. Got a little side tracked heh heh."
Misato got up from her chair. She went over and rubbed her hand over Shinji's forehead.
"What happened to your backpack? And where are the groceries I asked for?" Misato narrowed her eyes. "Did someone hurt you?"
"I forgot to get the groceries." Shinji explained. "And um… it was stolen. The backpack I mean. I accidentally left it behind at school and it got lost."
Misato took a careful look at the boy. After a moment, she crossed her shoulders.
"You're late… I'm glad you're not hurt though. Do you feel better after your little walk? Was it worth it?"
"It was actually." Shinji said. "I had some time to think and… you were right Misato. I was acting reckless out in the battlefield when I should have been following orders. I wasn't the only one at risk there, I should have been more considerate to the people around me… if I retreated like you said we would have been able to find a way to kill it."
"… Right! That's good! Glad we managed to clear that up!" Misato said a little too quickly. "How about we get some lunch?"
Before she could head back to the kitchen, Shinji grabbed her hand.
"Wait Misato before that… can I say something?"
Misato looked at him. "Sure. What's up?"
Shinji looked down to the floor, trying to form the workds. "I'm… I'm not really used to people looking out for me… I've been alone for the past few months ever since… I just want to say thank you, Misato, for taking me in. It was very kind of you, and I'm grateful for that."
At that, Misato gave him a brilliant smile. "It's my pleasure. It's been nice having you around too roomie! Let's celebrate by digging in."
"Okay. I'll do the cooking since I don't quite trust you."
"Oh party pooper." Misato rolled her eyes. However, she smelled him. "Geez you reek! What, did you take a dive to the dumpster or something?"
Shinji blushed. "Uh… pigeons were having a field day?"
"Well you're not getting anything until you shower! Bleh!"
Shinji laughed, going to do just that. "Good to be home."
"You sure you're ready for this?"
Shinji was led by Touji and Kensuke down the hospital. Saturday was actually pretty sunny today, and it reflected in the large windows that reflected a blinding light in the hallways. Touji stopped at Room 631.
"I made a promise," Shinji said firmly. "I'm going to keep it."
"Good." Touji nodded. "Don't want you runnin' off new kid."
He opened the door. The first thing Shinji saw was a young girl lying on the bed covered in bandages. She had brown hair, brown eyes just like her brother's, and pale skin from the recovery procedure. This girl looked up and smiled at the trio.
"Hi Touji! Kensuke!" The girl frowned. "Wait who's this? Is he a new friend of yours brother?"
"Not exactly Sakura." Touji scratched the back of his head. "He's…"
Shinji stepped forward. "I'm the pilot of the Eva. I was the one who put you here."
Sakura raised an eyebrow. "He didn't beat you up did he?"
"HEY!" Touji yelled. "I totally wasn't gonna do it!"
"I deserved at least a punch." Shinji said. "I'm very sorry that you had been injured. What happened was my responsibility."
"Not gonna lie, it hurt… it hurt a lot. I don't think I'm going to be able to walk again for at least a while, if ever." Sakura then looked up at the ceiling smiling, "but I can tell you're not a bad guy. You went up on that robot and fought off those crazy monsters twice, and you saved my brother… so you can't be all bad!"
Shinji frowned. "You forgive me too easily."
Sakura looked at him. "If you're gonna beat yourself up over it, you could be a little more careful in the future. I don't think I wanna see another kid in bandages around here."
Shinji nodded. "I will."
A little later, the trio left the hospital room.
"Sakura seemed to like you Ikari." Touji crossed his arms.
"She was really nice." Shinji said.
"She sure is. Way too forgiving though." Touji poked a finger at Shinji's forehead. "Sakura's a precious angel and I'll fight anyone who takes away her happiness."
"If I had a sister like her… I'd probably do the same to be honest." Shinji said.
"Now that we're all on the same wavelength now it's time for the moment of truth!" Kensuke said. "Shinji Ikari… the amazing Spider-Man!"
Shinji placed a hand over Kensuke's mouth, "Quiet you! Do you want everyone to hear you?"
"Alright knock it off," Touji separated Shinji and Kensuke from each other. "But seriously man, how the fuck did you get those weird ass spider-powers?"
With that, Shinji sighed. "Alright… I'll explain everything."
The Scorpion crawled.
It's injuries from the fight were severe. It was a miracle that it had managed to escape the Spider. It coughed, blood spitting out from there.
No! It needed… to keep moving…
A hand caressed its head and Scorpion felt at ease.
"My Scorpion…" A growling, snarling voice spoke from the shadows."My pet. Who did this to you?"
The Scorpion looked up, it's eyes looking admiringly at it's maker. The pincers that made up it's mouth tried moving to make a noise. Any noise. It hurt to speak, but it managed to let something out.
"s…spider…"
With that the Scorpion was picked by two clawed hands. It was carried elsewhere.
"He is here then. This is indeed a setback. If he is here, then no wonder you failed to acquire the equipment I asked for."
The Scorpion was set on a metal table, coughing from the pain.
"No matter. Shinji Ikari will be dealt with soon enough. After all…"
With a final glance, the Scorpion witnessed corpses lying all around it. They were locked in gazes of fear. They were in pain when they died. As it heard the screams of more people it had taken for it's maker, the Scorpion finally closed it's eyes.
"Life finds a way."
Author's Notes:
If anyone has trouble picturing the outfit, it's the manga verse Spider-Man costume. Felt like a nice in between of the Homemade MCU outfit and the classic costume.
One thing I thought was strange was how in the original series Touji brought up his sister and how we're never shown her character. Based on a scene from a really cool fic called Going Another Way I decided to give that plot point a resolution of sorts here. I also gave Touji's sister her name from the Rebuild films 'cause... well, it's the only time it seemed like she was given a name so I thought it made sense.
I read all the reviews for the previous chapter and I must say, you were all absolutely right. The last chapter had filler and a lot of it was too much like canon. I can only say that I needed to keep some things the same for future plot points (Shinji fearing his dad and Touji's sister being injured) but more could have been done to keep things interesting. I hope this chapter more than made up for it. Moving forward, we will be seeing more interesting canon bendings.
Oh and I also have an account on A03! I'm posting the story there as well, the link is this one: archive of our own works/20897477/chapters/49675757
You'll have to add the http and erase the spaces.
Time for some review responses:
lautaro94: Some of the responses are due to Shinji at the end of the day being a shy introvert. More changes will come thanks to Spider-Man influence.
Huagh: Exactly! We will see a new dynamic at play here in later chapters.
RealRemainder: I can't exactly say the reason since we're not there yet. Safe to say however that Rei isn't following any instrumentality scripts.
Xeno Kars: Thank you so much! Hope you enjoyed this new chapter as well.
Next chapter, we will delve into Rei Ayanami and how Spider-Shinji interacts with her at last in: Who is Rei Ayanami?