Predator

"Dammit! The Angel's free!"

Asuka released the holster just in time to avoid the Angel lunging after her. The lava makes it hard to move fast, the D-Type equipment doubly so, but she could manage under this pressure.

It was supposed to be a simple operation. The MAGI managed to detect an Angel inside of a volcano, and Misato wanted to capture it for study. Mother and Daughter Akagi disapproved of the operation but were overruled by the Commander. Asuka wasn't too crazy about the idea herself. Her plug suit was programmed to inflate to deal with the heat, which already made her embarrassed.

Things got worse when she took a look at the D-Type Equipment for Unit 02…

"What have you done to my Unit 02?! Bad enough I look like a balloon in this suit, but you have to ruin my Eva by making it look stupid?! That's it, I'm not doing it!"

It took some convincing from Shinji and Kaworu for Asuka get inside of it. Stupid boys, why they didn't volunteer she'll never know.

Now, Asuka found herself fighting for her life when- surprise surprise- the plan to capture the Angel went kaput. Sandolphon (They had names? Asuka remembered being shocked by that chesnut) was swimming around the lava to try and kill her.

The Angel slammed into her Eva. It grabbed Unit 02 by the arms and legs, preventing it from making any attempts to escape. Sandolphon opened it's mouth- how can it open it's mouth in the lava?!- releasing disgusting tentacles into her armor. Asuka took out her knife and stabbed the Angel. However, no matter how many times she did it, nothing would budge.

"The Angel must have a heavily reinforced constitution! Asuka, the knife won't work!"

Way to tell her after the fact, why don't ya?

"Asuka!" She heard Shinji yell. "Remember what we talked about at the pool! The thermal… what now?"

"Thermal expansion," Asuka smiled. "Yes I know exactly what to do!"

She severed one of the Eva's coolant tubes and shoved it inside of Sandolphon. It worked like wonders, allowing the Angel to open up it's core for attack.

"How's THIS asshole!"

Asuka stabbed the knife in there. Sparks went flying, until the core cracked and broke like it should. Soon enough, Sandolphon screamed into the void as it disappeared into the lava. An all too easy victory.

Or it would be, if it hadn't severed the support cable first.

The D-Type Equipment started breaking down, shrinking upon itself. The Eva was slowly dropping further into the volcano without help in sight.

"I did it but…" Asuka said quietly. "That's it. I'm done for."

She closed her eyes. Asuka knew that something like this would happen. It had been drilled into her since childhood that fighting an Angel could result in your death. At least she took out an Angel while she was at it.

Granted Asuka would have preferred a less painful way to go than burning alive inside of a volcano, but that's beside the point.

Just as she was about to go further, however, she felt herself being pulled back. Asuka turned around, shocked at who could have done that.

It was Unit 01. Shinji had arrived to save her.

"And lo, a savior has come!" She heard him say. "How about we get out of here okay? I'd rather we both come out of this tanned than dead."

In spite of his moronic posturing, Asuka couldn't help but smile.

"Idiot… you show off!"

The ride was a tense one.

Asuka was staring out of the window contemplating something. Misato and Kaji were at the front of the car. Kaworu simply hummed a tune to himself. No one said a word.

Rei was not among them. Shinji hadn't been too surprised by that. His father had a very strict no fun policy that prevented her from doing much beyond swimming naked in a test tube for hours. The more he thought about it, that made his father look like a total creep.

'Then again, this is the same man who thought cloning mom was a good idea in the first place…'

There wasn't any particular betrayal in that. However, he was disappointed that Misato had avoided eye contact with him. In fact, she hadn't spoken to him since Asuka left the entry plug a few hours ago. Shinji wasn't sure what he did wrong. They saved the day hadn't they?

"We're here."

The car stopped. Everyone got out, wondering where they were. Asuka's eyes lit up when she saw the sign.

"A hot springs sauna?!" Asuka yelled. "Wow, Misato, you went all out!"

"I figured we could use a vacation spot." Misato smiled. "I knew you guys were disappointed about not going to Okinawa so I pulled some strings for the next best thing. Reward for the heroes I say!"

They entered the building. As the kids were amazed by the place, Misato went up to the man behind the desk.

"Hello! Are the people from NERV here somewhere?"

"Yeah we're here."

"I'll need your signature here."

Misato took the pen and signed the paper. She made sure to draw a couple of little hearts next to her signature. Always nice to leave a personal touch here and there!

"Thank you have a nice day."

She waved at the group to walk with her. Kaji whistled at the place.

"Pretty nice. Probably took a lot out of your paycheck."

"I'm not telling you anything about that Kaji," Misato said firmly. "The springs are connected to a larger river not too far from here. Wouldn't wanna dive in there too deep unless you wanna get a nasty burn. I rented us a set of rooms for a night. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning so enjoy this while you can children!"

Kaworu nodded along. "I hope to enjoy the experience. It is my first time in a hot springs after all."

"Shows what you know, Kaworu!" Asuka said. "Nothing like taking a nice warm bath to make you feel refreshed. An elite pilot like myself needs one."

"As you say Asuka." He shrugged. "Are you looking forward to this as well Ikari?"

"Maybe." Shinji said. "I've never had an opportunity to be in one of these."

It was the truth. Yamashiro had never been one to go out too much, and neither was Shinji. The most times the boy had willingly stepped outside were when he was Spider-Man. Or when he was with Mayumi.

(He didn't realize it at the time, but Shinji had unconsciously clutched his chest, something that had not gone unnoticed by Kaworu.)

He didn't expect the hot springs to be so close to Tokyo. Sure it wasn't Okinawa, but it could be a moment for him to gather his thoughts. Maybe formulate a plan.

"Shinji could you help me with something?" Kaji motioned for him. "It won't take a bit."

The boy looked at the others take off for the springs right away. He turned to the older man.

"Sure Kaji."

As Shinji and Kaji walked to some room, the boy thought about something that happened before the Angel battle. Kensuke and Touji headed with the rest of the class on a trip to Okinawa. None of the pilots could go in case of an Angel attack. Asuka had been particularly bummed out about that.

There was one thing that was on Shinji's mind at the moment though. Something that Kensuke had brought to him just before they left.

"Kensuke, are you sure this right?!"

"I'm not lying," He said, handing Shinji the papers. "Multiple disappearances, targeted across the poorer areas. Claw marks were seen around those parts. Some of them are kids, Shinji."

Looking over the data, Shinji was horrified. The dates, the locations, the victims… they had the tell tale marks of the Scorpion creature he had fought before.

"And no one's doing anything?!" Shinji couldn't keep the venom from his voice. "It's just been happening under their noses?"

"There've been a few calls, but they've been ignored." Kensuke pinched his nose. "I just… fuck! I wish I found this out sooner!"

"Just messed up." Touji finally said. He had been there when Kensuke had discovered the data, and had trouble keeping himself together as well. Deep down, Touji selfishly wondered if Sakura would be taken as well. The thought made him desperate. "Shinji, you can beat this guy right? You were doing fine against him before we got in your way, can you take him down?"

Shinji gripped the papers in his hands.

"I'll find him, Touji." Shinji said. "That's a promise."

'I haven't had any luck,' Shinji thought. 'Tried web swinging to see if he was around, but then I got called to base. Then the Angel. Now the hot springs?'

He wished he could be enjoying the break. He really did. But the thought of the Scorpion taking anyone else while he was here…

"Hey you're looking pretty spooked kid. Doing alright?"

Shinji blinked. "I'm fine. You were saying?"

"Haha, you can be pretty spacey Ikari." Kaji mirthfully chuckled. "Anyway, I was saying try not to take it too personally Misato isn't talking to you."

"Huh?" Shinji had briefly forgotten about that. "Why do you say?"

"Hold on," Kaji pulled a box the counter. "Help me unpack this."

It was a box the size of a small suitcase. Shinji held it steady as Kaji had unzipped the thing.

"Hey Kaji what is this?"

"WARK WARK!"

With that familiar sound, Pen Pen jumped out of the box. He shook himself violently, clearly restless from being stuck inside of the box for hours.

"Springs are over that way, buddy." Kaji pointed to the direction. Pen Pen cutely marched off that way, so Kaji turned to Shinji. "Pen Pen's a warm water penguin. Thought he could use some springs. Misato might appreciate having all her favorite pets here."

"H-hey!" Shinji pointed at him indignantly. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

The older man laughed. He stared up into the ceiling still smiling serenely. It reminded Shinji of Kaworu's own smile, the type that at first glance seemed sweet but was also unreadable. Whatever was really going inside of their mind, the smile hid those intentions. At the moment, Shinji couldn't tell what Kaji was thinking.

"Misato is a caring person," Kaji said. "She deeply loves the people she considers her closest. Including you. When you delved in to save Asuka… she's thankful for what you did, but she also hated that you pulled that sort of stunt at all. Give her some distance for now, she'll talk to you again by tomorrow."

Retreating onto yourself when life got hard? Shinji thought that sounded familiar.

"Trust me Kaji. I can relate."

Asuka loooooved the warm water. It felt wondrous on her skin.

She looked across from her to see Misato yawning loudly. Misato… she was a confusing person for Asuka. She had seen her guardian at home. She had seen how Misato would leave Yebisu cans lying around and how she had the most casual treatment towards everything. She wondered how such a lazy slob like Misato managed to become NERV'S Captain, in charge of strategies against world ending threats like the Angels. She even heard whispers about her becoming a Major! Insanity is what it was.

Yet Asuka had also seen her in action. Misato kept her cool under pressure and had no hesitation in giving out orders that could result in her death. She had seen that first hand throughout the attempt to capture the Angel underneath the volcano. Whether Asuka was in the Entry Plug or not, she was the same. When Shinji or Kaworu entered the plug or left it, they were the same. But with Misato it felt like Asuka was talking to two different people.

Whatever lied inside of Misato's heart, Asuka only cared for one thing at the moment. The dirt on her own body.

"Hey Shinji can you be a dear and throw the body shampoo," Asuka called out. "We ran out of ours!"

"S-sure! Here it comes!"

The body shampoo landed on her leg. It did surprise Asuka, however momentarily. She saw how Misato's face had formed into a grin. Asuka knew what she was thinking. She smirked too.

"Ah you idiot! Watch where you're throwing the thing" Asuka made pretend hurt noises. "It hurt me in my most private paaaaart!"

Misato sniggered as she made her way towards Asuka. "Awwww Asuka, let me take a looooook…"

"Ohhh watch your fingers!"

"Wow your skin is so soft and smooth!"

"You're tickling me! Don't touch me there!"

Upon hearing a splash of water on the other side and some embarrassed noises, Asuka and Misato burst into full on laughter.

"Oh my God Asuka that was priceless!" Misato wiped a tear from her eye. "Pretty mean but great!"

"Sure was!"

Things got silent again. Misato moved a little bit, exposing her body. She won't admit it out loud, but Asuka felt jealous of Misato. She was still stuck in her adolescence, but Misato was a grown woman, taken seriously by her peers and an unblemished body.

Except for one part. Asuka hadn't known about the long, jagged scar that ran through Misato's abdomen.

"Oh this scar?" Misato said, having noticed Asuka's stare. "It's something that happened during the Second Impact."

Asuka had the decency to blush. "S-sorry!"

"It's fine," Misato's smile only faltered a bit. "You're not the first one to look I can tell you that."

Blushing even harder, Asuka chose not to answer that remark. She had dignity preserve after all! Still, she did have questions.

"There's a lot about you I don't know." Asuka said. "But you know me don't you? About everything?"

"Well yeah. It's part of my job." Misato looked at the sky. "As for me, there's not much to tell. It's all ancient history anyway. Why dwell on the past?"

From the slight waver in her voice, Asuka wasn't sure if Misato was convinced herself. It was the first she'd seen her guardian act so melancholic. Had she been hiding this from her even back then?

Then again she wasn't a shining paragon of honesty herself.

"You know, I envy you Asuka."

"Huh?"

"I spent most of my teenage years lying on a bed, unable to move or talk." Misato said. "I missed out on a lot back then. The moment they gave me the clear I just went all out. I hope you appreciate what you have Asuka. You can never get them back, no matter how hard you try."

Something clicked with Asuka then. What she was seeing was the middle ground, a third side to the coin. A melancholic adult that loves life and wants to keep it no matter what. It all made sense then.

"Well you don't have to worry about a thing Misato." Asuka said. "I won't live out my days scurrying around waiting for my destiny like an old maid. I'll grab it and take it for myself!"

This made Misato laugh heartily. "Still as feisty as ever!"

Asuka had known Misato in her childhood, but she knew that this is the first "moment" they've had together. She hoped to have more of those.

"Thermal expansion. How embarrassing."

Shinji had been left blushing furiously at Misato and Asuka's little joke. He threw himself into the water, placing his hands between his legs, not wanting someone to see anything.

The problem with that plan was that Pen Pen was the only audience there. He was joyfully splashing around the spring, ignoring the silly human getting worked up over nothing. Shinji grumbled under his breath.

"Good to see Misato is in a good enough mood to tease me at least." Shinji said. "A double team with Asuka too. I hope this doesn't Shit on Ikari Shinji day."

"Who would make a holiday like that?"

Shinji yelped when he heard the voice. He sighed when he saw who it was.

"Oh it's just you Nagisa."

The white haired boy delved into the water. The best (and worst depending on who you ask) thing about a hot springs was that the mist tended cover up any inappropriate body parts. Kaworu and Shinji were only a chest away from the water. Nothing could be seen down there.

"Kaji said he had a few errands to run, so he won't be here for a while." Kaworu said. "You seem so anxious, Ikari. This is supposed to be a time of rest. Or so I've been told."

"I know it's just…"

Shinji wasn't sure how to answer. How was he supposed to tell him that he was worried about a Scorpion man kidnapping people from the streets and how he was worried about how we was going to stop him? Well he supposed telling him about the Scorpion would be enough reason but still.

"Is it about what happened today? With the Angel?"

Or Nagisa could provide his own answer. That should work.

"A bit of that yeah." Shinji said. "Scary to think that Asuka could have died."

"Indeed. It was only a few hours ago that we had been shopping for clothes. She was rather insistent that I try them out."

"Asuka can be pretty demanding huh?"

"Yes she can be. I think she wanted someone to notice her."

"Pretty hard not to notice her I think."

"You'd think she would know that, but it is what it is." Kaworu said. "I find it interesting. She didn't say it out loud, and yet she responded to it. Craved for it. Human beings are rarely so straightforward about what they want."

"Never thought of it that way… no wonder it's so hard to talk to people. It's like the… was it the Hedgehog's dilemma?"

"Ah yes. During winter the spines on a hedgehog keep the other hedgehogs away. Human beings are afraid of getting hurt. They'll do whatever it takes to defend themselves, even if when it's not the most rational option."

"If the world and people were rational we wouldn't be in this situation I think. Giant robots, superheroes, monsters? It's like if God decided to make anime real to show how horrifying it would be."

"The chaos of existence it seems."

Shinji hadn't noticed it at first, but as the conversation went on, Kaworu had gotten closer. Strangely, he doesn't try pull away from him.

"Tell me Ikari," Kaworu said. "Is there anything you wish for?"

"… what do you mean?"

"If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?"

"I haven't thought about it. I guess…" Shinji gulped. "I guess I want peace? World can get crazy and messy. People are crazy or messy. I'd want things to be stable, even if it was only for five minutes. Or thirty. Maybe longer."

"A wonderful dream, even if an impossible one. Human beings do not like submitting to the rules. They react violently to the very idea of being told what to do. Your wish would never be an honest reality."

"Yeah you're right." Shinji sighed. "What about you, Nagisa? Do you have anything you wish for?"

Kaworu chuckled. "I suppose… I would wish for freedom. The ability to act on my own accord, to my own beating drum. I would go anywhere, meet new people, even try an instrument or two on my own. The heady feeling of freedom… it seems intoxicating."

A faint headache was creeping up on Shinji. He rubbed his forehead a bit, before asking.

"You don't have freedom?"

Something sad crept up in Kaworu's smile. The headache became harsher.

"No. I don't."

The boy recognized too late that the headache was his spider-sense. Before he could say a word, the walls surrounding them were demolished.

"HOLY SHIT!"

"What the hell is that?!"

"Huh?"

Shinji knew what this monster was. It was a different shape but there was no mistaking it. The Scorpion was on the prowl.

The creature had transformed since the last encounter. Compared to the lithe figure Shinji had met before, the monster was bulkier. Bigger. It's claws were almost as large as it's head, and it's tail was a lot longer. If it's first form was a fast and quick predator, this new form was meant for one purpose: to crush and destroy.

An implacable killer, and it was staring Shinji Ikari in the face.

"We need to go!" Kaworu said grabbing Shinji by the arm. "This way!"

As he took Shinji by the arm, Kaworu reached out with his other hand to scoop Pen Pen from the water. The Scorpion was slow in advancing towards them. It jumped with both feet into the hot springs.

A disturbing hiss came from the creature. It was yelling angrily, as if experiencing pain as the boys dashed into the inn. Shinji could hear footsteps going behind him and Kaworu.

"Where the hell did THAT come from!?" Asuka said, throwing a towel over her body as Misato did the same. "Is it some kind of Angel!?"

"If it was, wouldn't it be detected by the MAGI?" Kaworu asked. He looked rather sheepish even with the obvious panic around him. "I can't say I expected this to happen."

"You three, get out of here!" Misato said firmly. "I'm gonna try and find Kaji, we'll figure out what to do then. Go!"

Shinji turned back. "But Misato, that thing could kill you!"

She smirked at him, radiating the same confidence she regularly displayed when commanding him at Central Dogma.

"Don't worry about little ol' me. You focus on getting outta here."

With that, she ran off to some random direction, separating from her charges. Shinji's eyes narrowed.

'No!' He thought. 'I won't let anything happen to her!'

The trio made it to the lobby. The clerk looked incredibly confused when a red haired girl stomped over to him while the grey haired one was letting down a warm water penguin.

"Um, excuse me but you're all-"

Asuka slammed her fists on the desk, frightening the clerk. "Shut it asswipe! There's a crazy monster attacking and we need to call someone! Anyone!"

Kaworu noticed Shinji had disappeared from his peripheral vision. He turned to see him dashing to a hallway.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm…" Shinji struggled to find an answer. "-going to find Kaji! He might have been in the rooms!"

"It's too dangerous for that." Kaworu said. "We're supposed to stay together."

But it was too late. Shinji had already ran off, leaving his fellow pilots alone. Kaworu sighed.

"If he's going to run off like that he should pick better excuses."

Asuka had turned away from the clerk towards Kaworu. "Where'd that idiot go? Don't tell me he's gonna go save Misato by himself!?"

"I don't know." Kaworu shrugged. "He said he was going to get help."

"Moron." Asuka said with a growl. "Unless Idiot Shinji can poof Spider-Man out of thin air anything he'd do would be useless."

As if the Devil heard what she said, a figure landed right in front of them. The two turned around in surprise.

"You know when you really wanna have a nice vacation but life comes at you fast?" Spider-Man said. "Alright, where's the hold up?"

Kaworu's raised an eyebrow at the wall crawler's arrival. He watched Asuka run up to the web slinger.

"Listen you! Some kind of freaky monster attacked us and my guardian is in there! You have to save her!"

Spider-Man nodded. "Don't worry. Nothing will happen to her."

He launched a web in the direction where the pilots had emerged from. Asuka watched him go, keeping her towel still.

"What I'd miss?"

Kaworu and Asuka turned to see Shinji. He had clothes on, and seemed tired.

"Oh. You're here." Kaworu said simply.

"Moron!" Asuka yelled at him. "Spider-Man just went in after that thing while YOU were busy getting changed and being a coward!"

"Sorry Asuka," Shinji said scratching his head. "Couldn't find a phone."

The girl proceeded to roll her eyes. Misato could be getting killed by that damned thing and there'd be nothing she could do. Only Spider-Man would be able to save the day now.

Just what she needed… the feeling of powerlessness.

"Life signs stable. Data analysis starting."

Gendo Ikari stared at the glowing orange tank in front of them. Rei Ayanami floated naked in the LCL, the computers scanning her as it had for hours.

"You have proven useful to me, Naoko." Gendo said. "I'm happy you haven't let personal feelings get in the way of your work."

"Someone has to." Naoko typed on the computer rather carelessly. "Don't think I haven't noticed the way you used Ritsuko to pass on your orders to me."

"I am a busy man, Akagi. Such things happen in our line of work."

"Sure. Whatever makes you happy I guess."

Her mechanical arms remained passive for the moment but only barely so. They clicked open and closed, as if waiting for a secret enemy to appear. An opponent to strike. The arms were impatient.

Angry.

"Analysis will be complete in a few minutes." Naoko said. "I wonder if this is data for the dummy plug. Could you and Ritsuko have already finished it without consulting me? That would be a rather admirable achievement of hers."

Gendo turned around. "I'll leave the rest to you."

As she heard the door close behind her, Naoko only shrugged.

"Soon enough, Naoko… soon enough…"

For the first time in the session, Rei had moved her head. She stared down the scientist as she blithely cursed the Commander under her breath.

"Doctor Akagi, I have an inquiry."

Naoko's eyes widened underneath her goggles. She clearly wasn't expecting anything from Rei.

"A inquiry? Why not bother the Commander with this?"

"It is something only you can help me with." Rei said. "I am not sure if he would be equipped to answer."

"Interesting…" Naoko crossed her arms, the mechanical ones retreating to her back. "Well out with it. I don't have all day."

"You have fought Spider-Man before, correct? What do you know about him?"

That threw the doctor for a loop. When the hell did she get an interest in the bug? Then again, Naoko supposed this was an innocent enough request. Why not?

"Doing homework behind the Commander's back huh? Alright. Yes, I fought Spider-Man. He didn't exactly impress me the first time we met. Scrawny, jokey, quite the buffoon honestly. Or so I thought. The moment you think he's down, Spider-Man finds a way to get back up."

The arms seem to slither to life as Naoko talked. Excitement coursed their circuitry at the thought of him.

"He is brave and fiendishly clever. He knew the best way to get under my skin and took advantage of it. My downfall was entirely down to him. I can't help but respect him for that at least."

Naoko couldn't make out Rei's expression then. With the way there was an intake of air, it seemed Ayanami was awed.

"You sound… enamored with him."

Doctor Akagi scoffed. "I don't particularly care for the boy underneath the mask. He's just a stupid brat. It's more about what he represents. if a stupid kid like him can surpass his limitations to become greater… well. Maybe there's a chance for me too. Perhaps I can even be superior."

One of the arms slammed into the tank, causing Rei to slink away.

"You, unfortunately, will never have a chance Rei Ayanami. You're just an obedient doll for dangerous men to leer and obsess over. A tool to control the state of the world. Your potential for greatness was tapped out when I strangled your child self with my own two hands. I hate you, Ayanami."

In that moment, Rei felt phantom hands surrounding her neck. It recalled a memory she didn't know she had of herself as a child repeating what the Commander said to a familiar figure.

She wished she didn't remember what happened next.

If Misato could strangle Kaji right now, she would.

Apparently he had been running stupid errands while she was hanging around the springs. Misato had many complicated feelings about the man, but she couldn't stomach the thought of him getting killed by that freak. She has no way of knowing if he was even alive right now.

For now, Misato had to needed to get her stuff.

She kicked the door to the locker room open. Taking a key she had been given, Misato opened her own compartment and took her clothes. She put them on quickly, making sure to grab the pistol from the locker. It isn't going to have the heat to penetrate the monster, but a well placed shot could get her anywhere. Misato felt sweat dripping down her face.

Any moment now…

"Alright you son of a bitch," Misato muttered. "Where are you?"

She heard loud stomps just outside. Everything in the room from the lockers to Misato herself shook in it's wake.

The Captain hid behind one of the large locker cases. A direct confrontation would be far too dangerous. If she could surprise it, she could have a shot at him. It was times like this Misato wished she could be inside of an Eva. Better her to fight monsters than these children be used for her revenge…

The noises stopped. Misato kept her fingers steady. Any second now…

Debris burst right in front of her. The Scorpion had taken a different route to attack.

"Dammit!"

Misato pointed the gun at the creature. She pulled the trigger. Multiple times. Each bullet bounced off the shell like it was nothing, but Misato kept firing hoping anything would do the trick.

It did not.

All she got was a roar to her face, putting her up against the wall.

"So this is how I'm gonna die…" Misato's voice broke. "I'm sorry Shinji…"

The monster raised it's claw…

But instead of feeling the impact., Misato heard the ground break apart as she felt an arm surrounding her waist lifting her up. She turned her head to see it was him.

Spider-Man.

"I know it's a bit easy to get lost in a big place like this," He said. "But maaaaaybe take an exit next time you see a giant scorpion man trying to kill you mmkay?"

"What… you!" Misato yelled. "What are you doing here?!"

"Funny story about that, you see I was on vacation…" Spider-Man heard the Scorpion stomp towards him. "Actually let's cut this short. I'll see what I can do about him."

He let her down in the middle of the hallway. Shinji stared down the Scorpion, fists readied for a fight.

"Hey big mean and ugly! How about you… uh… not do what you were doing earlier!"

Misato stared at the vigilante standing his ground. It was the first time she had seen Spider-Man up close. Kind of a scrawny little guy. Too carefree for his own good. She felt the gun in her hand. Maybe…

No, no! She wasn't stupid enough to try shooting at someone who's busy defending her. Only an idiot would do that.

"This isn't over." Misato said. "After you beat him I'm taking you in."

"Maybe," Spider-Man shrugged. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Shinji heard footsteps behind him, and he sighed in relief.

'Now I just gotta take this guy out… how do I do that?' He thought. 'Shit I should have come up with a plan.'

The Scorpion attacked first. He smashed his claw into the floor, which Spider-Man dodged. Shinji punched it in the head. All it succeeded was breaking his own arm.

"Gah!" He yelled in pain. "Tough hide you got there."

A rumbling growl came from the creature. Spider-Man felt the claw grab him, and then he was tossed outside.

Spider-sense kicking in, Shinji moved out of a pincer attack from Scorpion's tail. He felt the bones in his hand cracking back into place, but knew that if he tried hitting the Scorpion again it wouldn't do any good.

The monster lunged at Spider-Man, determined to squash the bug. The wall crawler covered it's eyes with web fluid. The beat brought it's claws up, but since they're too big the webbing was unable to removed.

As it tried desperately to cut it out, the tail swung wildly. Shinji had to avoid the tail as he moved closer.

'Maybe if I can lead him into something he might be beaten.' He said out loud. 'Kinda giving me Rhino flashbacks here.'

Nothing like being reminded of a time you were nearly killed to get motivated right?

Shinji stuck to the Scorpion, crawling around it. He made sure to move fast. Each time went around it's body, he left a webbing behind to wrap around the creature to prevent it from moving.

That would have been a nice plan to have worked. Sadly reality was not too kind.

The Scorpion broke through the webbing far too easily. It's eyes free to see, it immediately spotted Spider-Man recoiling on the ground.

As it made it's way towards him again, Shinji had no choice but to run deeper into the forest.

'Is there anything that can keep this guy down?!' Shinji thought. 'I managed to get it away from the spa, that's at least great. But what do I do now?'

He ran. He ran as far as he could, but the screeching yell of the Scorpion can still be heard. A big monster out to find him. Out to kill him.

"Okay time out," Shinji said. "I need a time out."

Spider-Man dashed to some bushes. From there, he collapsed, praying that the Scorpion wouldn't find him.

"Consider your options… think like Misato. What do I know about this guy?"

Big. Mean. Green. Has a tail that stings. Evidently the same Scorpion he fought before, but the same strategies won't apply. That form was leaner and weaker. All Shinji had to do then was get close and hit him enough to knock him down. He tried punching the Scorpion just now and ended up with a broken hand. Good thing he could heal…

So what can he do? He could trap momentarily, but the webbing would break. It's claws were big, but too big to deflect any attack on it's eyes. Shinji wondered if there was something else that was missing…

Wait. The Scorpion had been screaming when it approached him and Kaworu before. That fact wasn't important.

But the why was. It only did so when it hit the water.

"Asuka! Remember what we talked about at the pool! The thermal… what now?"

"Thermal expansion. Yes I know exactly what to do!"

Shinji kept quiet. He made sure he could pick up any sound with his ears. Could it be…

Yes. There it was. The plan was a go.

"Hey over here!" He yelled out into the forest. "If you're still aiming for my life insurance you kinda need to kill me I think!"

That did the trick. The Scorpion turned it's ferocious eyes towards him. The behemoth charged once more, while Spider-Man launched a web to escape it.

"That's it keep going big guy…"

It was near. He had to reach it. This was his only option if he wanted this thing defeated for now.

Something whooshed past him. Shinji could see a tree branch had melted while he was zip lining away at mach speed. The Scorpion was now relying on it's corrosive fluid to kill him. Joy.

'Almost there.'

Shinji started falling. The webbing had melted off.

'Almost there.'

He rolled across the ground, moving out of a corrosive strike.

'Almost there.'

"AUGH!" Shinji grabbed his shoulder. The acid had gotten there.

'Almost…'

He lied on the ground. His hand was stretched outward, but… it was out of reach. He heard the loud stomping getting closer, yet Shinji wanted nothing more than to not hear anything at the moment.

The tail moved from side to side behind the monster. Should it strike with that? Maybe burn the little bug with it's acid? No. simplicity will have to do.

It raised it's fists up and throws them down…

Immediately, Spider-Man moved out of the way. The ground crumbled under the weight of Scorpion's claws and soon both hero and villain fell. Spider-Man had one good arm to save himself with a web line. Meanwhile, the Scorpion fell into the steaming hot water below.

In physics, thermal expansion is the likelihood of matter to change in volume in response to a change in temperature. When a substance is heated, its basic particles move around more quickly and by doing so generally maintain a greater average separation.

'Misato said earlier that the hot springs were connected to a hot river,' Shinji thought. 'If it had been in pain from the hot springs, then something like this should be enough to take him out… for now…'

Spider-Man crawled back up the cliff. Shinji would make a return trip the next morning. Although he wished for it, the boy somehow knew he would not be able to find the Scorpion's body when he does. Nor did he believe that it would somehow have been crippled enough to stay down. For now, he made his steps to return to his friends.

As he did, a mysterious figure was watching him from the sidelines. His eyes narrowed.

"So that's HERZ's mistake… too undisciplined. Too reliant on luck. If I had to tangle with him, he'd be dead within the first second. No matter. My heist will go off without a hitch."

Shinji was thankful he brought a long sleeved shirt with him for the trip.

He crawled down the wall, leaping to meet Asuka and Kaworu at the lounge. He wasn't exactly surprised to see Misato over there as well, talking to Section 2 agents over the situation. The pilots had been attacked at a supposedly secure location. That was bound to ruffle some feathers.

"I want you to thoroughly investigate the area. Get eye witness accounts, anything you can use." Misato turned away from the agent. "SHINJI!"

Not even his spider-sense could prepare him for being caught in a fierce hug by his guardians. There was a strange feeling in his chest as Shinji awkwardly tried to hug back.

"I was so worried about you, about Asuka and Kaworu!" Misato pulled away a bit. She took both of Shinji's cheeks into her hands. "I was worried I wouldn't be able to see you again."

"I… I feel the same way Misato."

Misato smiled brightly.

Kaji came out of the hallway just then. "Never thought I'd see the day Misato acted ike a mother hen. How sweet."

With that any happiness Misato had been feeling was replaced with irritation. She stomped over to the man and pointed at him.

"Now you listen here! You disappeared on all of us, where the fuck were you?"

"Hey calm down Misato," Kaji waved his hands. "I'll explain it…"

Shinji didn't place much thought in that conversation. Instead he turned to see Asuka and Kaworu walking towards him.

"There you are idiot!" Asuka said. "Only you would change twice in the middle of a serious situation."

"Twice?" Shinji scratched the back of his head. "What do you mean?"

"You had been here right after Spider-Man had appeared. You had gotten changed into your student clothes before moving out for something."

Either he had hallucinated his encounter with the Scorpion (which the stinging on his arm proved wasn't the case) or something utterly weird is going on. He had to ask Kaworu about this later, but for now Shinji played along.

"Uh yeah… tried to get better signal?" He said. But then the Section 2 guys came back so I just got changed."

Asuka narrowed her eyes. Shinji knew she was too smart to believe something like that, but hoped wouldn't press.

Thankfully, she did not.

"Fine." She said. "What a shame. You missed out on Spider-Man."

"Ah yes, that man." Kaworu shrugged. "I'm not sure what the fuss is all about. He seemed like a bore to me."

"WHAT? Dammit Kaworu do you have any sense of wonder?"

"I do. He doesn't seem very wonderful to me."

The pair argued over the merits of Spider-Man. Meanwhile, the wall crawler wondered about a time he definitely wasn't there for. Was there an impostor in the midst? Who would have taken his place?

Most importantly, who can he trust?

Author's Notes:

I think you can all guess where this is going, so I can safely tell that the Chameleon Arc is underway! Be prepared for Spidey's most cunning challenge yet! It was fun to weave in the Thermal Expansion idea into the story, even if the science is probably kind of wonky on it. Then again this is Superheroes so it's to be expected.

With the Scorpion I felt there needed to be some changing up. We had seen one fight with Spider-Man and if you want to have a rematch you should do something different for each encounter. So this one I made bulkier much like his counterpart from the 2017 Spider-Man show. The next time they meet will have a "balanced" Scorpion and an even fight between him and Spider-Man.

Naoko Akagi has been one of my favorite characters to write. She's a villain who was never really a good person but life did treat her badly for things that weren't her fault, and her refusal to show compassion to others in similar situations just kind of make her interesting for me to write as a villain. When she was with Rei here, it's partial projection about her own insecurities.

Time to look at the reviews.

Huagh: It's for a lot of those reasons that Evangelion is the Anti-Shipping anime. Almost every ship has problematic elements and would require a lot of work to make somewhat believable. In a way it kinda makes them more "realistic" but also shouldn't mean shipping anything blindly. Personally no one in this series should be dating until they have therapy. Interesting to bring up Mana and Mari. Mana from my understanding deconstructs a love interest character in a dating sim by being someone handpicked to date Shinji to get information, and her attempt to defect for love gets her nearly killed. Mari feels more like a deconstruction of a hot blooded pilot fan character, where they're upbeat attitude comes across as disturbing to everyone else. Also about Kaworu... ;)

Messiah of authors: The same way High School student Peter Parker managed to make his web shooters.

Author0fntent: OH MY GOD I SAW THAT, I DON'T MIND AT ALL THANK YOU THAT WAS SO GOOD.

95: Rei might now. Misato and Asuka will definitely know. Gendo… I think it'd make for a great moment, but I like the idea that Gendo is so disconnected from his son he never gets to see that side of his son. It's under consideration.

RealRemainder: I'll admit that it is a bit OOC, but I say there's some factors at play in her decision at the end. Asuka had Kaworu there in her childhood as someone who was constantly better than her and she was on the way towards disillusionment towards NERV until that chapter. That combined with Spider-Man giving her an idea of what she could do if she put her own mind to it made her more receptive to Shinji's advice and a toning down of her pride (even if she hasn't lost it totally).

Ziggy2277: I'm not sure if I buy that. Outside of loving Shinji, Kaworu is shown to love humanity and regrets his role in trying to wipe them out. When given the chance to go off the rails in Rebuild, he tries to help restore the world for the sake of the future. I could see him being be a well intentioned extremist type of villain who believes he's helping humanity when he isn't or something. There's also that unlike the other Angels he's been in contact with SEELE for some time. Imagine being raised knowing your role in things is to die, what would that do to someone? There's things you can explore with his character already without having to derail them tremendously.

Next time: The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still.

Omake:

"Misato Katsuragi: The Incredible She-Hulk" by Johnny Freeman

Misato was having a bad day.

It all started with a painful hangover that left her late for her job. After arriving 50 minutes late, she had a devil of a time with paperwork regarding property damage from last week's Angel attack. Half way through she started to get bored and nearly fell asleep, leaving important files undocumented and causing the management to chew her out. To make matters worse, she forgot her keycard inside the office when she went out to get some fresh air.

At least the night offered a piece of solace: Going out for a night at the bar with Ritsuko.

It was a perfect distraction from how shitty today was with a cold glass and a friend to discuss how super shitty work can be, despite how unenthused Ritsuko could be. All seemed well for the night but, as soon as Misato was gonna take another glass to go, Ritsuko had to ruin it with the following words

"I think you had too much for tonight, Major Katsuragi."

Misato frowned at the comment. She wasn't THAT Drunk, I mean she was feeling slightly light headed but that's no reason to call it quits for the night.

"The night's barely started, Rits. Just let me have this..." Misato grumbled as she was about drink her glass.

"I would but I'm not the one who's taking care of the commander's son and drove her friend to this place." Ritsuko retorted.

Misato sighed. "Okay, Fine. Let's go."

The two women walked out of the bar as they made their way to the blue Alpine A130 in the sidewalk. As they got closer to the car, both women started to hear faint booming sounds coming from the distance.

"You hear that?" Ritsuko asked

"Yeah... Angel?" Misato replied

"No, We would've known by now..."

Just as they slowed down, Spider-Man landed on the hood of the car. This managed to get Misato out of her light headed stupor and make her mad.

"HEY! GET OFF MY CAR!" She exclaimed before turning to Ritsuko "Rits, You got a gun on you?"

"I'm a Scientist, not a-" She stopped as her eyes widen. "GET DOWN!"

Ritsuko pushed her friend back as an explosion rocked them away

"AW FUCK!" A voice screamed out from speakers, "STAY STILL YOU STUPID BUG!"

Misato looked up to see her car, her pride and joy (second to Shinji), reduced to a burning wreck as the new and improved Rhino walked down the streets, trying to shoot out Spider-Man with a shoudler mounted rocket launcher and missing each shot as the web slinger swung away to get his attention.

As Rhino ran away

"Major Katsuragi, Are you alright?" Ritsuko asked

There was no response.

"Miss Katsuragi?"

Misato was breathing heavily. She turned to Ritsuko, her eyes changed from dark blue to a glowing green.

"... Misato?"

Misato's Patience has worn thin that night

"Seriously! How are you still alive?! It baffles me!" Shinji exclaimed as he swung away from the oncoming missiles.

It was amazing how things have gone from a normal night time staking to a total showdown with the Rhino. I mean, it could just be another guy in a rhino suit but he sounded exactly the same as the original rhino who by all accounts should have fucking DIED during the Kokoro disaster. But as the fight had began to escalate, those questions became a bit irrelevant and his main priority became stopping this asshole before he continues doing the angels job.

"YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO FIGHT ME SOONER OR LATER, SPIDER-MAN!" The Rhino shouted, "SO COME DOWN HERE AND FACE ME LIKE A MAN!"

He had a point about that, Shinji had to confront him soon or else risk his attention being directed at innocent civilians. But what could he do He was stuck at a parking lot and, unlike Kokoro, this city doesn't have a construction site where he can throw a ball at him.

Before Shinji could even think about the outlines of a normal plan, Something had happened. The Rhino Mech suit stumbled back, a good chunk of it's suit dented as a manhole cover flipped around like a penny.

"HEY! ASSHOLE!"

Shinji looked to the source, his eyes bulged from behind the mask.

From the entrance of the parking lot stood Misato, who's hair and body were different shades of green with a tall muscular form that should've turn her dress into torn rags yet it still was holding on, even if it seemed like it was a tight fit.

She pointed to the Rhino.

"You Fucking Blew Up MY FUCKING CAR, YOU MECHA FURRY ASSHOLE!"

"… what?" The rhino squeeked out from the Suit.

Misato crackled her knuckles and then sprinted towards the Rhino instead

"OH SHIT! OHSHITOHSHITOHSHIT-" The Rhino exclaimed, moving back and firing rockets and the pissed off green lady.

Misato dashed aside, causing the rocket to nearly graze her. The next rocket she had the bright idea of trying to stop it with both hands which would've been a great idea but the problem was that rather than stopping it with both her hands, she ended up not only crushing it but detonating the rocket in midair. Shinji winced as she was engulfed in a fireball while the Rhino sighed inside the suit.

"Oh thank god…" He said, completely unaware that Ikari had heard it emanating from the suit.

Then the smoke cleared and he saw the figure of the large green woman trying put out the fire.

"Crap, Crap crap! Why did I do that, I'm such an idiot!" She exclaimed as the smoke clear away to reveal that not only did she survive but the dress was barely holding on as it was nearly scorched off her body. Not enough to be visibly naked but there were strips were you could see green skin.

"OH COME ON!" The Rhino exclaimed as he prepared to fire another rocket.

Misato looked down and noticed that the sewer cover was next to her. A lightbulb light up in her head as she quickly grabbed it and threw it at the Rhino's shoulder rocket launcher. The hit managed to cause the rocket to fire up into the sky, leaving her with an opportunity to tackle the mecha with all her strength. The Rhino tried to hold back against the angry woman but the strength of Anger overwhelmed the strength of Metal as the rhino was pushed into the ground.

She was giving it her all as she punched at the metal hull, the dents in the armor becoming more and more intense with each blow she would struck. After her last blow had created a hole that could allow her to see into the suit, she grabbed on to the hull and pulled it out to reveal short blond man pathetically covering himself as if that will stop the beatings he is about to receive.

"WHOA WHOA WHOA! Let's just time out for a second there Misaaaaaaaaa- Green Lady!" Shinji shouted. While the Rhino was a psychotic asshole who kills people with his carnage, he knew that whatever was instore with Misato would be JUST AS WORSE!

She turned to him and she wasn't as thrilled to See Spider-Man there. She wasn't thrilled about see him at all.

"You just had to land on my goddamn car… You little spider SHIT!" She exclaimed as she grabbed a piece of the rhino's armor and threw it at Spider-Man. He jumped away as the chunk only hit the wall.

"Okay, Time to go!" Spider-Man exclaims as he began to swing away.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Misato yelled as she tried to jump up, nearly grabbing him… only to miss by a few centimeters and land face first on to a car. She rose up to see that the little wall crawler had escaped into Tokyo-3.

"DAMN IT!" She shouted, hitting the hood of the car in frustration.

"Oh no… he's gone… I guess you're gonna have to spend the entire night looking for him huh?" The Rhino spoke. He saw angry green eyes staring into the depths of his soul as Misato got up and walked directly towards him.

He will never walk again.