Animals
Pain. Cruel, excruciating pain was all over his body as it was torn apart and put together again.
If life was anything but this, he had already forgotten it long ago. His friends were gone. His enemy prospered. The only thing left for a monster to do was to inflict as much pain onto others as possible. That's why he brought the prey to the Professor. They were small, weak, fragile… sometimes he tore an arm or a leg off when he brought them. Their screams made it better.
The Professor was delusional. He thought he was helping these people with his experiments, bringing about a better world for the downtrodden. The Scorpion knew better. All the Professor knew to do was cause death. A corpse can't enjoy the fruits of a "better world." The dead were simply dead. There was no salvation for the likes of them.
Certainly Scorpion had trouble understanding what the Professor's latest plan had to do with saving anyone.
"I made the final adjustments to your body. Yes…" The Professor grinned. "The Spider has come close to finding me. He must be eliminated immediately, my Scorpion. Do you understand?"
The Scorpion didn't reject this. After all, the target deserved it for the pain he suffered through. All because of Spider-Man.
"You're not as agile as in your first form, not as strong as your second, but this balance should be enough to wipe that insect from this world. I don't know how long this form will last so you better do it quickly while you're able to disorient him alright?"
Because his vocal chords still needed time to form, Scorpion could only nod.
"Excellent… go my student. Destroy Shinji Ikari once and for all."
With that command, the Scorpion dived into the sewer water. Swimming across the putrid disgusting water, Scorpion thought about his plan. He could track down Spider-Man as he had before, finish him. But it seemed better to get the Spider to come to him. He could level the playing field with his location. Perhaps a public area would be good…
The Scorpion's awful, cruel idea made him laugh. Ikari had done far too much to him. He will hunt that boy down, like a predator to their prey.
Misato had a habit of letting people down. She tried to keep it down these days, especially now that she's a Colonel, but she was going to have to disappoint eventually.
"Sorry, I can't come for the wedding." Misato said to the phone, a disappointed friend on the other side of the line. Work at NERV piled up, I just won't be able to make it. Kaji? He's… been reassigned. I can't talk about it."
Her eyes darted towards Shinji, who sat forlorn across the table. She wondered what he thought, watching his Guardian making excuses like that. Misato wasn't quite as worried about how Shinji saw her as she used to be. He already revealed his true colors when he stayed with her the night before, comforting her over Kaji.
Kaji… NERV covered up his death. She was made aware of the details, that Kaji was a spy for the U.N. and infiltrated NERV HQ for intel, setting up Maya to take the fall. Any mention of Spider-Man was removed from the reports. When Misato asked the Commander why he made this decision, he said…
"NERV's integrity would be questioned if word spread that Spider-Man managed to enter our facility without being captured. The Committee is already breathing down on us as it is. We are not to say a word of his involvement."
Instead, the official story sold to the Committee was that another spy had killed Kaji and escaped. The "official" official story sent out to NERV's general staff was that Kaji had simply been transferred to another facility. Asuka still didn't know. Shinji was the only one who knew, due to being there when he saw her at her worst. Misato would make it up to him at some point.
"Misato, don't wait up for me!" Asuka adjusted her yellow dress. "I'm going with Wonder Girl to the carnival!"
Misato blinked. "You're taking Rei there?"
"Duh do you have the memory of a gold fish?" Asuka turned to Shinji. "We won't be back for a while, so you can do whatever you want Third Child."
"I hope you have fun Asuka." Shinji said. "Ayanami isn't used to places like a carnival."
"Because the Commander's a big piece of shit, I know. No offense."
"None taken."
"Anyway I'm gonna get that doll out of her playbox even it kills me! Bye!"
Asuka up and left. Shinji sighed, hoping Asuka's endeavor worked well. He felt the phone in his pocket vibrate. Taking it out, Shinji prepared himself.
"Hello?"
"How are you doing Shinji?"
"Oh it's you Nagisa," Shinji frowned. "If you called to say you told me so, forget it."
"How petty do you think I am? There is no point in doing such a thing. I just wanted to see if you had recovered."
"I'm fine." Shinji made sure Misato was still conversing with her friend in the other room before continuing, "My arm's recovered from the bullet, but Misato hates Spider-Man more than before so I can't tell her anything."
"It is probably not the wisest move I can tell you that."
"Save the snarky comments for later, Nagisa. Anyway Asuka's going out with Ayanami and… I'm gonna head to my mother's grave later."
"My condolences to your mother."
"Thanks… Today is her anniversary." Shinji sighed. "I wish I knew her better. I don't even know what she looks like."
"You haven't asked your father?"
"He wouldn't tell me anything if I did." A low growl formed on Shinji's throat. "I hate him…"
"Hate? Such a blatant admission is alarming coming from you."
"Can you blame me?" Shinji nearly yells. "He's a creep and a liar and- and he's-"
"Don't misunderstand, I agree with your assessment of your father. I was merely surprised by you saying so openly… I will leave you to your own devices for now. I know I can't change your mind about the Spider-Man identity, but please lay low for a while. NERV has ramped up it's security, Section 2 will be on the streets looking for you."
"I was already planning on it." Shinji said. "Misato's done so I'll talk to you later."
"Very well. One more thing however."
Shinji raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"I told you so."
The phone hung up. A rueful smirk formed on Shinji's lips.
"Jerk."
He turned to see Misato in her uniform. She seemed nervous about something.
"I know what today is Shinji… are you going to get there safely?"
"I'm taking the train. It's not too far off." Shinji said. "I'll be back safe and sound I promise."
"Maybe you don't need to."
Shinji blinked. "What do you mean Misato?"
"I got nothing else to do, maybe I can take you?" Misato asked. "I just want to make sure you're okay. If you let me that is."
His heart twisting at that, Shinji swallowed a lump on his throat. He didn't think he deserved Misato's kindness now, not after what he did, but he didn't want to spurn it either. He wasn't sure if he could handle being by himself for this occasion.
"Sure Misato… let me get ready."
"You have yet to make a move, Rei. Proceed."
Rei gently moved a piece. Every other day, the Commander would ask her to play a game of Shogi with him. He won every match but she would find the time spent endearing. Commander Ikari kept an icy facade around the base, but never with her. He was vulnerable with her, as she was with him. That was the factor that kept Rei's devotion.
Gendo moved his own piece, knocking hers off of the board. The subtle twitch alerted Rei that he found it amusing.
Things had changed between them. Rei didn't know if the Commander noticed, but she had been more hesitant in these meeting than before. Rei was not naive, never so foolish as to think she wasn't disposable, but his pettiness and the attention of others made it hard to smile for him.
"What's troubling you Rei?" Gendo raised an eyebrow. "You're shaking ever so slightly."
It made this next question harder to say. Rei steeled herself.
"I want to make a request, Commander."
"Hm?"
"Pilor Soryuu had invited me to a place called the carnival. I wish to go with her today."
The lights shined over the glasses, blocking the Commander's eyes from her view. Rei couldn't read into his eyes now, his soul locked away. That made it harder to shake the fear.
"You do know what today is, Rei?" Gendo frowned. "You have an obligation. Why did you not inform me of your plans until now?"
With the timbre of his voice Rei knew she was playing with fire. A stray word and there would be no telling what the Commander would do…
"My apologies sir, this was entirely for your benefit." Rei said. "My bond with Pilot Soryuu will develop further with this movement, make her fight harder for us. Her synch ratio has been dropping recently. I have confidence my assistance will improve her record."
Gendo placed his hands together. "Pilot Soryuu is not important to the scenario Rei. Something like this is unneeded."
"But sir-"
"You may go." Gendo said finally. "But next time, you will run your plans by me first."
Rei tried not let her surprise be obvious. She kept a calm face as she bowed politely, heading out the door. Sub Commander Kozou Fuyutski, who had been overseeing this game, stared at Gendo in curiosity.
"I'm surprised you even allowed it." Fuyutski said. "You've always been so protective."
"A minor diversion like this won't impede the scenario." Gendo nodded. "In the end, she knows her place. Prepare the craft, Fuyutski."
A flash of disappointment came over Fuyutski's face, before he nodded. "This will be the first time in three years you and Shinji will be at the graveyard together."
"Tch. I can handle the boy myself Fuyutski. I don't need your commentary."
Commander Ikari got up and left Fuyutski by himself. The old Sub Commander wondered about Gendo's reasons for allowing Rei to go with Asuka. He knew the Commander gave Rei some leeway, but this was as close to defiance as Rei gave. Was Gendo truly confident in his scenario? Or… was it Rei he was really acquiescing to…
'Then again, I'm no better.' Fuyutski thought. 'We are both lost souls haunted by Yui. Let's hope her dreams outlast her yours, Ikari…'
Outside, Rei picked up the phone. Shakily, she dialed Asuka's number and waited for her voice.
"Ayanami?"
"Soryuu, I have been given permission to come."
"Great." Rei can practically hear the grin. "I'll meet you right outside."
"Are you enjoying yourself Maya?"
Maya excitedly nodded while drinking the coffee. Ritsuko smiled back. Evidently, it had been a good idea to take her assistant to the coffee shop a little ways outside of NERV. Ritsuko hadn't been on a date in ages, so she had to walk with some sense of trepidation. Luckily Maya didn't hold that against her.
"It's the best," Maya said. "Thanks Ritsuko."
"No problem." Ritsuko tilted her head. "You deserved it after the hell you went through a few days ago."
"Yeah… I can't believe it was Kaji that was the traitor. Sure he was a bit of a letch but that was- oh God I can't believe what you must have thought Ritsuko. Or Katsuragi."
Ritsuko sighed. "It's been hard on the both of us. I knew him back in college, we were… close… sure we drifted apart but I didn't think he would do anything like this either."
"The worst part is that the Commander covered it all up. I don't get that! If we had a superhuman problem surely everyone deserves to know right?"
"He wants to protect NERV's integrity. Any more arguments with the Committee and NERV's funding may be affected."
"I could handle a few change ups if it means the problem was solved…"
Maya sipped more of her coffee. Ritsuko kind of nodded to herself, continuing.
"I'm surprised you're fine after what happened. No other lingering doubts?"
"To tell you the truth I'm not." Maya let down her cup. "I'm a little scared."
"Why?"
"Don't you see Ritsuko? The world's changing fast. We have people with powers coming from the woodwork and having fights on the streets, at NERV, the Angels are coming and the world governments are in crisis and- It feels like things are getting complicated way too quickly. What if we never go back to normal?"
Ritsuko took a sip of her own coffee, preparing. "I'm not sure things were ever normal to begin with."
"What?"
"If you've read the history books, you see that the world was always a bit of a mess, long before Second Impact. Mankind has a habit of taking simple solutions and overcomplicating them, whether out of selfishness or some other thing. What's going on is no different I think. We're just experiencing another shift in the wind. You have people like Kaji, my mother, or any of those other… villains… running around, but we also have people like Spider-Man who, imperfectly, are trying to stop them. Maybe this will be the new normal, or sputter out. We can only adjust to it."
"Right…" Maya looked down. "You're always so smart Ritsuko."
"Not always. Sometimes you learn things the hard way. I just hope you're alright."
Ritsuko gently grabbed Maya's hands, gazing into her eyes. They sat there for a good long moment, before separating with a blush.
"Well Ritsuko, I think I will be okay," Maya chuckled. "I'm glad that Spider-Man came to save me at least… although, what is going to happen if he goes too far?"
Ritsuko shrugged. "Let's just hope he doesn't, or else he's in for a world of trouble."
The graveyard was as Shinji remembered.
Of course it'd be. In spite of the massive changes to his life the world had to keep spinning. The living made plans and moved forward. The dead remained dead. Around the corner of his eyes, Shinji saw his father was there too, standing over their shared grief.
The boy shuffled in his seat, seeming as if to hide.
How could Shinji get out of his car, with that man there? Every other time they've met one on one Shinji deflected, stayed away, or made a snide comment but this? There wouldn't be any quick reprieve. He would have to be alone with his father.
What could he say to the man? Fear and anger were always strong in his feelings, but knowing exactly the kind of person his father was made it worse. Gendo was a ruthless bastard who ruined his, Rei's, and God knows how many other lives with his cruelty. How can Shinji restrain himself against that?
"You're gripping the handle there Shinji."
Shinji realized what he was doing. Thankfully he saw that he didn't leave a dent. Good thing too or else he'd have to explain to Misato how he got the muscle to pull that off.
"Heh heh, sorry Misato," Shinji chuckled lowly. "I'm just… dreading seeing my father…"
"That man again…" Misato frowned. "You don't have to get out of the car you know. We can wait until he's gone, if that's what you want."
"No, no, it's just- ugh," Shinji clutched his head. "I don't want to go and face him… but I have to eventually right? We're just seeing mom… he can't just tell me not to do that…"
"You don't have to do anything Shinji," Misato said, "But if you want to stand you grounf, you can't run forever. Don't let him control you. Not like this."
Shinji stood still. He swore he heard this somewhere.
"You mustn't run away Shinji. You have to confront your father… and you have to confront yourself."
She was right. Of course Misato was right. How could he forget how smart she can be? The boy found the strength to open the door, smiling back at his guardian.
"Thank you Misato."
"No problem Shinji. I'll be waiting here for you."
Nodding while shutting the door, Shinji marched over to the grave. It helped immensely that his spider-sense hadn't picked up anything so far. He still felt nervous, but the lack of danger in the air made it easier to be closer to him.
Gendo didn't flinch. He didn't even turn his head. He nodded only ever so slightly, staring back at the grave. If his father won't acknowledge him, then Shinji didn't see the point in saying anything to him either.
Shinji did his best to ignore Gendo as he stared at engraving on his mother's grave.
YUI IKARI
1977- 2004
"It's been three years since we were last here."
Such pedestrian words from his father. Shinji sighed.
"That's when I ran away before…" The boy admitted. "I won't now."
"Good."
A small wind interrupted them. Neither said a word for a stretch of a moment.
"I never really believed she was resting here you know?" Shinji continued. "I can't remember her face, what she looked like, how she was… it's all a blur."
"You'd be right about that. There is no body to be found here. This grave is an artifice… Burying memories is a man's way of surviving, but there are some things a person must never forget. Yui taught me that most irreplaceable thing. That is the reason I come here after all."
Yamashiro, Mayumi… Shinji knew too well what that meant. He still remembered the day he broke down crying on his teacher's grave, begging for Yamashiro's forgiveness. Shinji's fist clenched.
"It's funny you say that… Yamashiro told me you threw away all the pictures of her. Kind of seems like you want to forget."
"Did he now? That man never understood a thing."
A stand off. Shinji turned to face him.
"If you make it hard to get close to you of course no one would understand you." Shinji said. "That's the thing about you, father. You throw everything away."
Gendo fixed his son a cool stare. "Everything is kept to my heart. I'm satisfied with that."
"Well I'm not. Did you ever stop to think that I wanted to remember her too?"
"…"
"Why wont you share those memories with me?"
Rei had never been to a carnival.
She hadn't grown up with creature comforts such as these. The Commander was too busy preparing her for her mission, to destroy the Angels and fulfill his scenario, to ever take her to such a thing. So far, the carnival didn't seem particularly special. In fact the place was quite smelly and dirty from the looks of it. Rei simply followed Asuka's lead as she saw people talking amongst themselves.
"Yeah it's a cheap place," Asuka said. "But for our purposes it'll do."
"…"
"Hikari wanted to set me up with a boy her sister knew, but I figured I could get someone way more interesting here. Fellow pilots make for better company anyway."
"I see…" Rei tilted her head. "What do you usually do in these places?"
"Play games, have fun. There's usually a line you need to wait a couple of minutes for."
"For short bursts of entertainment? Is something like that worth it?"
"If you're by yourself, no." Asuka smirked at Rei. "With the right company… who knows?"
They passed by a few vendors. One offered a slice of meat for Rei but she shook her head. She moved a bit further along with Asuka who was quite cheery.
"This is it, no Evas, no orders…" She sighed. "No one to cramp our style, least of all Kaworu."
"You do not like him?"
"He's okay…" Asuka shrugged. "Kaworu is just fine. I just hate how he's always ahead of me. He's pleasant but something about him just screams smug, which I can't say I ever cared for." Upon spotting Rei staring at her, she raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Nothing. I just did not expect you to deride someone else for being smug."
Rei wasn't sure if she did wrong. because Asuka bursted into laughter.
"Soryuu?"
"Hahaha, you're not even aware! That makes it even better" Her laugh dying down, Asuka wiped a tear from her eye. "Sorry. I didn't expect you of all people to make a sick burn like that."
"Is that a good thing?"
"In small doses yeah. Don't make it too much of a common thing will ya?
The two walked along a bit further, coming across a high strike arena. A man was calling out for new contestants. Asuka smirked.
"Mind if I take a swing?"
The man smirked back, handing the hammer to Asuka. "You may try little girl, but many have failed before."
She took it, steadying herself. Asuka swung it down, sending the puck rising far above, close enough to the bell. The man laughed.
"Close but no cigar! You might as well give up and go home."
Asuka's eye twitched. She swung again, harder this time, a shrill sound of the bell heard throughout the area. She smirked again at the man, who grumpily handed her a set of tokens, before walking with Rei again.
"See that Ayanami?" Asuka raised her fist. "That's what happens when you put the work in. Strength, brains and beauty in a single delightful package!"
"You like to take pride in such things…. Why is that?"
"Because I want to feel special." Asuka explained. "I have skills that I gained over the course of my life, whether taught to me by the best and brightest at College, or I figured them out long beforehand. These things make me feel a sense of accomplishment, since I can say I did it without anyone's help."
"But nothing major can be accomplished on your own."
"In general yeah, but you get my point right? I could probably build a radio jamming device in a cave right now because I learned how to do it on my own. It's something I can do myself. Don't you have anything like that you want to do?"
"…"
"Well I'm sure you'll figure it out. Look there's a ring toss game over there!"
The two stopped there. There were a variety of toys and plushies on display as the clerk, a shady looking one with a thick mustache and glasses, licked his lips.
"Step right up lil ladies, hit the targets and win a prize! Then again neither of you seem too agile or strong to win, so perhaps you may want to leave…"
"Ugh, creep! Let's get out of here." Asuka turned to see her friend stepping up. "Rei?"
"I will go." Rei said. "I want to play this game."
"For a fine creature like yourself certainly!" The clerk gave a ring to Rei. "You gotta throw 'em into the bottles is all. Toss three and you win a toy."
Rei nodded. As she carefully prepared to throw the ring, she noticed how the bottles were bent, some higher than others, or tilting one side over another. It seemed like they were positioned in such a way on purpose. A regular person would probably fail at this game without realizing they were being had.
However, Rei's ring landing right on top of a bottle was enough to let her know she did fine. The clerk looked at her suspiciously, but Rei simply took two other rings and landed them perfectly. He had no choice but to grant her a small bear plushie to hold.
"Great work Ayanami!" Asuka clapped her hands. "Glad you showed that weirdo who's boss."
"I simply took your advice." Rei turned to her. "I wanted to see if I was good at something, and I did." She handed the bear to Asuka. "Would you like to have it?"
Asuka waved it off, her lips curved upwards "Nah, it reminds me too much of dolls. You should keep it. It's something you earned after all."
The pilots walked together more, ready to see more of the Carnival, unaware of the scaly green monster watching them from a hidden place…
Gendo hadn't spoken a word for over seven minutes.
Shinji didn't know what his father would say. He didn't know if he wanted to hear what he would say. He had been fearing a moment like this for a long time, but after all these years Shinji wanted an answer. He wasn't going to shrink away now that he had his chance.
"Well?"
His father only turned his back on him. That made Shinji more angry.
"You're still on that?" Gendo said. "You're still so childish."
"Childish?! We're talking about my mom!"
"You act like you deserve to know about my wife. You don't."
Shinji's fists clenched together harder.
"The hell is that supposed to mean?! Of course I deserve to know! Do you really think you're the only one who loved her?! I grew up not remembering a thing about my own mother while you disappeared into your own work! Why are you like this? What did I do to deserve being treated like trash?!"
"Keep acting like a brat and you'll never know, Third Child. This discussion is over."
The Commander started walking back to his ship. It was exactly like three years ago. At the moment, Shinji's self control utterly snapped. He lunged at his father, grabbing him by the coat and tossing the man straight to the ground.
"What the hell-?!" Gendo was shocked. His glasses nearly slipped. "Let go of me!"
"No! You're not getting away with this!" Shinji blinked back some tears building up in his eyes. "You abandon me, you throw me into a giant robot without training, you avoid me every chance you get, you-" Shinji stopped himself then, realizing there were things he shouldn't say. "You didn't have time for me but somehow had enough for Rei?! Give me something, anything, because I'm tired of you tossing me aside like I am nothing!"
Gendo's eyes went wide at this outburst. Never in a million years did he see his son raging at him like this, the opposite of subservience. He'd find it commendable if it weren't for such pathetic reasons. As such, Gendo glared at his son.
"She chose you." Gendo said at last. "She always chose you… over me. Because of that, you will never know her. I'll deny you even her memory because you don't deserve to know. All you are to me is The Third Child, a pilot for Unit 01. Nothing more."
At that Shinji dropped his grip. Father and son glared at each other, playing a chess match to see who would crumble from the weight of exhaustion, from the truth of what had happened then and now. Gendo thought about Yui, how she would feel proud of him. Shinji thought of Kaworu, how he would judge him for his crime.
"I hate you father… " Shinji whispered in hoarse frustration. "I hate you…"
The boy ran back to the car, leaving his father behind. As he slammed the door shut Shinji noticed his guardian looking concerned.
"Shinji?"
"Just drive, Misato." Shinji turned away, hoping Misato didn't see him crying. "I want to go home."
Misato was about to grab his shoulder, but decided against it. It was not a good time now. Her ward needed space.
"Alright. Let's go home."
"Now that was fun wasn't it Ayanami?"
Rei was smiling. Genuinely smiling. Granted, for her it was only a small little thing, not when compared to the grin Asuka had. They had gone through a few attractions, having fun at a roller coaster or a shooting gallery, sometimes laughing. Rei was surprised at how much she was enjoying herself.
"This was quite nice Pilot Soryuu." Rei agreed with her friend. "Thank you for bringing me here."
"Asuka."
"Hm?"
"If we're going to be buddy buddy I'd rather you call me by my name." Asuka did a light jab at Rei's arm. "So you better remember damn it."
"Very well… Asuka."
"I'll hold you to that." Asuka smiled. "We should do this again."
"Maybe…" Res hesitated. "if the Commander allows it."
"Him again?"
"I am not concerned with his approval, not as much." Rei explained. "But I fear what he would do if I acted on my own again. He sees me as disposable."
Asuka frowned. "Disposable?! But you're a pilot!"
"Aside from being a pilot, I had nothing else." Rei shook. "You, Pilot Ikari and his friends… you have helped. We will meet again."
"WATCH OUT!" A few bystanders ran past the pilots, raising suspicions. "A MONSTER IS HERE!"
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGHHH!"
Asuka and Rei were both shocked to see there was, in fact, a monster howling at the wind. He stood on a pyre, a creature not dissimilar to the one who attacked at the onsen. The Scorpion's tail was the same; he was smaller than before, but the claws, the pincers, the eyes were all the tell tale signs that the monster had returned. The most surprising thing was not any of those things, but the fact that it spoke.
"SPIDER-MAN, COME OUT AND PLAAAAAYYYY! LOOK AT THE POOR PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BE KILLED IF YOU DON'T COME TO ME, SPIDER-MAN! DO YOU NOT EVEN CARE? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Neither pilot had time to think. They simply ran with the crowd, fleeing as the Scorpion made it's declaration.
"Running away so soon?" The Scorpion let out a dark chuckle. "Fine then. Maybe a body count will be enough to draw the Spider!"
It aimed it's tail at the crowds, spraying untold amounts of acid at them. Asuka could only hear the screams as she focused on her own survival.
"Why won't the Spider face me? Too much of a coward huh? Of course he'd be, he left a poor sweet girl all alone crying, he doesn't care about saving any of you! Ehahahahahahaha!"
Both Rei and Asuka ran into a booth. The Scorpion was still outside, rambling on about something. Neither pilot dared to look not he outside, instead keeping their heads down.
"The hell is it doing here!?" She all but yelled. "Where's Section-2 when you need 'em?"
"They should be outside. Either way they will be defenseless against this creature." Rei picked up her phone. "I know which person to call."
Misato and Shinji were back in the apartment. They got out of the car.
"I'm sorry about your father." Misato said. "You didn't deserve it at all."
"It's okay Misato." Shinji waved it off. "Somehow, I always knew it would be like this. I just didn't expect the depth of his feelings. My father's nothing but a jerk. That shouldn't have been so surprising. As far I'm concerned, Yamashiro was more of a father to me than he ever was. I'll hold him in my heart at least, even if he's not here anymore. I just with I had someone in my corner…"
"But you already do."
Misato grabbed Shinji's hands, making him look at her. She was smiling.
"Shinji, you have no idea how proud you make me, how much you've been a blessing since you came here months ago. We still have the Angels to fight, but I'd be more than happy if you… stayed with me after this is all over."
It was exactly what Shinji wanted to hear, which is also why he dreaded it. She doesn't know, she doesn't know, that rant in his thoughts as Shinji clutched his arm. He doesn't want to take advantage of her generosity any more than he already has. He spoke again.
"Misato I…"
The phone rang before any further discussion was made. An annoyed Misato picked it up and answered.
"What's up?"
"Captain Katsuragi, are you and Shinji close by?"
"Rei? Yes Shinji's here, we're back at the apartment. Why do you ask?"
"We are being attacked by a monster. Section-2 is nowhere in sight. Send someone now!"
"Rei-! blasted, she hung up!"
Shinji was concerned. "What's going on?"
"It was Rei, she and Asuka are being attacked. I'm heading over there." Misato ran to the car. "You're staying here."
She drove off, leaving Shinji alone. The boy looked back up at the apartment before frowning.
"Sorry Kaworu, but I don't have a choice." Shinji went inside. "If it's my friends or my life, there just isn't another way."
"That freak's still on the move," Asuka glanced at Rei. "Well?"
"I called Katsuragi. Hopefully she will arrive with Section-2."
"Great, but what are we gonna do about tall green and scaly over there?"
The Scorpion was still tormenting others out there. It's hisses and growls and screams were loud and grating, neither pilot in the mood to leave their hiding spot because of this. Not when any moment it could strike and kill them.
"We need to evacuate." Rei stated the obvious. "Perhaps a distraction is in order?"
Asuka searched their booth for a weapon to use. There was some left over trash, probably months old in fact, candy and… a baseball bat? Normally Asuka would normally berate the idiot that left it there, but for now she had to make do. She grabbed the bat.
"Let's go."
Rei nodded. The two slowly made their way out of the booth. It seemed the Scorpion was still preoccupied in the distance. They tried to ignore the screams, running past attractions for an exit.
"Damnit it, at this point I'll even take Spider-Man's help," Asuka looked around. "Where's Section-2 when you need 'em?"
She spotted the exit not too far from them. At last, relief!
"This way!"
But before they could even take a step, a splash of acid sprayed directly in front of them. The creature landed directly in their line of sight, snarling like a maniac.
"Leaving so soon? The party hasn't even begun!" The Scorpion hissed. "I'd love to play a game of reducing you to smears on the sidewalk, but I'm waiting for a certain guest to arrive."
"You're looking for Spider-Man, we figured." Asuka yelled. "Step aside! We got nothing to do with this!"
"Nobody here does. It's all a means to an end. Now stay here, or else you'll die before you can see me kill the wall crawling freak!"
"Spider-Man will not lose to you," Rei said. "Of that I am certain."
"Oh? Are so sure about that?"
"Positive."
Asuka wanted to scream at Rei. What was she doing, taunting a monster like him, right now? If there was any doubt Ayanami wasn't a doll, these put it to rest in the worst possible time.
"Well if you're prepared to die waiting for him, I can give you that," The Scorpion's tail prepared it's stinger. "I'll set an example for what happens when you get in the way…"
Swiftly, the tail lunged.
"REI NO-!"
The Scorpion was kicked, landing him into a set of barrels. His eyed darted to his attacker. At last, Spider-Man had come.
"You two get out of here! I'll deal with tall green and scaly over here." Spider-Man told the pilots. "Move!"
Asuka grabbed Rei's arm, not needing to be told twice, but Rei resisted for a moment. She turned to Spider-Man.
"Do your best Spider-Man."
Nodding at what she said, Spider-Man saw the pilots run off. He was free to confront the Scorpion.
"Alright you overgrown scorpion… guy," Shinji needed to think of better insults for the future. "Hope you're ready to get your butt kicked for round 3, I don't really have all day."
"I'd watch my own back if I were you." The Scorpion chuckled. "You're gonna regret ever meeting me."
Shinji was startled. "You can talk?"
"The Professor took the time to fix my vocal chords… just in time to settle our unfinished business."
The Scorpion placed one of his claws at it's own jaw, violently ripping it off it's face! Shinji flinched at the sight of an awful green slime dripped from the torn jaw, which only increased when the creatures tilted it's- no, his- head up and could see inside.
"Kotei?"
Tsuyoshi Kotei had a wild, hateful grin, one that promised death at the slightest provocation. His cheekbones were thinner, his eyes lost luster, but there was no mistake. It was him.
"Right on the money, Spider-Sham." Kotei said. "Remember our teacher? Turns out Lizard Brain found a way to fix me up reaaaal good… you know what we both want?"
Shinji's reaction time was enough to save himself from the Scorpion's stinger, but he was kicked across the feet, forcing him on the ground where he had to move out of claw swipes. He launched a web to pull himself away from the Scorpion through his legs, crawling on a pole.
"There you go, always running away." Kotei yelled. "The Spectacular Spider-Man is nothing but a wimp! Let me kill you!"
"Kotei please!" Shinji begged. "What's going on? How did you get like this? Let me help you!"
"Like how you helped Mayumi?" Kotei sneered. "No thanks. You helped quite enough!"
His stinger spat out more acid, throwing them at Spider-Man who jumped and swung around, hopping around to dodge. He grimaced at the mention of Mayumi's name.
"Don't say her name!"
"Touched a nerve? I'll make sure to severe some of yours."
The monster lunged at Spider-Man, who moved behind him to try to grab his tail, but the stinger dripped acid onto his hands burning them something fierce. The boy groaned as the tail wrapped around his waist and slammed him into a booth. Kotei brought a claw to his neck, which Shinji grabbed with his burning hands.
"Grrrrrr…"
"What's the matter? Things not going your way?"
Shinji moved his hand, shooting a web right at Kotei's face, forcing the monster to drop him. Spider-Man quickly dashed at the Scorpion punching him straight in the face repeatedly, before swinging away as the tail tried to strike him.
"You think playing hero will be enough to redeem your worthless ass?!" Kotei screamed "You're no savior! You're just a brat trying to please everyone!"
"Kotei stop!"
"No! I won't stop! Not until you're dead Shinji Ikari!"
Spider-Man panicked at his name said out loud. He could only thank whatever deity existed that most of the people were at the other side. That was as much luck as he would get, because the Scorpion's stinger landed acid right on his shoulder, making him drop to the ground.
"Grrrr…" Shinji clutched his shoulder. "Please, I didn't mean to hurt her… I didn't mean to hurt you either…"
"You didn't see her! You didn't see the way she was sad when you left her alone! You didn't see the bullies that broke her pills, making her lick the floor like an animal!"
As Kotei screamed every word, tears had built up in his eyes. Shinji couldn't stop the guilty feeling stabbing through his conscience.
"You abandoned her! You abandoned us!" Kotei said. "I protected Mayumi, not you! I'll crush you for her sake!"
"HYAH!"
Spider-Man tried to use his free arm to swing a punch, but Scorpion caught it with his claw, crushing the arm hard. The stringer stabbed Shinji in the chest, forcing him to the ground. Kotei grinned wildly.
"Look at the itsy bitsy Spidey, you went up the water sprout and down came the drain…"
He couldn't die here. Shinji tried to get up, but he was feeling too weak… no… his eyes were starting to shut, Kotei's face disappearing as the Scorpion raised his claws.
"Time to wash the spider out!"
Before a hit could be made, the Scorpion felt something land on the back of his head. He turned to see it was a baseball bat. His eyes darted to see that Rei Ayanami had been the one to throw the thing.
"You dare-?!"
"I had no choice." Rei said impassively. "I won't let anything happen to Spider-Man."
"Rei…" Shinji moaned. "No, please run…"
The Scorpion growled. How dare this broken thing interrupt him in his moment of revenge? Surely she needed a suitable punishment! He saw that Rei was standing just below a huge sign, and grinned.
"If you're going to defend this trash, then you're going to be thrown away like one! HA!"
He fired acid into the sign, making it fall on Rei. Shinji could only watch in horror as it collapsed on his friend… or is it sister? He doesn't know, only that Asuka had run over and tried to speak with Rei
"REI!" Asuka screamed, moving Rei's body. "Get up, please get up! No!"
Enraged. Shinji was nothing less than enraged at this... this madness! Kotei can come after him and insult him all he wants, he deserved every single last one and more, but hurting Rei? Who had nothing to do with this fight at all? No, he won't let this continue. She didn't deserve this. No one did.
"Ohhh look at the poor girl, she's probably close to death all because of- AH!"
Spider-Man punched the Scorpion right off, tearing himself from the pain. He thought of red eyes as he forgot his hands and shoulder were burning as he approached the monster.
"You're not leaving here."
"Now you're talking," Kotei continued grinning, "Hey everyone Spider-Man's finally taking me seriously-!"
A punch him broke his jaw. Another devastated his chest. Another shattered his claws hands. More and more punches, red started to smear on Spider-Man's hands. Kotei was forced to reel back.
"What the hell? Stop!"
Shinji didn't say a word. With only a groan, he punched the Scorpion with all the force he can muster. The searing pain in his hands, the body coming close to shutting down, it didn't matter. This bastard had to suffer.
"I'm not gonna stop-" Scorpion let out. "Not until Mayumi is-!"
A punch to the jaw, Teeth were broken. Shinji didn't stop, not then. The Scorpion- not Kotei, he refused to dignify him with a semblance of humanity- deserved this. Each beating grew faster and harder in intensity, never letting up. Eventually even the tail went limp on the floor. Spider-Man let out a deep long breath, having finished his deed.
The Scorpion lied on the ground, bloodied and beaten. Shinji's eyes slowly lit up in horror.
"Kotei? No did I…?"
Was he seeing the body move? Shinji had to make sure. The alternative would be… He went to reach with his hand-
"FREEZE!"
Gun shots. Spider-Man had jump out of the way. Kotei was not so lucky, the bullets penetrating his skull.
"Get the freak!" a Section 2 agent yelled to his men. "FIND SPIDER-MAN AND BRING HIM IN!"
Spider-Man avoided the agents. There wasn't any more he could do. He had to get to Misato's place quickly, before she notices he was gone. As he entered his room, he lied on the floor, maskless, shocked ay what had happened.
"I just killed…" Shinji gulped. "No, they shot him did they? I… no…"
He may never know who killed Kotei, himself or the agents… but he felt shame all the same.
Author's notes:
Tsuyoshi Kotei was always intended to be the Scorpion. How he was to become the Scorpion was very different though. Originally, he was to become the Scorpion in the Kokoro arc, where he got worse in his behavior and took an offer from Yamagishi to become powerful enough to beat Spider-Man. Obviously that changed, but his general behavior here fits with my original vision.
Also yes, the villain responsible for giving Kotei his powers is The Lizard. There's no use dragging out the mystery after all. How did he survive? You'll have to wait on the answers for a couple more chapters but you'll see! For the people who want to see Venom and Black Cat… you're still not getting them in the main story, but these omakes will give you an idea of what might have been ;)
Special thanks to Author0fntent for the Maria Vincennes omake. He's been spectacular! In case some get confused, Maria is a character from an Evangelion RPG, an American Eva pilot who is also prodigy with a P.H.D.; she acts meek and polite, but is actually haughty and domineering, a reverse Asuka in personality.
Time for responses:
Z-King: Thank you!
Ninja was here: Because I'm a busy beaver dude.
SuperiorSuperman: Well you weren't wrong, Kotei as Scorpion was inspire to a degree by Eddie in Spectacular. I hope you enjoyed the interactions!
Guest: Eventually, just not now.
RealRemainder: Kaji's alive… he's not finished yet in this story. :)
Adam Ford: Not intentionally, but one could see it that way.
Sand Slay Dragon: As far as Kaji was concerned, his priorities are stopping SEELE and save Misato. If anyone gets in the way they pretty much deserve whatever comes to them. Spider-Shinji is Misato's ward who puts himself in danger, so Kaji makes Shinji's life harder. Ritsuko works for Gendo, she deserves to die. Yeah being experimented on by HERZ doesn't do a lot for someone's sanity. Also, not necessarily but it's a good parallel.
Next time: Mind Screw
"Maria Vincennes in: Black Cat-astrophe… Or is it?" by Author0fntent
Maria Vincennes: the newest addition to NERV's pilot corps, a recent transfer from NERV-2 in Nevada, the United States. She was, in a few ways, much akin to Asuka, aside from her blonde hair and particular fashion choices. She was a haughty and domineering prodigy (perhaps even more so than Asuka), with a high level of pride in her job. One other thing that did distinguish her from her fellow Western-born pilot?
She was something of a kleptomaniac.
You see, Maria had long been fascinated by thieves-their skills, their methodology, the scale of their heists. In her spare time, she secretly studied what she deemed the art and science of thievery, in no time becoming a skilled thief herself. She honed her skills right under the noses of those who worked at NERV-2. At first she'd merely take a random staff member's item, have them scratch their heads for a day or two trying to figure out where it went, then return it to where she'd taken it from, further baffling them. Then, she became more daring, pulling off successful heists of more valuable items after adopting a new persona. (Of course, she wasn't stupid enough to try to rip off any of the local organized crime groups that somehow still operated in the ghost town that used to be Las Vegas.)
In a skintight black suit with white faux fur highlights, topped with a domino mask and a snow white wig, Maria's new alter-ego-known as the Black Cat, thanks to a calling card she always left-became the biggest unsolved mystery around NERV-2. Whenever Maria was sent to the other NERV branches for training, they too found themselves experiencing some of the Black Cat's bad luck. Thankfully, Maria was no fool-she always managed to cover her tracks.
NERV-central in Japan would be the latest mark for her. She decided to start small, since she didn't want to make a statement on her first day in the so-called fortress city of tomorrow right away. On her first few days at school with the other pilots, she quickly figured out what her first steal would be. One night, the Black Cat found herself outside the veranda door to the apartment of her new commanding officer, Major Misato Katsuragi. She'd cased the place a couple of days prior and determined the patterns of its occupants' comings and goings, including that of the strange penguin that lived there.
Black Cat took a look at the lock for the sliding glass door, and then triggered the release of the claws on her right glove's fingertips. She slowly, carefully cut a small circle in the glass, plucked it out, and with her other gloved hand unlocked the door, allowing her to open it just as slowly and quietly step inside. She carefully crept through the living room, back pressed against the wall of the hallway leading to the bedrooms. Passing by one door, the snoring she heard emanating from behind it made it all too clear that it was Katsuragi's room; based on what she'd heard around HQ, she was quite a heavy sleeper. Soon she spotted the door of her quarry, thanks to the little handmade 'Shinji's Lovely Suite' sign hanging towards the top. She grinned almost cheshire-like as she methodically slid the door open and crept inside, eyeing the boy off in slumberland on his futon.
Focusing on the boy's upper half, her grin returned as she saw the object of her heist held loosely in his right hand, the earbuds still in each respective ear. She quietly, carefully crept towards Shinji's sleeping form and kneeled down close to him. From there, she delicately removed each earbud and removed the other end of the cord from the SDAT's headphone jack. After carefully winding the earbud cord and securing it, she then proceeded to carefully inch the SDAT itself out of Shinji's grasp. Then, just when she'd thought she was in the clear, Shinji, in his sleep, found himself fumbling for his SDAT. Black Cat froze on the spot, not moving as surprise adorned her face. Finally, Shinji's hand took a hold...of Maria's wrist. Shinji's brows furrowed as he felt along the forearm, noting the feel of fur on it...Wait, fur?! Shinji's eyes shot wide open as he got up with a start and a yelp, causing the outline of the figure before him to get into a defensive crouch.
Before either one of them did anything else, the light of Shinji's bedroom flipped on, causing both to face the doorway, where an almost half-asleep Asuka was standing, rubbing one of her eyes.
"Baka-what the hell's going...?" she started to ask irately, before her eyes fully opened in surprise upon seeing the black-garbed girl in a crouch on Shinji's floor. She then gave herself a facepalm. "Dammit, Maria-I thought you were going to stop doing this already!"
Black Cat quickly got up from her crouch, trying her best to salvage the situation. "Uh, I, uh...I don't know who you're talking about-I'm the Black Cat, master thief extraordinaire!"
Asuka shook her head as she approached the girl. "Ah, come off it, will ya? You're not fooling anybody with just this," she said as she nonchalantly pulled the wig off Maria's head, revealing the girl's blonde tresses underneath.
Shinji, for the most part, was astonished and confused. "Um...could someone tell me what's going on here?"
Asuka rolled her eyes before she answered him. "Maria's been doing this for a little while now, she fancies herself quite the cat burglar. I figured out a while back that she was behind a bunch of disappearing objects at the NERV branches we trained at, but didn't say anything because I thought it was funny."
Maria 'hmphed' as she folded her arms in front of her. "Gee, thanks a lot..."
Shinji turned his attention to the blonde. "Why were you trying to steal my SDAT anyway?"
Maria shrugged as she answered. "I'd heard it was one of your most prized possessions, and I wanted to do a dry run before I went for any bigger fish in Tokyo-3. You seemed like an easy mark."
"But come on, an SDAT player?" Asuka asked skeptically. "Why not the baka's cello?"
"How do you expect me to get a full-sized cello out of this place without anyone noticing?" Maria bit back. "In case you didn't notice, I didn't exactly go out of my way to form a crew for my outings."
Suddenly, a rather...interesting idea came to Shinji. "Hey Maria-san-what if I gave you a better idea for a target?"
Asuka, disbelieving at what he'd just said, was momentarily speechless. "What're you-don't encourage her!"
Maria, ignoring Asuka, found her curiosity piqued. "Go on..."
Two days later, one morning, NERV supreme commander Gendo Ikari awoke and went about his daily routine, before getting dressed. When he went to his nightstand, a horrified realization came upon him:
His glasses were missing.
Falling into an uncharacteristic panic, Gendo frantically turned every inch of his bedroom upside-down in an attempt to find them.
"My glasses! I can't be seen without my glasses!" Gendo exclaimed desperately. Finally, he noticed something he hadn't before when he spotted a pair of yellow-framed, novelty giant-sized sunglasses resting on his desk. Next to them was a small card, which had written on it:
Not feeling too lucky today, are we?
-The Black Cat
"Damn you," he grumbled to himself; he'd heard the rumors of the mysterious thief that'd bedevilled a few of the other NERV branches, but figured Tokyo-3 would be fine considering how airtight security was. He'd arranged it like that, after all. Grumbling a little more, Gendo took the novelty glasses and left the bedroom, knowing he had better things to do today.
When he arrived in Central Dogma on the way to his office, all eyes looked upon him with surprise over his choice of eyewear for today. Fuyutsuki said nothing as Gendo approached him, and from there the two commanders left the bridge to head to Gendo's office. As soon as they were gone, the whole bridge broke out into laughter. Hanging back towards the door, Shinji and Maria, looking quite inconspicuous, shared a knowing glance with each other accented by a mutual smirk. Maria briefly held up Gendo's orange-tinted glasses in her left hand, while she and Shinji shared a quick fist-bump over a job well-done.
"Gendo Ikari: Toxic" by GainaxVel3o
His fingers bled upon the last hit.
Gendo brought the hand to his chest, breathing heavily as he stared at the already used up punching bag. On days like these he almost forgot the events from two years ago. He almost forgot that he was stuck in a dead end apartment, on the run from the authorities for his part in the failed Instrumentality project, in causing Second Impact. He almost forgot…
His bleeding hand clutched the bump on his other extremity. Yes, losing that had been difficult to deal with.
Gendo had nearly forgotten much of his life. But he never forgot Yui. How could he forget the way Doctor Naoko Akagi so mercilessly took her away from him once and for all? How she sent Evangelion Unit 01 out of the Geo Front to explode after triggering the self destruct? Even if they had rebuild the armor, the soul was lost forever. Not that anyone cared. No one cared what the former Commander of NERV thought, nor did they give a thought to the Evangelions. These days, they only spoke of Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus fighting each other for the fate of Japan.
Foolish. Utterly foolish. While his son and his nemesis reaped the rewards, Gendo suffered here, in these crooked walls, waiting to be found out or worse.
"Are you really going to take that lying down?" A harsh, raspy voice filled his ears, "Are you going to let them steal from you forever?"
"No, Kamui. I won't allow them."
"I have a name you know, old man. The least you could do is call me that."
Gendo sighed. In his time on the run an unexpected ally came into his possession. From the details he gleamed, the Kiryuuins had been experimenting with a secret alien parasite that took the form of clothing. This experimental Kamui had found him after escaping it's confinement. It made the road much less troubling, even if it came with annoying commentary for baggage.
"Very well Doku," Gendo said. "My son had radically changed the scenario. He sits on the stack of cards, playing superhero. If that's his game then I have no choice but to play the part of a villain."
The black costumed went to cover Gendo's every inch. Doku had already explained that if it was used for too long, if it fully consumed him, Gendo would be drained of his blood and left a rotting corpse. Gendo deemed it an acceptable consequence in his war. If he lost then he would see Yui again. If he won, the Third Child would be dead. Either outcome served his purposes.
"Does that mean we get a cool name?" The kamui spoke. "Please? Can I suggest it? How about something dangerous, like Poison, Toxin, Carnage… wait no, I think those are taken. What do you think boss?"
"Those sound too quaint for our purposes," Gendo smirked. "We need something more fitting. Would you prefer… Venom?"
He looked himself in the mirror. Where once stood a man, a hulking dark monster was there instead, towering over much of the room, a white spider symbol on his chest, a big swirling tongue coming from the mouth."
"Oh I love that! Venom… yeah! Sounds awesome!"
"If you don't mind Doku, I'd like to get started right away. We have places to be."
"On it boss!"
The dark figure emerged from the apartment, leaving it behind to swing through the skies. The citizens of Neo-Kokoro shivered that night at the sound of cruel spiteful laughter from the streets.
"Though the world may have forgotten Gendo Ikari, soon they will learn the fear to fear us… for WE ARE VENOM! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"