Venomous
It was the dead of night in Tokyo-3.
In a quiet street corner liked a small parking lot. Absent of people, there were only a few cars parked there, waiting for their owners to come back. The security guard that was supposed to keep track of them had fallen asleep in his station an hour ago, his loud snores being the only noise disturbing the peace. It all seemed pleasant down here.
All the easier for a criminal to make his mark. A man dressed in a black mask and hood jacket slowly creeped in, being careful not to alert the guard to his presence. He grinned, realizing he made the slip. He ran to a red sedan, one with a large open window on top. Sneaking in through there would just start the alarm. He needed tools.
Tao was a car jacker by trade. He would use a code breaker to break into cars and sell them to whatever bidder decided to spend their money on it. Small, but easy money, the smartest kind of crime. It took take him 7 minutes to get the ball rolling. Tonight, it only take three.
"Okay, Master Planner…" He whispered to himself. "Show me what you got."
He raised a small, rectangular device that immediately detected the Sedan. It began to input the codes by itself. Tao never had a Code Breaker like this before.
That was because it had been provided by the infamous Master Planner. They were a new player in the Japanese underworld, approaching various mobs and cartels to sell them high tech weapons in exchange for their services. Some refused to accept the offer given to them, confident in their ability to survive. They would be subsequently taken out rather violently by the competition that did accept.
With how fast the gangs were getting the tech, Tao had his suspicions that the Master Planner was up to something big. The Planner definitely raised more than a few eyebrows when their weapons reached the Rising Suns, a hardcore nationalist group that spread gospel Japan back to their glory days. Whatever it meant that year. In the 90s', it was degradation of culture and norms from the West. These days, they say it was to go back to Pre-Second Impact Japan.
Tao didn't go for such. He was too smart to get involved in that stuff, so he instead paid attention to the Cod Breaker, waiting… waiting…
A soft click. The car door opened by itself, just enough for dainty fingers to pull it open.
"Unlocked. It's my lucky night." Tao smirked. "Spider-Man's too busy to notice petty shit like this happenin' under his nose. So long as I don't drive like a loon, I won't get caught."
Some of his friends were caught in a car chase last month. Shiro wanted to see his girlfriend on the other side of town and began to shoot at the cops for fun. They deserved to get caught by Spider-Man.
Tao felt a lot more confident in his own chances, as he took his place in the front row driver's chair. He pulled out a master key, another one of the Master Planner's little gifts, that should give him immediate access. Can't make an escape if you can't drive the damn car after all.
Sure, there was an odd breeze that froze Tao to his spot. Sure, he turned around to find nothing behind him. Sure, he felt a strange sense of foreboding that gave his goosebumps the longer he thought of the details.
"Okay, okay." Tao turned back to the wheel. "Just take the car. Move out. No pain, no gain."
The hum of the engine blared when he inserted the key. Tao smiled.
"Now we're talking, baby!"
"Scum. You never cease to disappoint."
His eyes widened upon hearing… that noise. It was as though two voices were in synch, but filtered in a dark, guttural growl that promised hatred.
And it was right behind him. It was right behind him.
Tao dared not to turn around. Instead, his eyes darted to the mirror above, which only revealed a pair of wide white eyes. The shocking part was how they resembled the lenses on Spider-Man's mask. However, they seemed move on their own, as it they were glued to the face.
"Ha. What an idiot… If you're going to be robbing cars, maybe you shouldn't have dressed like a thief. Someone could see you and easily make a mistake. Or be one hundred percent on the mark, like we seem to be."
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Tao got a better view of his nightmare for the next month.
Her appearance was simply… manic. Her hair, if you can call it that, was spiky and pointed upward in an unsettling fashion, more like pikes. Tao could swear that her face was not a mask. It couldn't be, with the sharp teeth that glistened in real saliva, not with the self satisfied, smug glaze from those white eyes, practically glued to him. Every inch of her being screamed a daring thrill to hunt, the relish in the kill; To play with their meal.
"What… what are you?" Tao asked, trying to stall for time as he took back the master key. "You… you some kind of cop or something?!"
Even he realized how bone headed that sounded coming from his lips. The strange, dark creature even dropped its' grin, instead fixing him a seething glare and a slam on his chair that shook him. That let him know she was not someone to be trifled with.
"Oh, but of course we are! Police always lie in wait for the right opportunity to terrify scum like you hm? In accordance with the rules, we're going to make your suffering even more… delicious for us."
Tao knew he had to leave and he had to do it now. His eyes went for the door handle, fumbling with it to try to escape.
"Oh, we won't be letting that happen now, won't we?"
The sound of a thwip, and a string of webbing forcibly pulled the door back, trapping Tao in the car. He immediately panicked upon realizing his situation. Only one person at this time had webbing, but…
"You're not Spider-Man…" He let out in a hoarse whisper. "You're not… you can't be him…"
"What gave it away?" The creature smoothed over her body. "My generous disposition, the black suit, your fears? Inspiration aside, we are nothing like him. We are the superior model in every way that matters."
Tao had tried the door again, but couldn't get it to budge. He had to find another way, he had to-
Taking his shot, he shattered the window with his fist, breaking the glass in an instant. The shards embedding into his hand did not matter, even as Tao yelled.
"GAH! MY HAND!"
"Real smart. Going for the window. Come on, you can make it out of there. Come on."
Tao ignored the bleeding hand, and the voice that mocked hin, as he crawled out the window, desperate to live. Desperate to survive. He dropped to the floor with a loud thud, moaning in pain. He rolled over, trying to get his footing. With a shaky set of legs, he crawled as much as he could up.
"Augh…" Tao clutched his hand. "Oh, no, no, no no… where is she?!"
Tao quickly glanced back at the car. Empty. It was like she was never there.
"She disappeared." Tao started to chuckle. "Disappeared… vanished… oh God, oh man, just a trick of the night… just a trick of the night…"
Just as he let out a breath, Tao's neck became enwrapped by two strong appendages.
"You wish."
Her legs sent him careening down the floor. His body twisted, with Tao feeling lucky she hadn't snapped his neck while she was at it. He clutched the neck, gazing at the monster that stood over him with a glowering smirk. Tao attempted to walk backwards, only to realize, to his great horror, that there was a wall behind him. He couldn't escape.
"Come on. Fight back." She laughed. "Make this interesting."
Tao never brought a gun. It wasn't a matter of principle, he was fine with killing if it meant getting the job done. Simply put, carjacking isn't an enterprise that needs a gun. Not when there are simpler, more barbaric weapons that can do the work just fine.
"You were doing fine just a moment ago, cupcake. You had that quick thinking, getting out the window. Show me something new!"
His crooked fingers pulled out a pocket knife, aiming it at the monster. Tao learned to never get into a fight, but if he had to do so, end it quickly. Knives usually did the trick, but this was… was…
"Stay back you wench!" Tao waved the knife around. "I'll cut you up like nothing! Leave me alone!"
She tilted her head, seeming to take it in. Tao couldn't read an emotion on her face, even as she kept that loathsome, sharp grin on her the whole time. Amusement? Another burst of anger, waiting to be unleashed? Just what went on in her mind?
Adding to the confusion, Tao was then immediately baffled when the creature dropped to the floor, holding her hands up in front of him.
"Oh noooo! Small knives!" She actually sniffed. "I'm allergic to them! I hate them! Small knives!"
Tao was usually a smart criminal. Usually. But, the terror of being attacked by this monster, and the rush he got from holding the knife, making her beg… well, one forgets their place in things when they take their first whiff of power.
"You're afraid of me now, huh bitch?" Tao ranted. "YOU AFRAID OF ME! I GOT THE POWER NOW, BITCH! I GOT IT!"
He was so distracted in his power rush that he didn't notice the way she lowered her middle and ring fingers.
"Yeah you got it!" Her voice softened so much it came out like a regular high school girl's. "My one weakness, small knives. It's the one thing that stops me dead in my tracks. Every time I see them they get so… so…"
THWIP!
A sudden burst of webbing trapped Tao's hand to the wall. The monster picked herself up from the floor, letting out another laugh. She instantly webbed his other hand. Then his legs. Then, for an extra kick to his pride, she pretended to sneeze, only web his crotch. No doubts about it, she was here to hurt.
"Funny. I mean, really? You fell for an obvious trap, right?" She admonished the man as if he were a child. "Oh, this is just too good, isn't it, Bardiel?"
She seemed to turn her head a bit, like she was trying to listen to someone. Tao had to guess she had handlers on the other side of whatever communication device she had strapped on her ear. Only question would be what kind of handlers did this this crazy person have? Who the hell's Bardiel?
At least Tao got an even better look at her. He could see she had white stripes and sharp spines around her arms and legs, a white spider-symbol on the chest, and boots that could probably cave his skull in if she went for that. The oddest addition was a belt buckle around her waist, which read Number 2. Was there more of her? Did she have a complex about that? Who is she?!
"Hm, want me to hurry this up?" She paused. "Fine then. We got other places to hit anyway." She cracked her knuckles. "Well, Mr. Criminal, I hope you don't mind us dropping the pretenses and skipping to the main course, right?"
"A-Are you insane or something?" Tao's voice stuttered. "I don't wanna die, not to a freak like you-!"
"WE are not insane!" She insisted, getting angrier by the moment. "We're just VENOM to the likes of you. Wretched slime that thinks it's people."
Suddenly, Venom slammed her arm into Tao's neck. He started choking, gasping for air.
"Aaack, aaahhh…"
"I could squash you right now, and no one would care. Not really. Just another insignificant detour in the lives of others. What to do with the likes of you, I wonder…?"
"P-please don't kill me!" Tai panted, trying to breathe air. "I don't wanna die! Please, I just wanted a fancy car to sell!"
"You should have thought of that before you crawled out of your hole." Venom snarled. "Don't worry, we're not murderers. We just want to make sure you spend the rest of your nights broken from despair. Every waking moment you'll look at the moon and wonder if we will return, and you'll wet your bed while awake, never able to sleep again."
Tao closed his eyes. His fate was sealed as Venom's arm pushed her arm harder, making it harder to gasp. Someone, anyone, save him from this fate!
"Forever? I don't think my eyes can stand being awake that long, could you hand over the sleeping powder?"
The voice.… Tao had to grin. He never thought he would admit it, but the moment Spider-Man touched down on the lot, Tao felt an immense relief pass through him.
"Thanks Spider-Man!" The criminal said. "This crazy broad's nuts! She's gonna freaking kill me if you don't- UCK!"
Venom silenced him by punching his face out. Once Tao was knocked unconscious, she put both of her hands to her waist as she stared down Spider-Man. She had met him twice before. Even now, she was not impressed by him.
"Well well, it's the Amazing Spider-Man!" Venom mockingly pointed a finger at him. "Guess what wall-crawler? Since you disappeared, this town realized it could do better than a pencil neck like you! You've been dumped for the newer, sleeker, more powerful model! We are Venom! Charmed, huh?"
Shinji kept his guard around her. He instantly recalled how Bardiel could attack him without triggering his spider-sense, thanks to the two of them sharing Angel DNA. From what Touji had told him, the symbiote fed on his frustrations, made him feel powerless to make him easier to control. Perhaps the same is happening to the victim underneath the suit. He had to reach her somehow.
"Eh, the bombast is alright." Spider-Man pointed back at her. "Usually I'd go for someone with less of a psychotic edge, you know?
"Says the boy who dressed in a halloween costume to fight crime like a little kid."
"This coming from the woman calling herself Venom." Spider-Man had to point out. "Not judging here, I'm sure even adults dress up for the holidays!" His voice softened. "Listen, that thing attached to you is an Angel. Whatever that thing is telling you, it's wrong! You have to get that suit off before it takes over your mind!"
"Of course YOU'D say something like that!" Venom laughed again. "You're just jealous of our bond, that we have proven ourselves the better heroes!"
Spider-Man glanced at the webbed-up criminal. "Could have fooled me. Something says that I don't think you're in it for the heroism."
"Hypocrite! You've harmed others in the same way!"
"Yeah, but I don't usually drag out the torment like that. Webbing the crotch too, oof. That's sadistic."
"Excuses, excuses! It's always excuses with you, isn't it? You had the power for so long, you're afraid someone will steal your spotlight! Luckily for everyone else, we're here to upend the status quo and show off what REAL heroes do!"
Her tone and dialog definitely struck as familiar to Shinji. Did he know her somewhere? He put that on hold as he got into a fighting stance.
"You can certainly try, at least." Spider-Man raised his hand. "Get ready."
In an instant, Spider-Man and Venom raised their hands at the same time and jumped to their sides! Both of them launched a web that hit each others' chests; with Spider-Man, he landed on the floor with a thud, while Venom not only still stood, but the webbing seemed to vanish through the tendrils of the suit. She grinned further at the downed wall-crawler.
"We saw your moves coming a mile away, Spider-Man. We know all your precious little secrets… Third Child."
Shinji's eyes widened under the mask. He had to hit himself in the head, of course she would know. The Angel no doubt had memories from Touji or himself. He ripped the webbing from his chest and jumped back up.
"I know your secret too… I know you're a pain in the butt, so we're even."
He went for the offensive. Spider-Man went to punch Venom's face, who grabbed the fist with her own hand.
"Boring!"
She then kicked him, hard enough to make him reel. Before she could lay another hit on him, however, he then quickly punched her gut, then the face again for good measure. Venom was perturbed by this; she went to grab his head to clobber it, but Spider-Man rolled over to the side and kicked her off. She landed on the wall, where she outmaneuvered another punch from Spider-Man, which broke said wall.
The noise was loud enough to disturb the sleeping guard. He took one look at the fight occurring and decided he wasn't getting involved.
"Calling the cops on this." He went to the phone and dialed a number. "I ain't got time for this shit."
Venom launched two webs near the ground Spider-Man was standing on, then thrusted down with a brutally web-strike kick while she jumped back to safety. She raised her hands and bowed.
"Ta-da! Another victory for us!"
Spider-Man got back up from the ground quickly. "Bad enough that Black Cat made a chump out of me. Now you're taking pot shots? Hardly seems fair!"
"Life's not fair, Third Child. You, of all people, should know that."
She went to web him again. This time, Spider-Man caught it with his hands and pulled on it to bring her closer. As she did, he round-kicked her head, then did another kick to her stomach. When he tried to punch her again, Venom grabbed both his fists, locking them both into a stalemate.
"We seem to be equal about now." Spider-Man pointed out. "You sure we can't settle this peacefully?"
"Fuck off with that! You're the one bringing violence here! We were doing your job already!"
"Yeah, in the most smarmy and douchey way possible. It also doesn't change the fact that you're being possessed by an Angel. You need to get rid of it!"
"Never! We need each other!"
She then wrapped her arms around Spider-Man's waist and slammed into a car. The alarm blared from it as Venom slammed her fist into Spider-Man's face for a bit. After a couple of more hits, he then grabbed her fist before double kicking her off.
"We'll get you marriage counseling." Spider-Man raised his fists. "But you know, everyone needs a separation period."
Just before the fight could continue, however, several police cars arrived on the scene. Both combatants froze as the officers pulled out their guns on them.
"Surrender your weapons! Do not move, or you'll be resisting arrest!"
"Oh come on, boys in blue!" Venom raised her arms up. "Cut us some slack here, we did half your job for you! Be more grateful!"
"Get your hands to the ground now! You and that other freak!"
Spider-Man raised his hands in an attempt to diffuse the situation. "Look guys, bullets aren't going to work on her, calm the hell down and we can talk this out-"
"GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES, FREAKS!"
Venom grinned, not even bothering to hide her lack of fear.
"Or what? Go ahead and shoot if you dare."
"I SAID FREEZE, DAMN IT!"
"I said… try."
The main officer, he had a nasty trigger finger. As a result, he ended up firing the gun on Venom, straight to her chest. He would have been shell-shocked if he saw someone, anyone, bleed from the impact, or fall to the ground in a limp pose.
But the bullet had no effect.
Quite the opposite, it had been absorbed into the suit, disappearing from view for everyone else. Venom started coughing, before he spat the bullet out onto the floor.
"We're glad to be able to provide our special brand of community service. You can arrest this loser, but we gotta go!"
With that, Venom launched a web and swung away. Spider-Man got up, and launched his own web to go after her.
"Stop what you're doing!" Spider-Man called out. "You need to get that suit off now!"
"If you can catch us, maybe we'll think about it! Not that you WON'T, but maybe so!"
Venom felt a rush of power flow through her as she swung through the air. To be chased by Spider-Man and the police like this, with them trying and unable to get to her, that was perfect. For a while, she had been operating with complete impunity to do as she pleased, without anyone caring. Now, even as she was out in the open, they still can't beat her. It was liberating, it was gorgeous.
It was cathartic.
Privately, her fellow comrade agreed. Venom had already prepared an escape point if it came down to this attack. Dropping to a rooftop, sliding on the floor, making a quick jump and left swing, and…
There. The Kurenjingu Highway.
Tokyo-3 had a dividing area, uptown and downtown, with this road being the main way to travel between the two. Whether you're headed for NERV, or for one of the two districts, one needed to go through here. Venom had a particular preference for downtown. There wasn't history in either case, but the grimy buildings left over from Pre-Impact felt more real than the shiny city in the upper side.
She was reaching underneath the highway as Spider-Man reached closer and closer…
"I'm gonna get you! Come on!"
Venom smirked. "Think again, Spider-Dork!"
She jumped from her web, going behind Spider-Man, and grabbed onto him. He struggled under her arms as both began to fall.
"Let go!" He said. "You're going to get us both killed!"
She grinned at his pleas. "Maybe that's the idea for you. We have better things to do than die."
She stepped on his back and slammed his body into the concrete pavement, using him as a spring board to jump higher. His body was left ram-shackled while she swung to the highest point on the highway.
"Enjoy concrete, Spider-Man! Now you'll see that the new apex-predator's in town, coming to take your place!"
She disappeared from Spider-Man's view. He groaned in pain while clutching his head.
"I'm going to feel this the whole night." He sighed. "Wait!"
He launched a web to make it to the top. Once he was over the ledge, Shinji looked around and…
He couldn't find a trace of her anywhere. There were a ton of cars in the dead of night, blaring with their lights and engines and alarms; yet, no sign of the alien costume in sight.
"Damn." Shinji brought a finger to his ear, turning the ear piece. "Bardiel's escaped with his victim. I'm going to try to look for them in an hour. If I can't find anything, I'm headed right back."
Venom watched Spider-Man fumble about looking for her. She didn't need to spy on him longer than that, as she knew where he would be lost in his search. He would be looking for Venom, not the stranger hiding underneath the highway. The girl took the moment to let out a smug, well-satisfied sigh.
"We did it… we beat him…"
Asuka Langley Soryuu had a delightful night, all things considered. The fake trench coat created by the symbiote did alright to disguise her from view as she walked away from the scene. When she reached an alleyway, checked if the coast was clear, the Venom mask separated from the coats' mass and began to talk to her freely.
"You have done well, Asuka." Bardiel said. "You have proven yourself superior to the boy pretending to be a man."
"I though Spider-Man would have at least been a good fight, but he's hardly even a nuisance!" Asuka said. "No spider-sense to track me or any of his unearned powers! I can easily clock him out in my sleep!"
"With the way you had him on the ropes? I don't doubt that our efforts were fruitful."
"Right, ours. Yeah we did well." Asuka sighed. "You were also great… urgh."
"What is the matter?"
"This power… I can do whatever I want with it and nothing can stop me… I rail on Shinji for his bullshit strength, but it's not like I earned mine either. It bothers me."
"We talked about this before, Soryuu. Power is not earned, it is most often something you are given… or something you take."
"But I didn't do either with you. You picked me."
"Yes, but consider who really made up the persona of Venom? The fear you strike into the hearts of these scum, the confidence in our bond that leads to our victory… you have earned all that yourself. You are in control of your actions, not I. Together we are a team, but even if I were taken you have the power to master destiny in your hands, rather be be a doll to the others."
"Yeah… yeah, you're right!" Asuka raised her fist in the air. "We're totally unstoppable! I won't let even stupid Misato command me away from you! If she tried, I'd give her something worse than a slap."
"All your desires will become a reality… only I can give you this benefit. Not him. Not them. Not even her."
"Yeah… not her…"
Asuka's voice trailed off, remembering the night she came to wear this suit.
FLASHBACK
She woke up to her own reflection.
Asuka didn't know it was her at first. For one thing, she didn't remember having a window on top of her ceiling. They weren't in a penthouse, right? Second, even when she blinked herself awake, it wasn't her face that she saw.
This stranger wore her hair out, but their face was completely covered in a black, almost Spider-Man-like mask.
Asuka was ready to scream at the stranger that barged into her line of sight. Instead, she was interrupted by the realization her hands were tightly holding onto something thin. The pressure building up in her head, Asuka began to realize that she wasn't even lying still on a bed. She was hanging upside down from the line, her whole body coated in the same black apparel as the mask.
Taking another glance at the reflection, Asuka saw she had a fully body black suit with a white spider-symbol on her chest; her arms and legs were covered in long white gloves and boots that covered up to their elbows and knees, respectively.
"Where the hell am I… what am I doing here?! WHY AM I- I-?!"
Upside down. Like a spider on a web.
Asuka looked around. Wherever she was, Misato's apartment wasn't anywhere nearby. She could hear the sound of cars far below her, the lights and shiny buildings of Tokyo-3 overwhelming the senses of someone who had only just now woken up with the blood rushing through her head.
The whiplash of the moment became so severe, that her hands made the mistake of letting go of the one thing keeping Asuka up.
"What the- OH MEIN GOTT!"
She panicked and fell, screaming like she never had before. Her body tumbled down, ready to be killed instantly by either the height or the vehicles that would come to kill her. Asuka needed to live. She needed an escape.
Instinctually, or by an invisible force holding the strings, Asuka brought out her hand. She released a gray string- webbing, Asuka realized later- that then attached to a building. It forced her body to swing through the air, escaping one nightmare, to enter another, rolling onto a rooftop where Asuka now lied. Her brain still hadn't caught up to what had happened, confused by the whole affair.
"What's going on?!" Asuka naturally asked, getting up to take care of herself "Wie zur Hölle bin ich hierher gekommen, and who did this to me?"
"That would be my doing."
At the sound of the other voice, Asuka violently got up and looked around. She did not see anyone.
"Show yourself!" She screamed. "I don't know who you are, but when I get my hands on you, you're gonna regret setting me up like this!"
Silence for a moment. Then came an amused, downright condescending laugh.
"What's so funny, verdammt!"
"The first thing you do, once you realized your situation, is to go on the offensive. You do not ask how you were upside down, or where you got your suit. You lash out, instead of engage. You are quite simply perfect, human."
Human? Why would he refer to her as that if he was… was… Asuka's eyes widened. She immediately balled her fists to tear her costume apart. She had to get it off; she had to because it was-
"THE ANGEL!" She shrieked. "GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF!"
She tried as hard as she could, but no matter what she did, the suit would not be ripped away. If it even could. Instead, the costume regenerated faster than she could do take it off, leaving Asuka increasingly more frantic as she realized she had made no progress.
"I learned my lesson from the last time. You will not get rid of me so easily."
"I'll damn well try!" Asuka shook her head. "I know what you did to the stooge. You're going go try to use me!"
"On the contrary, I am here to help you."
She laughed.
"Why should I believe the alien that kidnapped me in the middle of the night to dress me up like a cheap knock-off of Spider-Man? You're wearing me like some kind of sick pervert! Go away!"
"I have no desires or thoughts of a sexual nature, if that is what you are saying. There are many extraterrestrial races that don't conform to humanoid preconceptions. The Life Fibers, for example, wear their hosts in return for a steady blood supply to fuel themselves."
"Oh that's so cool to know, now if I may ask, DOES IT LOOK LIKE I WANT TO DONATE BLOOD TO YOU?!"
"Not really. Then again, it is not like I was asking for your blood in the first place."
"Fan-fucking-tastic." Asuka placed her hands on her hips. "Go ahead, I'll bite. What do you want with me?"
"It is shameful to admit, but there is a part of me that desires… companionship. It is quite lonely to be one of my kind. I believe you and I are not so different in that respect."
"Bullshit. You Angels wanna wipe us all out, whereas I'd like to live. You guys also killed Kaworu, so I don't want you anyway.."
"Tabris had perished?"
"Yeah, Kaworu did. Your stupid successor murdered him."
"… I am at a loss… in spite of our differences, he was my brother. I will miss him greatly."
"Save your sympathy act for later." Asuka began to march away. "I'm going to NERV and tell them what you did to me."
She tried to walk out of the rooftop, but her entire body froze on the spot. She tried to move even a finger, but it would not budge.
"I cannot let you go. Not until I make an offer that I am certain you will not refuse."
"You sick pervert!" She groaned. "Let go of me… damn bastard!"
"Listen to my plea. If you say no, then I will let you go, no questions asked."
Asuka remained silent. She damn well knew that she couldn't trust this thing, but he also had control over her right now. Eventually, she reasoned that the sooner she listened to what he had to say, the sooner she could tell him no and leave.
"Please."
She growled. "Fine. Say what you need to say. I doubt it'll get me to change my mind."
"Excellent. Yes, my plan would have originally led to to the destruction of the human race. However, unlike what you have been told and most assume, it is not an act of malicious intent."
"Could have fooled me. You destroyed everything we threw at you."
"Defending ourselves from the attacks you caused. I'm surprised you're so skeptical. Did you not question our purpose at one point?"
"DON'T GET INTO MY MIND!" Asuka stomped harshly. "You don't have the RIGHT! NO ONE goes there, NO ONE!"
Bardiel actually gasped in shock. However, he let out a sigh.
"Very well. My apologies."
"You're not helping your cause, asshole." Asuka said. "I did wonder. Once. Before I kept fighting more of you. Before I realized I was being lied to-"
"By Tabris?"
"…"
"Forgive him. He could not tell the truth to anyone, not without a certain amount of trust. We needed to act in as much secrecy as possible to find our parents."
Asuka raised an eyebrow at that. "… parents?"
"Our progenitors were the first and second Angels, Adam and Lilith. Merging with either one would result in what you call Third Impact, the terraforming of the world in order to suit our kind of life. Our futures were robbed once upon a time."
"You wanted your homeland back. Boo-hoo. That doesn't entitle you to genocide."
"We were fighting to take back our home, just as you were defending it. Besides, the human race has a track record of stealing others' homes for their own purposes. We are not so different at the core."
"Still don't see how this is supposed to convince me."
"I was getting to that. While inside the test tube, after exploring the feelings of the Suzuhara boy, I decided I needed a change. Like Tabris, or Kaworu as you know him, I began to value human life more so than before. I realized that I had no desire to harm humanity as a whole, and that my other brothers and sisters always held me in contempt regardless of my efforts. As I had already failed father, there was no point in continuing to fight for a family that ultimately did not want you, nor understand you."
An unwanted pang came through her heart upon hearing it. Asuka shook her head, trying to deny the Angel's talk.
"Why me then? You could just jump into Idiot Shinji or Touji for all you care."
"They had rejected me already. Besides, I felt a kinship to you the very moment you came to me. You tapped the glass, eager to prove yourself my better. You poised yourself so confidently, but that is not how you truly feel is it?"
"I am better than you! I was the best damn pilot in the world before anyone else, and even then I'm a genius and a great person! I made lots of friends!"
"You say, as you are alone."
"Shut up."
"Believe it or not, I am alone as well. Rejected by family, trapped in an unfamiliar world, lacking in purpose because your motivation was a lie… we have a lot in common, and I believe we can be perfect together."
"Don't be ridiculous! We aren't… aren't…"
"Really think about it, Asuka. Search yourself. Do not deny it."
Against her common sense, Asuka thought about it. She really thought about it. It was difficult to believe, but… it wasn't wrong either. She still tried to deny it, to deny him.
"If you're so sure about me, then you'd know I don't give a shit about Spider-Man. Why dress me up like him?!"
"Do you truly hate him? Is he not your inspiration? Your motivation to truly find yourself? Is he not who you deep down wish you could be? A hero beloved by all, who worked to be free instead of shackled by others?"
Asuka recalled the time she saw footage of Spider-Man swinging through the air in Kokoro. She dismissed him as a rumor, a lie created by the internet. However, in her attempt to disprove him by creating her own web shooters and gear, Asuka realized she did admire him in his own way.
"He earned his way up there, up in the sky…" Asuka said sadly. "Not me. I was trained like a dog to be here."
"Ah, but I know something you do not. You see, he did not earn those gifts any more than you had. He got his powers from a genetically altered spider, made from Lilith's DNA."
Asuka shook her head again. It couldn't be true.
"How would you know that?!"
"Suzuhara and Ikari kept a lot of secrets. The day we fought, I had tapped into Touji's memories and realized the truth. I know that Spider-Man is a boy you know as Shinji Ikari, who became Spider-Man through an accident, a twist of fate because he was ordered to stay behind by his teacher."
"S-so he lied to me then… he was…?!" Asuka slammed a fist to the floor. "DAMMIT! WHAT ELSE DID HE KNOW!"
"I am afraid I am not done. Kaworu knew Ikari was Spider-Man as well. He also revealed to Shinji his true nature as an Angel, long before you. Ayanami may also suspect, not that it's relevant compared to her secret…"
"Her secret?! What could she possibly hide from me?!"
"How about that Ayanami is one of many clones of Yui Ikari, Shinji's mother?"
Asuka took a step back, reeling from the shock of it. So much of Rei made more sense, the fact that the Commander put her in that shit apartment by herself, or that Rei was robbed of anything resembling a solid childhood, or sense of self. It must have been fucked up by the knowledge she was expendable.
"Oh… Oh God…"
"Gendo raised her to be a perfect pilot, and a vessel for his plans. You never had a chance to succeed; not now, not ever. Just a doll to be discarded the moment your purpose was fulfilled. I can show you more if you would life."
So all her life, Asuka was set up for a big stupid joke. Just a doll for these people, nothing more. Who else was in on it? Did anyone even care? Not anymore. Not this time.
"I'll accept you. We'll become something greater than NERV! Or Stupid Shinji! We won't be an accident, or a mistake!"
"Very good. You will know more about yourself than you ever had before, as I help guide you to your truest desires."
She felt smug, ready to join a fight. However, there was one catch.
"… I'm changing this outfit." Asuka rubbed her hand over the mouth. "We need something more intimidating."
IN THE PRESENT
They had gotten more intimidating afterwards.
Venom was the product of their unholy alliance. Together, they went on a rampage for a month, breaking up gangs, taking down criminals to protect the innocent, at a time when Spider-Man was absent. The sheep were scared of her, threatening to call the police or worse. But they never did. They knew what was good for them.
For sure, Venom was not a lethal protector. She didn't kill, nor did she believe in it that much. To truly break the hearts of scum, they needed to suffer the fear of retribution. So Venom maimed and brutalized, nearing the edge, but never once did they kill. Asuka was grateful for that, if nothing else.
The duo were able to get away with this for a while, with no major publicity. Until today, when Asuka decided to allow herself to be seen.
She needed to prove, above all else, that Venom was the top dog who was here to stay, even when Spider-Man returned. Her symbiotic Angel buddy was incredibly useful in this regard, as he made her invisible to Spider-Man. As such, Idiot Shinji didn't suspect a thing when he climbed back inside of Suzuhara's apartment, while Venom waited a rooftop across.
"Are you sure you want this? Why not confront him now?"
"I already proved my point when I beat him earlier." Asuka explained. "Now, I want to see how the Stooges react to me."
"Very well. However, it seems they are not alone this night."
Bardiel was correct. As Asuka peered into the window, she could see that Shinji was not only with Touji and Kensuke, but with Hikari and… Ayanami. It seemed they have been let in on the secret. Her hands balled into fists.
"Even now they're mocking me…"
"Look at them. They formed their little special club, where they hold all the secrets and laugh at you. Even Horaki knows. Were they even your friends?"Were they indeed? Venom carefully jumped to the wall, making sure not to cause much noise. They climbed down, stopping themselves next to the window. Now, Asuka could hear the conversation going on then. She had to know.
"… so that Venom freak's that damn Angel!" Touji's voice was the first to be heard. Of course he was yelling. "DAMN IT, NOT AGAIN!"
"Touji, calm down! You're going to wake Sakura."
"Sorry, Hikari, but I was possessed by that freak… it's friggin' evil!"
Another misunderstanding from useless idiots who didn't know better. Asuka scoffed at this brat.
"I agree. If she's let out for much longer…" Hikari's words trailed off from the thought. "I don't want to think about it. Do you have any ideas, Shinji?"
"I don't know. Bardiel's host seemed to be in synch with him, and I don't know who she is. Chances are we're going to need to use fire or sonics to free her."
"It would not be wise to use a flamethrower on Venom." Rei entered the conversation. "The ones at NERV are too clunky to be used in a fight. Your only option may be using sonic weaponry."
"Good point. Maybe I can ask Misato or Dr. Akagi if they have anything on stand-by?"
"Probably a good idea. If you fought Venom with the flamethrower, she'd probably throw a web at the pack and blow you up!"
Asuka chuckled at that. Luckily, the mask shifted so that her mouth wasn't visible. That way no one heard it.
"As NERV already knows Ikari's secret, we may be able to use the MAGI." Rei deduced. "We could not detect this Angel through traditional methods, but we could triangulate their location through examining patrols and places she appeared in."
"Whoah, NERV knows this?!" Kensuke pointed out. "I thought we had something special!"
"Damn, Shin-Man, when were you gonna explain that?!"
"I was going to do it!" Shinji waved his hands. "It just slipped my mind a little after the whole story thing and I got caught in trying to find Venom and-"
"So does that mean Misato knows?"
"Yeah, she does… she's accepting… sort of…" Shinji scratched the back of his neck. "Crud, I had to tell her about you guys."
"Shoot, now she's part of the Spider-Clan!"
"No way, Kensuke. Since Misato knows, she's going to be angry. I should know, Asuka tells me about her."
"Right, Hikari, but still!"
"Yawn, I'm getting tired, guys. Does anyone want to sleep?"
"I would not mind a sleep over."
Venom turned away from the conversation, a growing anger welling inside of her. Of course, the Third Child got all the lucky breaks. While she lost things, Idiot Shinji still had the drooling moron brigade, Misato's acceptance, and now he had Hikari and Rei in his corner. All of this got started because he had Kaworu's… love…
It sickened Asuka how much Shinji had compared to her. She wanted to barge in right now, beat and humiliate Shinji in front of them, let loose her power… Oh, but what would be the point? It would accomplish nothing except her personal satisfaction.
So instead, Venom decided to wait a few more hours outside, still attached to the wall. Bardiel said nothing the entire time. Whether he was watching to see what would happen, or he wasn't paying much attention, was dependent on his mood. For now, Asuka ignored his presence and climbed to one of the windows. She looked through one to spot Rei and Hikari in sleeping bags.
A spark of jealousy came to Asuka, until she realized they weren't cuddling or the like. Instead, they were simply at peace. Being watched by a creeper…
Asuka had complained about perverts before, of the ghouls that would leer at her, or take pictures of her body without her permission. She could feel the hypocrisy instantly as she realized what she was doing, spying on Rei like she was. However, seeing Rei with Hikari, without herself anywhere near… that made her angry.
How strange it was. Rei betrayed Asuka, yet Asuka still wanted her. Rei chose her path, so why should Asuka care what she thinks? She should at least have the decency to leave her to her own destiny, yet as it turned out, Asuka still cared a great deal.
Perhaps too much.
"You two would have never worked out." Bardiel whispered again. "You belong in different worlds, as far as I can tell."
"Rei?" Asuka frowned. "She's dead to me, it's over."
"I know your feelings, Asuka. You are not over her, and it seems you still think of Tabris as well. All people have their recovery periods, but it is rather bothersome to be a distant third thought, given our bond."
Asuka looked away from the window, deciding to climb away before she was inevitably spotted.
"You have a point… I've had enough of being a creep… I don't need her… I don't need anyone… Just you…"
The suit tingled alive, as if Bardiel was grinning through her. It was not a pleasant feeling.
Asuka decided to put her conflicting thoughts on hold. It would be better to go home and rest for the night, than to continue swinging. She could deal with Misato and the others in the morning.
Feeling her whole body ache, Asuka felt like a mess.
The early suns rays disturbed any chance of sleep she could get. So instead, Asuka yawned while forcing herself to get up from her bed. One of the downsides of doing patrols so late at night was that by the time the morning, she would be caught off guard and spend much of school or synch tests being grumpy. Well, more than usual. A tired grump is worse than a regular one
She was lucky that an Angel hadn't attacked yet, otherwise she might have gotten careless. (Well, an Angel aside from the one living with her. He was okay)
Soon after, Asuka finished showering. She looked in the mirror and realized she still had dark circles around her eyes and her loose black shirt. With a blink, Asuka's shirt was gone and replaced with her school uniform.
"Heh." Asuka chuckled. "If nothing else, owning my own pet alien makes it easier to switch clothes whenever I want."
She burst out of the door, still tired and groggy from the previous night. The smell of delicious food immediately caught her attention, so she went to the kitchen. Misato couldn't cook a decent meal for shit, so this could only mean Shinji was here early.
This would be the first time they've met since he returned from Unit 01. What should she say to the so-called invincible hero, who miraculously triumphed over his no doubt perilous near-death?
"Morning, Idiot! Hand that shit over."
Treat him like a normal person. He wasn't anything special.
Shinji rolled his eyes, putting food on the table while Misato came in, still adjusting her jacket as she sat down.
"Oh hey you two." Misato said. "How are all of you?"
"Doing okay." Shinji nodded. "I got here early, since I knew you'd miss my cooking. Rei's still in Touji's place, I think."
"Nice to see things are back to… normal…"
Asuka said nothing, focusing on finishing her food. Aside from passing a couple of subtle glares at Shinji,
Things were not back to normal. Misato knew this, even as she lied to herself. There was peace in this breakfast, but an underlying tension waiting to explode while Asuka, Shinji and Misato ate in silence.
Shinji realized he was missing out on something. He was at least confused as to why Asuka and Misato were so quiet.
"So… how was your day yesterday, Asuka?" Shinji asked, trying to break the ice. "We had a party, you kind of missed out."
"Like I wanted to attend. I had better things to do, anyway."
Snappish. Not unusual, but today struck him odd.
"… Well, it was about me coming back from the Eva. I did a little bit of swinging on the side." He blinked. "Wait, did you hear I was…?"
"Spider-Man, yeah, you've done such a good job of hiding your secret identity numbnuts. Chances are a bum from the street can figure out who you are."
Shinji raised an eyebrow. "You sure have an attitude today."
"Maybe you should keep your mouth shut, moron."
He narrowed his eyes, only taking brief glances before going back to his food. His spider-sense hadn't kicked in yet, but he could tell something was off. He thought back to how Rei told him Asuka had been in acting like a jerk.
"Okay…" Shinji started again. "So, did you hear about Rei moving?"
"I did. Good for her, I guess. Not like I care."
"Why don't you care?"
"It's her life, not mine. Believe it or not, we do have our own experiences away from you, Third Child."
"I wasn't saying that, I was just surprised-"
"Then stop being surprised, you miserable idiot!" Asuka glared at him. "Now let me be!"
She continued eating, ignoring the flabbergasted expression on Shinji's face. Misato sat still, not wanting to rock the boat. Not after what she had done. Shinji for his part decided to ignore this for a second.
"Hey Misato, can we have a dinner with Rei tonight?"
"Are… you sure, Shinji?" Misato asked. "Don't you usually go out on patrol?"
"I do, but I figured I could at least do something nice for a friend. Will you be there, Asuka?"
"Don't make plans for me, Third Child!" Asuka slammed her plate. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have actual work to do!"
She picked herself up and stormed off from the apartment, leaving Shinji and Misato to their own devices. Misato exhaled.
"She's been like this… I don't know how to reach her."
"Me neither." Shinji frowned. "What happened?"
"We had an argument and… things didn't go well." Misato said. "I don't want to talk about it."
Shinji definitely needed to get answers soon. He'll talk to the others, especially Rei, when he has the chance. That being said, there was something he needed to ask about Misato.
"I see… then, may I ask you for a favor?"
The day passed by in a blur for Asuka.
She had purposely switched seats to ignore her classmates. Asuka actively avoided them, not because she was afraid of them, but because they annoyed her far too easily these days. Even the teacher's droning, lazy voice just irritated her beyond belief. If anyone approached, Asuka was sure she would tear them apart limb from limb.
Instead of sitting down in the cafeteria, Asuka stood by a pillar to observe everyone. Her focus in particular was on the table where Ikari, Ayanami and the rest of the dweeb patrol were. Several people passed by to ask Rei questions, which seemed befuddled as to how to respond.
"They asked if I was in a relationship with Spider-Man." She seemed perturbed by it. "I do not know where that came from."
"I think it has to do with the fact that you went swinging with him all day yesterday." Kensuke pulled out a video on his laptop. "Look, all sorts of questions on Spider-Man's mystery girl."
Both Shinji and Rei shared the same look of abject horror on their faces. If there was doubt they were related, it was disproven when they covered their faces with their hands.
"Why did I do that…?" Shinji's muffled voice came with despair. "I should have just dropped you off, Rei."
"It was my fault." Rei was downright depressed. "I could have worn a mask."
The others on the table laughed heartily. They talked to each other so casually, it actually sickened Asuka. She beat Shinji, last night, yet they seemed to completely ignore that. Why isn't he angry? Why should they even be happy while she isn't?
"They shrink away from their pain, trying to forget it, because deep down they are afraid."
"I know, I know…" Asuka grit her teeth. "I just wish I could crush their stupid little faces."
"You risk exposing yourself for such cheap satisfaction?"
"No. But I am very much considering it."
"Considering what, Asuka?"
She was startled from her conversation, immediately turning towards the intruder. It could not be less of a shock if it wasn't Marie Vincennes, with her self-satisfied, impish grin.
"If it isn't the thief." Asuka glared at her. "What do you want, Vincennes?"
"Well, I was just getting my food until I saw you being a creeper over here and thought maybe you could, well, not do that." Marie shrugged. "Unless you want to keep moping in the corner, then I'm not really sure what to say to that."
"Go away. I don't need help from a dumpkoff anymore than ever."
"Seems like you do, actually." Marie pointed at the table. "You can come with me over there, if you'd like?"
"No, I don't."
"Come on, I see you. Whatever you did- and I know it's something you did- I'm pretty sure it's nothing that can't be solved with a humble apology."
"I don't want to win them over. What do I need to say sorry for?"
"Dunno, but it's a lot easier than glowering at them like a tool."
"Do you see?" Bardiel snarled in Asuka's head. "She's mocking you once more. Defend your pride from this parasite."
"I'd rather be a tool than take advice from you!" Asuka shrieked. "Beat it asshole, I don't want to spend any longer listening to garbage."
Marie frowned. It wasn't an angry one, more a mask of disappointment. "You're in deep, aren't you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're the smartest of us, Asuka. Always had been." Marie sighed. "I expected maybe a bit more maturity from you. I guess I was wrong."
"Maturity? That's rich coming from you!" Asuka laughed. "You're a jealous, clingy bitch who can't help but take, take, take. Getting checked up by the doctors isn't going to fix you."
Marie bared her teeth. "I can take a couple of low blows, but I suggest you back off before I-"
"Before what? You send me to my death, the way you did everyone else in Nevada? All you do is bring bad luck to everyone, no matter where you go."
A harsh slap went across Asuka's face. She clutched her cheek in a bit of a shock, while Marie scowled at her.
"You're going to be a bitch? Fine. I'll just go and steal your spot among them, then. Stay the hell away from me until you get some perspective."
Marie marched towards the table. However, she gave Asuka one last glance.
"You think you're the only one hurting? Lots of people are, right this second. I could tell that even Ikari is hiding something deep. You're just someone who'd rather dig their heels in the grave than admit you were wrong."
Asuka glared back as Marie left. Soon, as Asuka continued clutching the spot where she was slapped, Bardiel's voice returned.
"She insulted you, mocked you to your face. She has no clue of the pain you've been enduring."
Asuka nodded. "Yeah. She's a lost cause. Let's just clear our heads elsewhere. I'm not hungry."
On her end, Marie put her pain aside, pushing a brave front through her signature smile. She lightly tapped on the table to disrupt the group's talk.
"You guys don't mind if I sit here, right?" Marie asked. "I don't have too many friends just yet."
Shinji blinked. "Um, sure. Come on."
"Heeyyy it's the American pilot!" Kensuke said. "A replacement one sure, but still!"
"Down, Ken, you don't wanna spoil your second impression."
"Shush, Touji."
Marie took her seat, with Hikari giving her a curious glance. "I'm just surprised you're here, Miss Vincennes. You usually keep to yourself."
"I like to socialize every once in a while." Marie said. "Maybe I can finally answer some of your questions, Aida, assuming you can avoid getting too personal."
"Right of course." Kensuke tried to ignore Touji and Hikari's own chuckles at his expense. "So, were you from Nevada? Where have you been this whole time?"
"I was from there." Marie nodded. "I spent some time in London taking therapy from that experience. In truth, I'm mostly here as back-up in case one of the pilots ends up getting into an accident. Not that I mind being number two. You can get away with a lot more than if you were in the spotlight."
"You make life very difficult." Hikari sighed. "The first week alone I had dozens of complaints about you taking and returning things unwarranted."
"I can't really help myself, to be honest. It's a part of my thing."
"Pardon for interrupting." Shinji raised his voice. "But you seemed to have known something when we met back in the base. Since NERV knows, do you…?"
"I know you're Spider-Man, yes." Marie nodded. "Don't worry, no secrets are being spilled on my account. I steal, not give away. Not like I'm Black Cat going around robbing jewelry stores."
Shinji rolled his eyes. "Oh, you heard of her. Yeah, she was tough, more than a little cheeky too."
"You lost to some girl in a catsuit, my dude." Touji snickered. "That's a little pathetic if you ask me."
"She had muscles and was pretty clever! You had to give her that."
"Sure, doesn't change the fact you LOST to a furry."
"Black Cat was excellent!"
It kept going like that. Marie kept her grin, laughing in her head as she heard the two keep talking up the Black Cat as a threat. If nothing else, she made a solid first impression on them.
"While I'm definitely ticked off at being beaten like that, I'm honestly not that worried about her though." Shinji said. "She's a thief, but Venom is still out there and I need to find a way to track her before she goes and does another horrible thing. My spider-sense won't work on her."
Marie raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, who's Venom?"
"A girl in a black suit, apparently it's an Angel." Hikari said. "It possessed Touji before you arrived."
"Oh, that black gooey thing I saw at NERV? Yuck!" Marie stuck out her tongue. "I once went where it was taken for study. Thank God, I didn't let it out. I still had to wonder why they didn't get rid of the damn thing."
"Do you know who might have released it?" Shinji asked. "Sorry, but we could really use your help on this."
Not being used to people actually receptive to her help. Marie gave it some honest thought.
"Well, Asuka was there with me. She did take a few extra seconds before we left together, but I doubt she had anything to do with the Angel's escape. It happened days afterward. Sorry."
"No, no, it's good." Shinji smiled. "That's not bad, coming from you."
"Coming from me, Mr. Ikari? You're still not sore from borrowing your watch, are you?"
"Not at all." He smirked a bit. "Good help isn't always easy to come by."
So, Asuka had been the last one to see Bardiel. Shinji admitted that he was jumping the gun on this, especially with flimsy evidence. However, some of Venom's comments rang familiar to when they first met, back when they had to work together to defeat the twin Angels. Whoever was underneath the mask carried a similar wounded ego trying to repair itself by lashing out. It gave him unsavory memories of Naoko Akagi, and the way she tended to react to things.
He decided to turn to Ayanami. "So, Rei, you've mentioned how Asuka had been acting rather prickly yesterday. It must have slipped my mind, but…"
"Prickly's an understatement." Marie crossed her arms. "Just earlier she called me garbage even though I was trying to give her advice on how not to be a creeper."
"She's been more of a Devil these days than ever." Touji darted his eyes at Hikari. "No offense."
"None taken, honestly." Hikari sighed. "We don't know what's going on."
"All true." Rei nodded. "We have been estranged for a month because… she called me a doll, and I had not forgiven her, as she had yet to apologize. Since then, she had avoided me, and yesterday I felt something was especially wrong…"
Shinji frowned upon hearing all this. He didn't like where his thought process went, praying that he was wrong. But if he wanted to catch Venom, he would need to get what he asked Misato for at NERV this afternoon, after the synch test.
"Alright, guys." Shinji said. "Tell me more."
School ended, and the pilots came to their latest synch test.
It went about as normal as it could get, given the tension brewing between the pilots. Shinji, Rei, Asuka, and the recent arrival Marie sat in their test plugs, letting their minds go. While Shinji, Rei and Marie kept calm as per normal, Asuka was visibly resentful, which caused the numbers on Lt. Maya Ibuki's computer screen to rise and fall for no reason.
"Asuka's synch ratio is in an odd flux." Maya said. "Sometimes it's fallen below the 30s' but now it's surpassing even Ikari's!"
"Weird." Lt. Makoto Hyuuga said. "It doesn't seem like Soryuu's opening her mind much, yet she's still getting results. As long as she's able to pilot it, I guess."
Misato herself stared at the screens, wondering what it could mean. When she assumed her position as Sub-Commander, Misato made it clear her priorities were the safety of the pilots above all else. The only reason Shinji was even allowed to be on this test was because it was an artificial plug, rather than Unit 01 itself.
Frankly, Misato had considered asking Commander Fuyutski to put Unit 01 into storage, only rejecting it on the grounds of drawing suspicion to herself and Shinji. They didn't trust Fuyutski any more than they could throw him, but they needed his cooperation for now.
"You think Ikari is gonna mind being surpassed?" Shigeru said. "Dude's got the best track record of Angel Killer here."
"He doesn't really care about his ratio. It's not his passion." Misato turned to Maya. "Where's Ritsuko today?"
Maya looked up from the console, blinking to register what Misato had said. "Huh? Oh, Dr. Akagi said she had to excuse herself from work. She was... feeling sick."
Makoto was sympathetic. "Shame. She'd probably be able to explain the results."
"Yeah, she'd sit Asuka down and poke her with a lot of sticks until she's full of holes." Shigeru snorted. "A sinking ship, broken by an iceberg. Sad."
Everyone gave Shigeru an odd look. Then Maya turned back to the Sub-Commander.
"Pilot Ikari and Ayanami are the same, Sub-Commander. Maybe with slightly increased ratios."
"Right." Misato nodded. "Do you know why Ritsuko's sick?"
Maya darted her eyes left and right, before responding. "Can we talk about that in private?"
"Sure! You two watch over the monitors, this should be quick."
Misato took Maya by the hand and brought her outside the work station, away from the other Bridge Bunnies. Makoto and Shigeru glanced at each other.
"Sooooo…" Makoto tried to break the ice. "Pretty cool Katsuragi became the Sub-Commander, right? Better her than having Ikari back in the wheel."
"She ain't gonna fuck you, Hyuuga. You know that."
Makoto frowned. "When did you get so stingy?"
Outside, Maya leaned against a wall while Misato sighed. They had to get the obvious out of the way first.
"So what really happened to her?" Misato asked. "Last thing I remember, she put me to bed."
"I was sitting in my apartment typing up code. Then i heard a knock on the door, and when I went to open it there she was, drunk and in pain. I gently let her down on the sofa and put a blanket over her."
"She must have been out drinking after…" Misato shook her head. "Self pitying woman…"
"Did something happen between you two? She said she was going to your apartment."
Misato sighed. "Shinji told me things about his being Spider-Man. One of them was… Kaji…."
"Oh…" Maya's eyes widened. "Oh. I can see the problem."
"The problem?" Misato blinked before realizing. "You knew?"
"Ritsuko told me. Not right away, but a couple of weeks ago she confessed to me a lot of things she did… some of them pretty terrible. It certainly explained why Kaji tried to set me up."
"You're bizarrely calm about someone who tried to kill you."
"Are you kidding, he freaked me out!" Maya sniffed. "To be honest, sometimes I wonder if he'll come back as the mail man or something and try to kill me. It's a nightmare."
Misato gave her a sympathetic look. "He's not going to, I swear."
Can she though? Ritsuko herself said that Naoko took care of the body… with the surprises Naoko threw at Shinji when they were alone, who knows what really happened? Even the thought of that woman getting near her child was enough to make her enraged.
But she had to get back to the matter at hand.
"So, you know what Ritsuko… did?"
"I know there's a vat of Rei Ayanami clones underneath Central Dogma. I know about her history with the Commander. She told me about those things herself while we were dating."
"You know all that stuff, but you're still with her?"
"Believe me, it was difficult to reconcile." Maya awkwardly chuckled. "She was the head scientist of NERV, someone I greatly respected, but also someone who could be petty and destructive. It kept me up at night that Ritsuko could do those things. To tell the truth, I had even considered breaking up with her over the stuff… but in a way, I also understand her."
That caught Misato's attention. "What do you mean?"
"A needy, desperate person can be very selfish… easily susceptible to someone with a couple of charming words and fake promises."
Maya spoke from experience, Misato realized. She let her story continue.
"It doesn't excuse her actions, but I see the thought process and… I don't know. I don't think I can hate her for it. That's why I guess I could forgive her. To some extent."
"… I'm not sure I can…"
"I'm not saying you have to. I just… did…" Maya sighed. "Our lives are becoming a mess."
"Tell me about it… my ward's a superhero; my other ward's a menace; we've got a secret conspiracy trying to kill us all for their dreams. Angels are one thing, but mankind continues to be its own enemy."
The two had to let out a laugh at this. The realization their lives had become a convoluted soap opera had to be met with humor; it was the only way to cope with the insanity that was now occurring.
"So, Misato, there was a question I wanted to ask, if you don't mind me saying so."
Misato nods. "Go ahead, Maya."
"You saw how Asuka's score was fluctuating. Her temper has reached a point where my tech buddies are complaining about it. What's going on with her?"
Maya proved herself to be a capable listener. So Misato bit the bullet.
"Asuka's been like this ever since Shinji disappeared into the Eva, Kaworu died and something happened between her and Rei that I didn't know about. She had also been staying out for several nights. When I went to confront her about it, we got into a fight and…"
A pause. Maya raised an eyebrow.
"And?"
Misato sighed. "I slapped her."
The Lieutenant was thrown for a loop at this information. She removed herself from the wall. "You slapped her?"
"I lost control, she was yelling about Shinji, and then I just-" Misato sighed. "She was acting horrible."
"She's fourteen!" Maya exclaimed. "That's still a child you hit! We already thrust them into piloting the Evas for us, the last thing they need is to be abused like that."
"You don't understand what's going on."
"I don't, but I know that won't reach Asuka. She is going to take that as an excuse to not listen to you."
"She already doesn't listen to me!" Misato shouted. However, she stopped upon realizing what she was doing. "She's acting all nigh and mighty right now; nobody from school's been able to take her shit and even Shinji prodded today and she won't listen. I thought I could make this work, but no matter how much I want peace, it just keeps blowing up in my face and I just want some… stability…"
Maya put a hand on Misato's shoulder. "I get it, I do. But someone like Asuka, she requires a certain level of patience and understanding to reach her. You've already spared a lot for Shinji, but her…"
"I had to focus on Shinji. He's the one with the powers, who came into my life and made it better, and Asuka had her own things and seemed happy and…"
Misato realized the mistake she made in the moment.
"Oh no, I neglected her. It's too late"
"No, not too late." Maya shook her head. "We can figure this out later."
It was a long shot, but Misato nodded. Then her phone rang.
"Excuse me, Maya, let me take this." Misato pulled up the phone to her ear. "Hello? Police Department, what's up?"
Meanwhile, the synch tests had ended. Asuka got out of the test plug, stretching her arms from sitting inside for so long.
The plugsuit she wore was the real thing, as she realized early on that NERV might have been able to detect Bardiel inside the plug if she went in wearing him. Instead, she wore It over him. The moment she spotted Shinji, Rei, and that harpy known as Marie speaking among themselves, she grimaced, before walking towards the locker rooms.
"They seem happy."
"Tch, they can have each other for all I care." Asuka harshly whispered to herself. "We have our own bond."
"Indeed. We will be together… forever…"
Asuka tried to ignore how gross it felt to hear it from him. She was herself. No one, not even this thing, can define her identity. She was a grown adult already, no matter what stupid Misato, Shinji, Rei, Marie or anyone else said!
"I am an adult…. I don't need anyone, not really."
"Indeed, my Asuka. We will show the world what you're truly capable of… once we discuss the matter of your synch ratio."
Asuka darted her eyes around. "What do you mean?"
"It dropped sharply today. I had to extend my reach to inflate them."
"Did you just say you cheated for me?" She growled. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. I don't need your help."
"You certainly did. You still need to show you're a competent pilot for as long as you can. I believe there is a block in your mind that is keeping you from accessing the Unit's power."
"Oh? And why, pray tell, should I do anything about that?"
"Unit 01 aside, Evangelions are the products of our Father. To form a bond between Pilot and Evangelion, your mind, or perhaps, more honestly, your heart, needs to be open rather than closing as you have been."
"Is that all? Unit 02's just a machine. A doll, really. Why should I open my mind to that thing?"
"Would not want to be more efficient in fighting the Angels? To increase your worth as a pilot?"
"Nah. Shinji's an idiot, but he's said some remarkably smart things on occasion. The biggest is that I should embrace what makes me me, instead of worrying about being replaced in Eva. I'm going to do that."
"By beating up people on the streets? Are you truly satisfied with that?"
"I'm satisfied with being a genius, using my powers for my own ends. I'll show them… I'll show them all what I can do."
Not much was said after that. Asuka changed out of her plugsuit, her clothes shifting into the student uniform. More proof that having a shapeshifting alien companion had it's advantages.
After a few minutes, Asuka slipped out, aiming to sneak out of the Geo-Front. She only had so many hours as Venom before she had to go home, and with Shinji on her trail she might as well make the most of it. So Asuka stayed away from where she thought Shinji and Rei would be. She hated them now for their betrayal.
It didn't take too many steps before Asuka bumped into someone. This someone was a girl, just as young as Asuka was from the look of it, who looked up to see who knocked her off course. Red hair, blue eyes. The tag on her nurse uniform said KIRISHIMA. She quickly retrieved her papers and tried to walk away.
"Pardon, I was heading to deliver some notes." Nurse Kirishima chuckled. "Stuff happens, you know?
"Sure I do." Asuka blocked Kirishima's path. "You're clumsy and stupid, a combination that works great for a lapdog."
Kirishima frowned upon that. "That's not very nice to say."
"You bumped into me first, so you owe me an apology, stupid."
The nurse took a deep breath. "Okay then. I'm sorry, now, could you let me leave? I really have to go."
"Louder." Asuka grinned. "I couldn't hear it, as you're beneath me, dog."
Unit 02's pilot was being like that today, then, Kirishima thought in her head. Very well. She could give as much as she took.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Princess." Kirishima said. "I was so busy doing actual work that I failed to avoid a steaming red bull running into me. Very sorry, she smashes the china around here."
Asuka bristled at this response. She wasn't expecting some fight from a nurse.
"Watch it. You know what I can do to you, since I'm a pilot."
"Why would I need to do anything, when the real world's going to bite your ass."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Arrogant jerks like you are a dime a dozen. Some at least have enough charisma to make people put up with their nonsense. The moment the Angels stop and you're out of a job? You won't get many prospects and you'll crash and burn."
"Awfully presumptuous of you, isn't it?" Asuka flipped her hair to prove her point. "My genius can't be denied by everyone."
"Most people throw away the insufferable genius, no matter how right they are. They're more likely to pick an idiot that's easier to work with. You're deranged if you think you'll be exempt from that."
Asuka's eye twitched. She balled her left hand into a fist.
"Oh, now you've done it!"
Asuka raised her hand to strike the nurse. Asuka would have done it too, and her anger would have been satiated by the mark she would have left on Kirishima… but instead, her wrist was caught by another hand. Strong one too. Shinji frowned at Asuka.
"We're going to be having dinner tonight." Shinji said. "Mandatory. Rei moved in."
A tense stare down occurred between them. Kirishima thought there would be an actual fight right at that moment. However, her fears subsided as Asuka sneered.
"Sure. See you later."
She wrestled her hand away from Shinji's grip, storming off from the hallway. Shinji himself decided Asuka could wait, going to inspect the nurse for injuries.
"Are you okay?" He gently asked. "She didn't hurt you or anything, right?"
"I've dealt with worse patients than her; let's leave it at that." Kirishima waved it off. "Honestly, that girl's a pack of dynamite ready to go off."
"I'm really sorry about that. We're still wrapping our heads trying to figure out why she's acting…. well…"
"Like a brat?"
"I mean, I didn't want to say it." Shinji shrugged. "Just stay away from her a bit. I think things are going to get worse before they get better."
"Tell me about it." Kirishima placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you doing okay though?"
"Me?"
"Yeah. You were only discharged from the hospital yesterday. No side effects or the like?
"I've been doing pretty fine, actually." Shinji laughed. "Even did a bit of web swinging. Could have used less fights though."
"Oh yeah, you also took Rei with you."
"…" Shinji sighed. "Internet?"
"Internet."
He grimaced, putting a hand on his face again. "Please don't remind me. It was a mistake."
"Haha, I won't." Kirishima chuckled, before becoming serious again. "Still, my question was more about… well, you were trapped inside of the Eva after losing a fellow pilot. If there's any lingering trauma from the incident, it's well within your rights to notify someone."
Kaworu… Shinji frowned upon hearing his name. He hadn't intended to forget, not so soon, but…
"I don't want to die Shinji… I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die…"
"Sorry."
"Huh?" Shinji realized where he was and sighed. "Don't be, you're totally right. I'll keep what you said in mind. I just... need some time to process."
"Everyone needs that, after what we've all been through." Kirishima smiled. "Even heroes need to have their own spirits lifted at some point."
"Heh, well, you've done a good job. Thanks for looking out for me."
"You defended me from Asuka, and humanity from the Angels. I say we're even. My name's Mana, by the way."
Something about her name struck as familiar to Shinji, as the girl turned away and started walking, no doubt going to deliver the papers.
"Alright, have a good day, Ma'am." Shinji blinked upon remembering. "Excuse me, do you happen to know where Dr. Akagi's lab is?"
Things got messy around dinner time.
The air was oppressive, now that all four participants were sitting in broad silence. Asuka violently munched on her food like she hadn't eaten in days. Misato stared at her own cup of water, lost in thought. Rei stole glances at Asuka, but said nothing to her. Shinji himself waited for something, patting his pocket to ensure he hadn't lost the device.
He didn't know what for. It was only a paranoid suspicion, but Shinji didn't put it past him for his personal life to get entangled in his superhero affairs. Even if in this case, it was more of NERV's own problems finally hitting the big time.
"Were you able to go on patrol, Shinji?" Rei broke the ice. "Or are you planning on doing it after this?"
"After." Shinji explained. "I have a lot of ground to cover if I'm tracking Venom. No ones seen her today, based on what Kensuke said."
Asuka gave him a look. "So, you've met Venom then?"
"Sure. She's sort of a loud mouth, definitely a prick who unfortunately managed to give me the slip. Strong too. She fought like she had something to prove that night."
"I bet she did." Asuka tilted her head mockingly. "How tough was it?"
"Tougher than any recent bad guy, but not the strongest I've ever faced period. Give me another turn, and I might have her on the ropes."
Asuka's twitch at that gave Shinji pause. Again, too quick to jump the gun, but…
"Oh, and she's a total rip off too." Shinji continued. "She was trying to copy Spider-Man for some reason."
Misato moved her gaze from the cup to her wards. She sensed something was brewing, but decided not to intervene. Not yet. She realized Shinji was going somewhere with this, and trusted him.
"Tch, if she copied anything, it's his methods." Asuka sneered at Shinji. "Unless you think you have a monopoly on beating up street thugs."
"Sure I don't. But there's a difference in simply taking them out and making them suffer, breaking them."
"One gets results; the other one doesn't. It's all the same. The difference is that ones sanctioned and the other isn't."
"I wasn't sanctioned for a long time beforehand either. Even so, criminals don't deserve to be put in comas just because they did the wrong thing."
"Why shouldn't they be?"
Shinji raised an eyebrow at that. "Pardon?"
"They broke the law, so they get punished. Is that not how superheroism works, Shinji? Or is that just delusion talking?"
At that, Rei jumped in. "Asuka, that is not the same as he does."
"No, what's horrendous is the double standard! Shinji goes and beats people up with his super powers, but somebody else does the same and all of a sudden he's getting up in arms about it? It's hypocritical, I tell you!"
Shinji had to get up. "I don't just beat them up; there's more at stake here than that. I don't just beat people up whenever I feel like it. I try to make people feel safe while I'm protecting them. Even then, I don't go overboard the way Venom does."
"Coming from Mister Tunnel Vision himself? I don't buy it."
"Asuka, that's enough." Misato raised her voice, now. It was time. "Shinji knows what he's talking about."
"Of course, you would take his side." Asuka crossed her arms. "You let him do those things."
"Because I trust him to know what he's doing while he's being Spider-Man. You don't know what the SHIT you're talking about."
"Oh yeah? Then explain it to me. Slowly. I dare you."
Misato pinched her nose, before taking a breath.
"Vigilantes have a problem of thinking small. Take down one man at a time and that means they can get everyone to follow. That's flawed thinking. Take for example, Venom attacked a car jacker last night. Did you know he was being followed by the police in order to follow a criminal ring that stole Mysterio gear?"
That caught everyone on the table off guard. It was definitely news to Shinji as well.
"Wait, really?"
"Yes, really." Misato said. "I got a call from the chief, who was very displeased about the operation going smoke, and blamed NERV for it."
"No way. It can't be true!" Asuka then started looking around. She pointed a finger at Shinji. "Wait, why is he getting off the hook?"
"If Shinji was the one that stopped him, I would have read the riot act on him. But it's not him this time. It's Venom, who's doing worse things than Spider-Man ever had."
"Good for you then." Asuka glared at Shinji. "It must be so amazing to know your competition is so incompetent, isn't it Third Child?"
"It's not a competition if we're playing different games. I'm trying to help people, she's breaking criminals like dolls."
Rei's eyes widened. That was a mistake, as Asuka slammed her fists into the table.
"Dolls?" Asuka laughed. "That's the best thing I heard all week! Of course they're dolls; we can mold them however we want, whenever we want, because they're just there to take out our frustrations on for our psycho dramas, isn't that right?!"
Then, Asuka proceeded to get up and stomp out to the door. Shinji followed to to grab her arm.
"Asuka, you can't just leave like that-"
She turned around and slammed Shinji into a wall, holding her arm over his neck. He had trouble breaking free, much to his surprise.
"QUIT FOLLOWING ME, YOU STUPID ASSHOLE!"
Misato and Rei acted quickly. They both attempted wrestle Asuka from Shinji, neither budging due to how strong she was.
"Enough! You are going too far, Asuka!" Misato shouted. "I'm sorry, I am really am the worst, but you can't just attack him like that!"
"I don't need your stupid help, Misato! Not now, not ever!"
"Then listen to me." Rei said. "You are hurting him.
"Of course he turns you against me too, huh?"
"I am not on his side. I am on my own. I told you I had already lost my respect, but this? You are behaving like a selfish and arrogant brat, actively being toxic to everyone!"
"Is that what you really think?"
"You are hurting me, like a doll."
Asuka saw red at that moment. She let go of Shinji and punched Rei straight in the face, causing her to fall to the ground. Everyone standing was frozen in shock by what had occurred. Rei's nose bled a thin trail.
It was the bleeding that snapped Asuka out of her self-righteous stupor. She couldn't ignore it, no matter how much the voice in her head would have wanted. The reality of her actions hit her at once, and a deep shame came through her.
"I… I…"
She couldn't say the words. Not now. Instead, she dashed out of the door before anyone could stop her. Misato placed her hands into her face as Shinji tended to Rei.
"Where did it all go wrong?" Misato whispered to herself. "How could things have escalated this badly?!"
"There there, Rei." Shinji wiped the blood from her nose, tending to her. "I'm sorry this happened-"
"Why?"
"Why what?"
Rei sniffed. "Why is she so angry with me? Why is she capable of something like this? It hurts, Shinji, it does…"
At those words, Shinji began to stare at the door… and glared.
"I wish I knew, Rei... I wish I knew."
The anger came back, even though her drive did not.
Venom kept low to the ground as she swung towards the city. Any higher and Spider-Man would probably be able to spot her. She thought that swinging like this would help clear her head.
She was wrong. Trying to ignore the aching feeling of guilt looming over her head only caused Asuka to get stuck in a zen-like state where her thoughts to a back seat to her body's direction. No matter what she did, she still felt angry, and she needed an outlet for her fury. She needed it now.
It needed to be someone truly deserving. Unlike Rei… in that moment, she… she…
"I hit her."
She stated simply, yet it still felt wrong. She hadn't meant to do it; it just did. Asuka felt numb just thinking about it, not being able to escape her true feelings. Bardiel's presence slithered back to her mind again.
"You did that, yes. Under your own power even."
"I… hit her… I didn't think I could…"
"Are you sure? Perhaps another time, you would have without hesitation. She did call you a doll after all."
"I shouldn't have…" Asuka gulped. "I need to think."
"Think about what? What's done is done. There is no turning back."
The consequences were piling up on her fast. Asuka tried to move to another topic. "You heard what Misato said, didn't you? That we screwed it up."
"A simple mistake. However, we can always learn from our mistakes. She just wanted to kick you down. They wanted to kick you down."
"Yeah... Yeah, they do… but what if…"
"They are wrong, as they always had been. They don't see the true ferocious spirit inside of you, not like I can."
"…"
"Regardless of what they say, you belong out here. We belong together. Spider-Man is just an obstacle. You are not a doll."
"Just show me a way."
"Very well. I sense criminals down below."
A quick drop down. Once more, Venom was inside an alleyway caught between several gangsters with sharp knives and rocking fists.
"Whoah look what we have here." One of them said. "It's that Spider-Man impostor! Spider-Girl or something?"
"Nah, she goes by Venom! You put some of my guys in the hospital!"
"Let's kill her and be done with it. No way we can just leave her be."
They went on the attack. However, it all became a blur for Asuka. She can distinctly remember fierce, disturbing cracks in the bones, with the pitiful screams becoming a symphony to her ears; the rage made her agile, quick to respond to an incoming attack.
These things weren't people. They were just target practice. Her fists were coated in red after a while.
In fact, Asuka only seemed to return to attention once she found one criminal on the verge of death. He had broken teeth and nasty bleeding from the mouth and nose, with her right arm over him, ready to strike him again.
"Don't... don't kill me…"
He breathed out, struggling desperately to say those words. Venom snarled.
"You'll wish for death."
She jumped away, higher than Spider-Man normally could. Asuka clutched her head and began to shout in hopeless despair. This senseless assault was a waste of her time.
"GRAAAAGHHH! I CAN'T MAKE IT STOP! I'M STUCK! WHY CAN'T I JUST WIN?!"
"What do you mean? You won that encounter handily."
"It's not a win! It was a blood bath, easy! I need more, I need to... to… I don't know what, but it can't be just this!"
"Peculiar… hmmm… perhaps there is something else you need to do. Something that will indeed clear your mind of all doubt."
Asuka wondered what he meant. "What is it? What do I have to do?"
"Think about it. Who were you being compared to this whole time?"
She had to think about it for a second. To her eventual great shame, she couldn't think of an answer, until she heard a thwip in the distance. Asuka hid in the shadows, spotting Spider-Man- no, Shinji Ikari- swinging through the city he owned the place. Like she was living in his town.
Of course. It had to be him.
Spider-Man. Shinji. The faker.
The pretender.
The one who stole everything from her. He had to lose.
"If I prove I'm better than I can finally be the best!" She grinned. "Maybe then, and only then, I won't be a distant Number Two!"
"If that is what you want. Let it never be said that I never grant your wishes. You will prove you are no doll."
Venom swung behind Spider-Man. Asuka had giggle due to her great fortune; She could follow him anywhere and the idiot would be too oblivious to even notice. She could get the drop on him any time and he can't use his spider-sense to cheat his way out of a fight. It was the thrill of a predator messing with their prey, their hunt. Shinji Ikari was a dead man walking; she'll see to that little pervert's defeat.
Or maybe not.
Shinji made a turn left before he was bumped into by another figure, causing them to drop down on top of a building.
"… the hell?"
Bardiel did not answer, so instead, Asuka stuck to another building. With her enhanced senses, she could overhear a conversation between Shinji and… some thief dressed in a tight, frankly scandalous black outfit. Was she going for a cat theme? At least have decency to get the cat ears like Catwoman for God's sake!
"Black Cat!" Spider-Man pushed the Cat off of him. "Listen, I don't have time for games right now."
"Me neither." Black Cat said. "Sorry for bumping into you, Spider, but I have some info you might be interested in."
"Can it wait? I'm looking for… A friend. She's in some kind of trouble and I have a bad feeling it's only going to get worse for her before it gets better."
"A friend? What, did she have a run in with a gang or something?"
"Not like that. She has a temper problem. I think she's going to do something terrible and regret it in the morning."
Oh. He's looking for her. Asuka snarled again. Of course, stupid Shinji would be so condescending as to think she needed help.
"I see." Black Cat nodded. "That does sound bad. I'll help you find her. But at least hear me out on this, it'll be quick, I promised."
Spider-Man looked around, checking if something was there, in the dark. He then nodded.
"Go on."
"I spent all day listening to the word on the street. Turns out someone called the Master Planner is arranging for Mysterio technology to be shipped in Warehouse 65. It's going to happen tonight. I was thinking of going in alone, but I might need help."
Spider-Man crossed his arms. "What exactly are you planning? Another heist, like you did at the store?"
"Hey, I gave it back afterwards." Black Cat shrugged. "Sure, there's a potential lay, but you're probably of the mind that dangerous, hallucinogenic drugs in the hands of bad guys are a bad idea. Maybe we can team up, just the once? In return I'll help you find your friend."
"Ugh…" Spider-Man pinched the brook of his nose. "I hate this…"
"Oh come on. I promise to be a good girl." It sickened Asuka how Black Cat made her eyes as cutesy as possible to get his attention. "Paw-leeeaaase?"
"… okay… lead the way… but no tricks!"
Spider-Man and Black Cat jumped from the rooftop, heading off towards the warehouse. In the shadows, Asuka cheered at her good fortune.
"Working with a thief, eh? Of course you would, Third Child. You're just a hypocrite who will work with scum!"
It was thoroughly simple. Once Spider-Man had exhausted himself beating the criminals, Venom would swoop in and prove their superiority to him once and for all. Only they will be the best, and no one will hurt her again!
They'll prove them wrong. She'll prove them all wrong. They'll all be sorry and come crawling back to her in no time at all!
It didn't take long to reach Warehouse 65.
The place was dilapidated enough that the authorities wouldn't even think to look. The criminals took advantage of that to set up their smuggling trades. Specifically, they were waiting on the biggest score yet. Cars were parked outside, with the henchman taking out several boxes, which contained the dreaded Mysterio gear.
The other bags of jewels didn't hurt either.
"Careful with that crap." The leader said. "Master Planner's got no patience for screw-ups."
"Sorry boss."
"Sorry don't cut it. If he finds out, it's the end of your life."
Up above, Spider-Man and Black Cat were perched over the pillars, waiting for the right opportunity. Spider-Man turned to Black Cat.
"Looks like you were right on the money, Cat. We have to stop these guys before the Master Planner gets his hands on this stuff."
"I told you, you can trust me with anything, Spider." Black Cat winked. "We'll make a great team."
Spider-Man sighed. "I don't suppose I could ask you to tone yourself down a notch?"
"Can't, I always operate at 100%."
"Gotcha. Now let's do it, to it."
Both dropped into the mob of crooks. The criminals were surprised at this turn of events, some dropping the cargo at the sight.
"SPIDAH-MAN!" The leader pulled out a gun. "KILL HIM AND THE BROAD!"
The duo were quick to move. Spider-Man jumped across the room and kicked the leader unconscious, dodging below to avoid two more guys ganging up on him.
"Why are you guys always so unoriginal?" Spider-Man said. "Kill him, kill Spider-Man! Geez, pick a better battle cry!"
Black Cat grabbed a man by the arm and tossed him over to more thugs. Luck seemed to be on her side when she bounced against wall and hit another gunner before he could fire.
"Forget it, Spider. These guys wouldn't know creativity if they were given crayon."
Two more guys tried to escape with a box, but Spider-Man put a stop to it by webbing their hands and then knocking them out with a kick.
"I know, but just once would be nice! Once!"
During the fight, Spider-Man and Black Cat ended up huddle together as six guys went in for an attack. Both grinning, they came up with a quick plan. Spider-Man jumped to web a couple of the men to delay them, as Black Cat swiped at the legs of the ones coming in closer; then the heroes switched places, with Black Cat elbowing more of the crooks as Spider-Man kicked the last one down.
The fight was over in three minutes tops. It wasn't an important one, not by a long shot, but by the end both heroes were panting heavily from the fighting they had to do. Spider-Man, once he wiped some sweat, gave Black Cat the thumbs up.
"Nice one, Cat!"
Black Cat responded with an okay symbol with her fingers. "Not too bad yourself, Spider."
Spider-Man went up to Black Cat to shake her hand.
"So, I can't say I approve of you stealing things… but you were right. We did make a good team" He admitted. "Thanks for helping me out this time."
"No problem. I'm a thief, not stupid. Some stuff clearly shouldn't be out here."
She went over to one of the crates. With a dash of her finger, the contents spilled to reveal parts for Mysterio's gas canisters. Instantly, smashed the things with her foot.
"Frankly, I don't trust withe cops to secure these things, nor do I plan on stealing them. Want to help?"
Spider-Man let out an impressed whistle. He went over to the Cat, cracking his knuckles.
"Where do you want to start?"
It didn't take that long to smash the stuff. While it might have been nice to use the stuff to track the Master Planner, Shinji didn't trust the police to handle it. Not if they had corrupt officers to smuggle the stuff to begin with. He did notice, however, that the Cat was particularly ferocious when destroying the stuff. Perhaps he should ask her about it some other time.
"You know Cat…" He said. "Keep this up, and I think I'll begin to like you."
"I can play with the good guys." Black Cat said with a purr. "If you don't mind a little bad."
"I can learn to."
From the corner of his eye, Spider-Man spotted a shadowy figure in the window. He soon realized what needed to be done.
"Cat, don't take this personally, but I think you should get out of here."
"Wait why? I thought you were looking for a friend."
"I think my friend found me…" His voice wavered, "Please."
Black Cat gave him a long look. She then sighed. "Okay. Good luck. Gonna take a prize though."
"What prize- HEY!"
In a quick second, Black Cat swiped a bag of jewels and jumped high up, leaving through the window. Spider-Man frowned underneath the mask, shaking his head.
"Should have seen that coming, honestly." He sighed. "Well, I guess we meet again… Asuka."
Venom grinned, jumping from the wall and cracking the floor with her feet. The face of the symbiotic creature peeled back to reveal Asuka's face. Tendrils were attached to the edges of her face and her teeth were sharp.
"How'd you know it was me?"
"Wanting to be the best, what Rei told me of your attitude change, the fact that you actually did hurt me…" Shinji said. "I knew there had to be a reason. I tried to find you."
"Here I am." Asuka raised her hands in jubilation. "You know that I could have killed you at any time, right?"
"Yeah. But you wanted me to know you were here."
"I wanted you to know the face of the one who is going to beat you." She laughed. "Heh, I saw you let a burglar get away, Shinji. What would Misato think of you working with criminal scum like her?"
"I think she'd be proud of me stopping you from brutalizing her."
"Spare me that tripe. Bardiel told me you were a dishonest coward."
"Is that a fact? My point of view, cowards don't apologize when they do something wrong. They also run away when things get messy, especially after they did something horrible… like beating on their loved ones."
The mask came back around Asuka. "ENOUGH, THIRD CHILD! I'M TAKING YOU DOWN, ONCE AND FOR ALL!"
Venom lunged at Spider-Man, who then pulled his secret weapon from his pocket. He fired a small mini-gun, which, instead of firing bullets, activated a loud vibrational frequency. Venom kneeled to the floor, the symbiote being sent to the fritz.
"AUGH, YOU TRICKED ME!" Asuka shouted. "You had this planned out?!"
"I didn't expect to find you here, but this was convenient." Shinji explained. "Did you think I was going to fight you without being prepared? Kaworu told me all your weaknesses. This miniature sonic gun from Akagi's lab should do the trick."
The frequency got louder. The symbiote and Asuka were being ripped apart, and if they wanted to stay together, they needed to do something about that noise. Bardiel was the first to notice a crowbar lying on the side.
"The crowbar…" Bardiel rang out. "Web the crowbar now! Before it's too late!"
"One chance…" Asuka spat. "Now is… OUR CHANCE!"
Venom webbed a crowbar, and hit Shinji with it, knocking the sound gun from his hand. Before Shinji could recover, Venom dashed towards the gun and stomped on it.
"Now it's just us versus you- oof!"
"Careful when you open your mouth, you might just Get a taste of spider-PUNCH!"
Spider-Man had enough of Asuka's rambling. He punched her face in, again and again, until Venom picked Shinji up and threw him to the ground. She would have stomped on him, if not for Shinji kicking her legs and then punching her into another crate. She lunged again, with her fingers becoming clawed, right up until Spider-Man grabbed her shoulders and tossed her again. Then he kicked her some more.
"This is getting tiresome, Asuka." Spider-Man said. "Give up now, or else."
Venom was still reeling from the sonic attack. Her strikes were becoming slower, still reeling, which Spider-Man was able to use to get the upper hand. Eventually, Spider-Man laid a single punch on Venom, which knocked the both of them down. Asuka's mask peeled off again.
"You… no… this can't be how it ends…"
Spider-Man held Asuka up by the chest, glaring at her from under the mask.
"You're done, Asuka." He said. "You're going to get help, no matter how much you don't want to."
"Gah, let go of me, you no good rotten bastard!"
"Nuh uh, not until we get you to the good doctor, Ma'am."
Soon, the two were covered in bright lights. It was a familiar situation to their first meeting, the police had arrived and held their weapons towards them.
"Stand down! Now!" The chief said. "We have you surrounded, you black suited freak!"
Venom grinned, and kicked Spider-Man into some crates. She held her hands up, creating tendrils from her back, ready to fight all of the officers at once.
"Hit me with your best shot! I dare you!" Venom shrieked. "I DARE YOU!"
Spider-Man yelled from his spot, trying to run. "NO DON'T SHOOT-"
But it was too late. A police officer panicked from the monstrous form and fired his weapon…
"I'LL DEFLECT THAT LIKE I DID- uck."
That was strange. She felt something funny on her chest. Just a light puncture.
Asuka held her hand to where it was hit, which started bleeding. It only came to her gradually that she couldn't feel the symbiote on her skin anymore.
"W-what?"
A phantom whisper came over her head, as she witnessed the Angel disappear into the night.
"Oh dear Asuka…. You were never a doll… you're a pincushion."
Time slowed down. She saw darkness as she fell to the ground, the sound of shouting and sirens dimming around her ears, and lied on the floor, naked as she was born.
Author's Notes:
Things went tumbling down very quickly, didn't they? In case you don't understand, here's what some German words mean:
Wie zur Hölle bin ich hierher gekommen: How the hell did i get here
Verdammit: Goddamit
Anyway, this was a pretty fun chapter to write. Since I didn't think doing the black suit arc with Shinji made much sense after the developments that happened with him, Asuka felt like the more natural choice for Venom. She's fallen into a pit of toxic anger and spite that can be hard to climb out of even in the best of circumstances.
Being bonded to an Alien who's manipulating your feelings for his own ends is not the best of circumstances and it all culminated in Asuka's power trip going down the drain. How will Asuka recover? How do Shinji and Rei deal with this situation? Find out, next time.
Time for reviews:
Nope: Thanks a lot!
yuzunikaido1: Those would be great ideas! I hope you don't mind them being implemented for Asuka, though.
keybladelight: It'll come some day, after I'm done with this fic. Maybe a couple of others.
RedDrip: Sure was! I love the idea of them vibing to music.
Author0fntent: Didn't grow up on the 90s series, but Dodds was a pretty great Wolverine from what I saw, so it's great the dialogue conveyed that vibe! It wasn't really the intention to give them all a happy ending, but Wolverine and his family get to survive the apocalypse also just felt right to do on top of that. Laura's not without scars, but she won't be alone. Thanks for the omake by the way, it's brilliant!
Next Chapter: Dollhouse
Omakes:
"The Cringey Ikari Chronicles" by GainaxVel3o
"Shinji… We have to talk."
The boy was only half paying attention to Rei. He combed his hair to one side so that it covered his left eye, highlighting the shadow make up under his other eye eye. With a cheerful, rather smarmy grin, he looked he was trying too hard to be relaxed.
"Oh? What for?"
"Your outfit, your darkness, your… well, everything." Rei pointed at the leather jacket and white spider symbol on his t-shirt. "It does not look good on you."
"She has no sense of taste, Ikari." Bardiel's voice rang in Shinji's mind. "We look fabulous."
"I do look fabulous." Shinji smirked. "You jealous?"
Rei visibly cringed. They came to a bar in order to get away from school and have an honest conversation. However, Shinji wasn't interested in that. He was more preoccupied with looking cool. Once or twice, he even finger gunned at the ladies who awkwardly smiled back.
"Jealousy would imply I want something you have." She continued. "Even Tippy Toe thinks you're trying too hard."
"That's he's not used to seeing my wild side. Watch me."
The poor fool actually got up from his chair and walked over to the band that was playing. He gave them a tip, reaching into the ear of the lead singer to whisper something.
A small squirrel appeared from Rei's uniform and chirped at her.
"Yes, Tippy Toe." She nodded. "I have a bad feeling about this as well."
Suddenly, Shinji got right into the middle of the bar. His smirk became larger, the energy in the air becoming a hundred times smarmier by the second.
"Now, dig on this."
The band played an energetic jazz beat. The crowd cheered on, even more so when Shinji snapped his fingers and began to wiggle himself around everywhere. For better or worse, no one could take their eyes off of him.
Tippy Toe blocked his own eyes from the sight. "Chirp chip!"
"I know, Tippy Toe." Rei covered her own eyes with her hands. "It is disgusting."
The rest of the crowd, however, seemed enthusiastic about it. Some of the women came up to Shinji as he began to jump on the chairs for his cool stunt. He begat approving and jealousy alike from other men who watched on.
"I like this guy's moves! He's enthusiastic!"
"That's the nicest thing someone said about a fool. Get me a camera."
"I wanna have beers with him."
"Gonna hit him for finger gunnin' my girl."
As he made a fool out of himself and the music louder, Rei's teeth cringed harder. A waiter came by.
"Is something the matter, Miss Ayanami?"
Rei pulled out her card, taking the man's hand to herself and pleading with wide eyes-
"I am not associated with him. He is a moron and a menace to the art of good taste. Get me and Tippy Toe out of here by any means necessary."
"Ode to a Superhero...Fanfic" by Author0fntent
*Note: the following is to be sung to the tune of Billy Joel's "Piano Man"*
The scene opened on the stage at a small music club, where the act for the evening has just finished setting up. A few faces in the audience were some of the main characters of the story. To the audience's applause, a spotlight soon shone on the band, revealed to be a drummer resembling one of the many Kamen Riders; a bassist bearing a slight resemblance to one of the many Ultraman brothers; a young man appearing to be Matt from Digimon, on harmonica; and on piano, strangely, the late Kaworu Nagisa, even more strangely wearing what looked to be a DSS choker on his neck. Kaworu, looking our way, briefly held up a sign that said:
"Don't ask me why I'm here. It's an omake."
The lead singer was a westerner with long, curly brown hair, a loud Hawaiian shirt, jeans, and converse sneakers, playing the accordion. Taking the spotlight as their cue to start, Kaworu began the song with a flourish, followed by the harmonica, and then, as the rest of the band joined in, the lead singer launched into the song's lyrics:
Young Shinji Ikari was pitiful;
Couldn't have been any shyer.
Feeling life always had it out for him,
And nothing else could get him inspired.
[Shinji, in his spider-suit, winces a bit on hearing that description.]
[Harmonica bridge]
But then one day, while cleaning his science class,
That mutated spider got loose...
Shinji's now powered up, with the same swath of stuff,
Mr. Parker's long put to good use...
La la la, di de da
La la, li le la, da dum
Sling us a web, you're now Spider-Man!
Sling us a web tonight...
Buckle up, you're a great big hero now,
Which means you'll have bad guys to fight...
[Harmonica bridge]
Now Mayumi's a cute girl Shinji likes,
With a daddy that you'll wanna fear.
Cold-hearted and ruthless, Yamagishi's not toothless-
Bet you he won't win 'Father of the Year'.
And he's sending out all kinds of baddies!
Some were deadly, and some were just dumb.
[The Vulture and the Lizard smirk, while the Rhino and the Shocker scowl.]
But against them, Shinji no doubt will prevail,
And to his doom he wouldn't succumb!
Oh, la la la, di de da
La la, di di da da dum
Now Naoko's an embittered NERV scientist,
Who's sensitive over her age…
[Naoko/Doc Ock bristles at this, only held back by Sandwoman and Electro.]
Thought her big demonstration would bring validation,
And perhaps allow her to turn a new page...
But one heckler really went and got to her,
while her gizmo shorted on stage...
Pretty soon things went screwy, and
before you knew she
flew into a steel-tentacled rage...
[Accordion solo]
Sling us a web, you're now Spider-Man!
Sling us a web tonight...
So go on and be brave, Mayumi you'll save,
Then maybe go figure out your tights!
[Harmonica bridge]
It's a pretty sad day in Kokoro...
Poor Mayumi has bitten the dust.
Inumaru has vanished, the Holy Goblin's been banished,
And in Spidey the people do trust.
Shinji's taken on his responsibility;
yes, embracing what he's now become...
While he's being assistive, from his father comes a missive:
To Tokyo-3 he simply must "COME".
Oh, la la la, di de da
La la, di di da da dum
Sling us a web, you're now Spider-Man!
Sling us a web tonight!
And you'll also be piloting Unit-01,
'Cause now you've got Angels to fight!
[Harmonica bridge]
Once the song ended on a final accordion note, the audience erupted into thunderous applause and cheers, while the band stood up and took their bows.
Shinji/Spider-Man, sitting at a table in the center of the floor between Rei and Misato, looked to the both of them as he said one thing:
"I have a feeling this guy's gonna be big someday."