Asuka Langley Soryuu: The Origin

Asuka Langley Soryuu played the cello.

Not very frequently, mind you. It wasn't her favorite instrument to play, certainly not as satisfying as the piano or an actual violin. Asuka only started playing it when she heard the cello was a difficult instrument. As an elite pilot, she had to prove herself. So Asuka picked one up and started practicing.

In a short time, Asuka knew how to play the strings like the back of her hand, good enough that the scientists praised her for it behind their see-through window. At least they knew when to show respect. Her father never did, nor did he make the time to show up to one of these junctions. Asuka was a bright girl. She knew that at this moment, he would be with his mistress- Asuka didn't give her the dignity of calling her a step-mom, because her Father didn't even fancy her as that- because her shift would be over at 8:00 PM. It was still 7:35.

They often talked, even when the pair of adults really should have kept their mouths shut. A little girl could have overheard one of their conversations one of those days.

"It's difficult for me to deal with that child."

"You worry? It's not like you who is a doctor."

"A doctor is a human, as I said before."

"Well, still it's not like you're against a kid."

"She is quite adult in some cases with the absolute rejection with a tension, that I'm often afraid of. Don't you think so?"

"Well, Anyhow, you are Asuka's mother, after all."

"I became your wife before that."

"Simultaneously didn't you become?"

"Yes, in the viewpoint of social standpoint. However, I can quit being her mother at anytime, though you cannot quit being her father."

"That's, sort of right."

Asuka disowned them in her heart.

From that moment onward, it didn't matter if that mistress hated her, or if Father found her difficult. Asuka could not even hate them, as that would require caring about their existence. If they were willing to leave her before she could grow into a lovable child, what use were they?"

"Very good Asuka. Excellent performance" One of the scientists interrupted her thoughts. "You're done for the week."

Asuka laid the cello down. She allowed the scientists to sing their lovely praises and congratulations, before she stormed back to her room. Once she did, Asuka blinked back a few tears, biting back the irrational, stupid hope that, maybe from her heaven, Mama saw her. Asuka had many dreams, ones where Mama had stayed with her, had taught her what she knew, that loved her instead of the damn doll. She dreamt of performing for her Mama, making a mistake, and her Mama softly chuckled and letting her know she was proud anyway.

"Mama…"

She softly spoke to the pillow, before she shook her head. That was the stupid dream of a child, left behind by a noose. No one would come for a problem child like herself, not unless she was useful. So she'll put a wall around her to mask her pain; she'll be the best pilot in the world, until the adults have no choice but to want her.

Because truly, what else is there? Who would come to save rowdy, selfish little girls like herself?

Asuka pushed through her tiredness to get up for the morning.

The discovery she made last night warranted immediate action; it was simply too big to be put off for any longer than necessary. The mirror agreed with her, as there was hardly any fatigue around her eyes. Instead, Asuka paid attention to the fact she seemed to have grown a few inches, no doubt thanks to the muscles around her body. Even with the training she received in Berlin, Asuka never had anything like strong arms like these.

"I wonder if this is the body modifying itself to compensate for the altered genes." Asuka hypothesized. "Such an extensive DNA reprogram, and it took weeks before the changes were noticeable."

She pointed her hand towards the ceiling. Asuka willed the hand to spin a web, much like Shinji apparently could do without web-shooters. It didn't work.

"Either some changes came faster than others, or the transfusion gave me less powers than Shinji. Hm, while this does lessen the chances of me becoming a David Cronenberg abomination, I'm going to need to ask the doctor to analyze this later."

Asuka briefly wondered where Shinji's powers came from, if they were organic. Did the body create its own fluid? How much energy would it take to create enough webbing to swing across the city? How strong was it really, if it could hold cars in place for about an hour? Most importantly, did Shinji ever consider those questions himself, or was Asuka the only one who bothered to ask?

She had a feeling the answer would drive her crazy either way.

"Breakfast is ready, Asuka!" Misato's voice came from outside the door. "You've been in there long enough. You have school, you know!"

"On it!" Asuka quickly brushed her teeth and spat. "Geez, none of you people know the meaning of perfection."

Drying herself with a towel, Asuka raced out of the bathroom as quickly as she could. She was not dismayed to find Misato, Shinji and Rei together in the kitchen, who were evidently waiting to start with her. Asuka quickly glanced over Rei's plate, which was a salad. Rei's favorite.

"Oh, good! You're awake!" He said, smiling for her. "I didn't make anything yet, since I knew you'd get picky."

He handed her a riceball plate. Asuka scoffed.

"Good. Glad to see you remembered."

"You seem different." Rei said. "How are you, Asuka?"

"Had a good night's sleep and some…" Asuka thought about what to say. "… changes. Yeah, let's go with that."

Rei nodded. "Indeed. You appeared to have gained more muscle. Strange."

"She's a growing girl. I've seen her gain a few pounds in the hospital." Misato laughed. "Give her a week and she'll be old enough to fill in for me at the office. Think you can handle the paperwork? That's a price that comes with adulthood."

Asuka rolled her eyes at the comment. "Whatever."

"You woke later and took a longer time than usual." Shinji said. "What's wrong?"

She sighed then, realizing she couldn't delay the truth for much longer. They needed to know, now.

"I thought I went crazy last night, but this is… well, here we go."

Asuka's toes clicked to the floor, readying herself. She aimed her hands towards the ceiling above, and with a small quiver in her step, Asuka made hopped towards it. All involved where shocked when Asuka's hands stuck her to the wall; although Asuka herself hung clumsily to the roof, she allowed herself a mischievous grin at the flabbergasted expressions of her roommates.

"A little spectacular, isn't it?"

Asuka then brought her legs up to the ceiling, allowing her toes to attach to it. It was a new, surreal experience to actually be climbing the walls without the use of suction gloves or the like, and Asuka found herself adjusting rapidly.

Misato was the first to shake herself from her stupor. "There's no way… no… Get down from there, right now!"

"I literally just got up here, Misato!"

"I don't care, now do it!"

Asuka sighed as she dropped down. The neighbors will probably register a complaint later, with how loud she was being. Shinji was more alarmed, as he quickly realized where Asuka would have been able to get those powers.

"Oh Asuka, I'm so sorry!"

"What for, dork brain?" Asuka said. "For once, I don't feel like hurling! It's actually kind of awesome!"

Of the occupants, Rei was the one that kept her distance. She had already seen what a super-powered Asuka was capable of, and how it led to disaster. She needed to be sure what this new Asuka was capable of, and if it would result in further panic.

"Asuka." She said. "When did you discover you had such abilities?"

"I don't remember how I got it, but last night I found myself stuck to the ceiling…" Asuka told the truth. "I'm guessing it was a blood transfusion from Shinji that did it. I don't know. What I do know is that I have spider powers just like him!"

"You appear to have wall crawling." Rei pulled out a rice ball from Asuka's plate. "But what other powers do you have?"

"Beats me, I haven't tested them yet."

Rei swiftly threw the rice ball at Asuka. It harmlessly bounced off of her, who simply looked at the rolling riceball on the floor, then pouted at Rei.

"Why did you need to do that?"

"You are supposed to have a Spider-Sense." Rei tilted her head. "Why are you not dodging?"

Asuka scoffed at her. "I think you're going to need something bigger than that to threaten me with."

"You never know, it could present a problem."

"Not it won't."

"We're going to need to work this out, somehow." Shinji went over to Asuka, reaching for her shoulder. "You just got these new powers, we shouldn't play around with them until we have a better handle on-"

In a split second, Asuka reflexively grabbed Shinji's arm and threw him headfirst into the ground. Thankfully, all it did was leave a crack on the floor instead of breaking through and blowing the secret identity right out of the lid. Pen-Pen let out a loud wark complaining about it from his room.

"Ow…"

"My bad." Asuka had the decency to say, as she pulled Shinji up. "I could have killed you, dork, shit I don't know what I have!"

"That's precisely why we're going to NERV now." Misato decided. "First, we're going to figure out what you can do. Then we're going to see if there's a way to remove them."

"Remove them?" Asuka raised an eyebrow. "I mean, I'm not too attached to what I have, but how come that's not an option for Shinji then?"

Misato sighed in front of the children. Hypocrisy became one of her strongest attributes, it seemed.

"He's in too deep to back out, and he's been taking care of himself longer than I've known him." She shook her head. "The last thing I need is another one of my wards trying to get herself killed out there!"

Asuka was actually taken aback a bit. "Whoah, hold on. I'm not interested in being a superhero! I just want to see what I'm capable of before we jump in on the whole cure thing."

"We should try to figure that out, yeah." Shinji said. "I broke someone's hand my first time adjusting to my powers. I don't think you want to accidentally hurt anyone at school, right?"

Asuka gave Shinji a look. "Wait, YOU of all people broke someone's hand? Now you have to tell me about that!"

As Shinji explained that story to his fellow pilots, Misato pulled out her phone. The crazy situation she found herself in was something she needed to keep under wraps from the Commander right now, which meant that she had to call one of the few people she knows she can trust at the moment, regardless of her current reservations with her.

"Ritsuko, are you there?" Misato spoke to her. "Cancel whatever appointments you have today. Something's going on with Asuka."

"Okay, what exactly am I supposed to be doing?"

Asuka stood in the middle of a large chamber. Ordinarily, the chamber was the shooting range, where the pilots practiced targeting using holograms of the Angels. Being a small human inside of this room brought a fresh perspective to Asuka, reminding her of just how small humans caught in the interplay between Evangelions and Angels are in the grand scheme of things.

It would be terrifyingly insane for any one person, Asuka realized. Perhaps all the pilots took it for granted, insulated inside of their entry plugs, focused solely on their targets rather than sensing the world outside the bubble.

"I took the opportunity to set up a small obstacle course." Dr. Ritsuko Akagi spoke through the intercom, interrupting Asuka's thought process. "So long as you have the same powers Spider-Man has, you'll be able to get through it without a problem."

"Shouldn't you tailor the obstacle course to fit me?" Asuka asked. "I'm not Shinji."

"You're not, but given the power overlap, I don't think you should have a problem."

Soon, small platforms rose from the floor, some locked in place, while others went up and down; giant rings floated in the air, indicating that Asuka should travel across this pre-determined line to get past the trial. Unlike most holograms across the world, NERV was built with state-of-the-art technology that allowed for solid holograms, hard light projections used for combat operations. Some of the technicians called it a "Danger Room." Asuka thought that name was stupid.

"Okay…" Asuka clapped her hands. "Show time."

She dashed in an instant, clearing one ring in a large jump, then putting her hands in front to propel herself through another ring. Landing on her feet, Asuka began running across the platform, sticking to a wall to climb upwards, before then bouncing through another giant ring, rolling onto another platform. Perhaps they had tailor-made the course for her after all. It was, perhaps, a little too easy.

Such thoughts came to Ritsuko's mind as she took notes. Asuka was traversing the obstacle course with swifter ease than she had been anticipating. Even Maya had to gawk at the display.

"These results are… incredible!" Maya said. "She could easily beat Olympian athletes by seconds!"

Indeed, Ritsuko thought, and that was what frightened her; what she was surprised that Maya wasn't more afraid of, given her past comments. It was one thing to know super-powered beings existed, but to actually know it, to study one with your own eyes, and that at least two of the pilots were among them? It was as if fate contrived this path for a reason she couldn't determine.

Perhaps it was fate that brought them to Misato's door rather than her own. Once a while ago, Ritsuko might not have given much thought to what happened to the children, only what NERV wanted from them. Misato, flawed as she was, really was the best hands NERV could provide for them.

"She could beat these guys in seconds. That's why we better make sure this stays a secret." Misato frowned. "The last thing we want is for her to be used as a weapon."

"True that." Ritsuko responded. "Even this is under the pretense of being another Synch test. How long we can keep the Commander in the dark is uncertain, however."

"Let's try to hold on as much as possible."

On that, Ritsuko agreed. She kept an eye on the test, paying full attention to Asuka's movements. They were as clumsy as they were eager, much like a child walking for the first time, yet trying to prove they were an expert to whoever was watching. In that respect, Asuka was the same as she ever was.

Misato turned towards Maya. "How're things coming along?"

"Good, but only until tonight." She sighed. "Paperwork."

Nodding in understanding, Misato also let out her own sigh. "Paperwork."

It was quite amusing for Ritsuko that two of her favorite people shared the same contempt for one of adulthoods most necessary evils. Maya was always such a trooper, so her actively grumbling about it made her chuckle.

"I can't thank you enough for helping out Asuka." Misato said. "I know you didn't do everything, but she really needed it."

"I'm just a good listener, Misato. Asuka did the work; she just needed some guidance."

"Thanks for that at least."

"No problem. In truth, Ritsuko also helped me out a little."

Misato raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh?"

"Yeah. She helped put together a profile and made the arrangements necessary to set me up with her."

Biting her lower lip, Misato turned towards Ritsuko, giving her the once over. Ritsuko shrunk away from her gaze slightly.

"… Thank you, by the way."

Even that small thing brought life back into Ritsuko's eyes. She smiled, ever so slightly

"No problem." She sighed. "I've always got your back."

Back inside the chamber, Asuka had reached the last area of the course. There were two platforms, the area she was standing on, and the one several degrees in front of her. A large chasm was between them, one that couldn't be resolved just by jumping. The logical solution would be webbing across, as Spider-Man typically did.

Problem was, Asuka wasn't sure if she even had that power. She hadn't been able to activate it at any point during the exercise, nor the night before. She remembered the nights on the ship where she experimented with her artificial webbing, even getting caught up in her own nest. Needless to say, Asuka felt a little naked, having spider-powers but not having one of those obvious abilities.

Then again, if they came out of her wrists, Asuka would probably slice her hands off just from the freakiness factor.

"The last round for today, Asuka." Ritsuko's voice called again. "Just clear it for now, and we'll do more tomorrow."

"I know what I'm doing!" She went to crack her back. "Scheisse, everybody's so wound up."

Asuka had seen Shinji do this many times in low quality, bad camera footage. He spread his fingers apart in a (bad, in her opinion) rock star pose, and the webbing just flew out of his hands. Easily said, but Asuka didn't know if there was some other process involved in it, or if Shinji could fire…

… anywhere else…

She shivered at that. Frankly, Asuka was better off not knowing for now. As a future scientist. Asuka was supposed to like discovering this stuff on her own terms.

"Maybe it reacts to emergency stimuli…" Asuka breathed in. Her feet picked up the pace, running. "HONEY FLASH!"

She proudly made the jump across the chasm, Asuka extended her hand, in much the same way her fellow pilot usually did, and made the same pose to launch a web of her own.

Nothing came out.

Asuka immediately banged her head against the edge of the platform, falling off so high from it that she landed face-first into the ground, groaning in pain.

"ASUKA!" Misato's voice could be heard. "Are you okay?"

"Ow… my head…" She got up, groaning as she clutched her head. "I couldn't clear that platform."

"At least we know the approximate height of how far you can jump." Ritsuko jotted it down on her notes. "No webbing? Interesting. Perhaps it's the result of a delayed mutation? Your bloodwork took weeks to finish. More tests might be in order"

"Save it, Doc. I'm not in the mood to be prodded like an animal!"

Not again.

"Very well. Misato can take you home. I'll be analyzing the data tonight."

"You did good Asuka!"

Even Maya's reassuring voice wasn't enough. The door opened to allow Asuka to leave the room. There were no cameras on her now, nothing to stop her from marching with a glaring pout on her face and anger in her footsteps.

It shouldn't make her this angry. Asuka had failed before, many times during Evangelion simulations. She just got better at it, through time and hard work. But that wouldn't be an option now, would it? She had these powers through an accident, and eventually Misato would find a way to cure her. Worse is that Asuka can do absolutely nothing with the powers given to her other than act as a freakish side attraction. See the dancing freak! She might as well rip up an animal toy for no reason, that would put a lot of attention on her.

There was also the underlying guilt that kept her from acting in any way with her abilities. What use were these if all Asuka could do was hurt people, or worse?

Asuka slammed one of her fists to a wall, leaving a sizable dent in it. She didn't notice the way her hand produced green sparks around it, or how her body seemed to react to it. Asuka was too caught up in self-pity to acknowledge such things.

"Asuka?"

At her name, she turned to find Misato at the other end of the hallway. She was frowning at her.

"How are you feeling?"

Asuka shrugged. "Fine, I guess. I don't know. Weirded out how the same day I had the worst Angel fight of my life- if you could call it a fight, honestly- I ended up with Shinji's powers. What, is my life a soap opera?"

"It's pretty crazy like that." Misato tried to laugh, but it came out more muted than she wanted. "We're all changing a little too fast for our liking."

"Ain't that the truth." Asuka frowned, letting the bangs fall over her face. "I want to go to school."

"You sure? Class is ending in an hour."

"I need some space right now… and a lot of apologies to make. Thank you, by the way."

Misato smiled. "No problem."

"… So anyway, in the middle of practice, I started blasting away at the hill. All well and good until my superior yelled at me through the comms. Turned out that my actual objective was to shoot the Angel balloon in the middle of the scene."

The group laughed at her story. Marie Vincennes was never the most humble person, but unlike her counterpart from Germany, she knew how to take a jab every once in a while. In good company. Not with strangers, though. If her friends appreciated an embarrassing story every now and then, why not give it to them? Kensuke was certainly pleased.

"Wow, being a pilot's exciting huh?" He said. "I mean, Touji and Shinji tell horror stories, but what do they know?"

"Dude, we were both in the Eva when Ikari stabbed that Angel." Touji pointed out. "He's had more experience than us; he's gotten hurt plenty."

"Sometimes, it makes me uncomfortable that the other pilots are okay with dying. I know it's for a cause, but still." Hikari said. She gave Marie a bit of a glare. "By the way, did you have anything to do with today's lecture going off the walls?"

Marie grinned at her. "What do you mean? All I wanted was a pencil."

"We thought there was a fire. Class had to be canceled because of that."

"Sorry, Class Rep, but I don't see how that's my fault."

"I'm keeping an eye on you." Hikari narrowed her eyes. "Just because you're a pilot doesn't mean you should get away with disrupting class."

"That's if you can catch me in the act." Marie winked. "Challenge accepted."

"Speaking of pilots, I wonder when Ikari or Ayanami are gonna be back?" Touji scratched his chin. "We haven't heard from them all day."

"Probably a synch test that lasted longer than normal." Kensuke's eyes widen, upon witnessing something in the distance. "Well, speak of the Devil, and they'll appear!"

Marie immediately realized what Kensuke was saying, as not only did Shinji and Rei come… but they brought Asuka in tow with them.

Her expression became razor sharp, and her mood had grown a great deal more defensive. Marie glared at the incoming Asuka. She hadn't forgotten their interaction weeks ago; that awful moment only grew worse in her mind once the pilots had been made aware of what Asuka did as Venom. Asuka's eyes may avoid looking at them now, but Marie had seen the spite she was capable of. So, Marie bared her teeth.

"What are you doing here, Soryuu?" She spat out. "You have some nerve coming back now."

The rest of the group were more mixed. Touji was also wary, as he had also been attacked by Asuka the last time he saw her, but Hikari and Kensuke were a bit more accepting. Hikari waved at her.

"Hey, Asuka… you are yourself now, right?"

Asuka nodded, but was interrupted by Touji before she could get a word in edgewise.

"I don't know what you're thinking, Red, but you're not getting away with shit! Shinji, Ayanami, I don't understand why you're with her, but she's not with us!"

Rei squeezed Asuka's shoulder, with Shinji also looking at her, letting her know she had support for this moment. Asuka then took a breath.

"… I'm sorry, Suzuhara." Asuka said. "Picking you up and throwing you around was uncalled for." She turned towards Marie. "You had it worse than him, since you were just trying to help. It was stupid of me to insult you too." She sighed harder. "I was in a… really dark place at the time, since I was angry and letting that Angel control me. None of you deserve it."

Hikari was the first to crumble, right upon hearing the Angel. "Oh, Asuka…"

"I'm not making excuses. That Angel took a bad thing and made it worse. I'm not asking you to come around or anything. I'm not that dumb. But I am sorry. That's what I'll say about that."

Possession? Was that all she had? Marie would have snarled at her, if Touji hadn't stepped up in front of them.

"That freak likes to get into our heads, bring out the worst in us." He said. Touji more than anyone understood the power of the creature. "Believe me, I get it. It ain't easy… but I forgive you, for now anyway. Devil."

He raised his hand for a handshake. Asuka stared at it for a moment, before accepting the offer, both giving each other a smirk as they shook on it.

"Devil? A bit unoriginal, isn't it? I'd rather be a Red Baron."

"I'll call you whatever I want."

"Wait, so you were Venom?" Kensuke pointed at her, completely surprised. "That explains SO MUCH, tell us what was that like, did you get any powers or- ouch!"

He had been dope slapped by Hikari, who kept her composure with a smile on her face. "We're happy to have you back, Asuka. We were worried about you."

"Thanks Hikari. Getting shot has a way of bringing perspective to a situation."

Hikari's eyes widened. "Hold on, you were shot?!"

"Long story, not in the mood." Asuka frowned at Marie. "Vincennes…"

Marie didn't say a word. She took a violent step forward and got up in front of Asuka's face, giving her a rather nasty glare.

"What happened to you sucked. I'll admit that." Marie said. "But if you think you're getting off easy from me, think again. I'm not exactly interested in forgiveness."

"I know." Asuka took her seriously. "Let's try not to get in each other's way."

"Hmrrrrr…"

Needing to do something to stop a fight from breaking out. Shinji went in between the pair.

"Alright, there isn't a need for that right now." He stated, disarming the two. "Besides, we have a slightly bigger problem you should know about."

Touji raised an eyebrow. "A problem worse than the Devil coming back? That's something I gotta see."

Asuka looked at her hand. She opened and closed the fist repeatedly, before closing her eyes for a moment. Then, Asuka opened them, making sure to look around.

"I'm going to have to show you."

She went towards a wall in the school gates and attached her fingers to it. Then, she surprised everyone except Shinji and Rei when she started climbing it. Not to a large extent, as they were in a public space, but enough to get the theoretical picture. Kensuke wished he brought his camera to take an actual picture.

"Holy- How did that happen?!" Kensuke wheezed out. "She's another Spider-Man?! Girl? Crap!"

Hikari was at a loss for words, as Touji himself came to one important realization. "I'm never going to win Basketball again."

Marie was… well, frankly, she was not happy. Of all the people to join the super powers club, it had to be the person who deserved it the least. She reached for the amulet around her neck, wondering if some of its bad luck had rubbed off on her.

Asuka dropped down. "I'm still trying to figure this out. We ran some tests but…"

"Okay, I see the problem." Kensuke adjusted his glasses. "Thankfully, I know just the place we can go to."

It was immensely ironic to be back at the warehouse where she got shot. Horribly awkward, one would say.

Asuka supposed it made sense to practice her powers in a place where nobody would think to look. Even this warehouse hadn't been used after the police confiscated the stolen equipment (along with the destroyed remains of the material Shinji and Black Cat broke, but nobody aside from the people involved knew that). Kensuke had the right idea to bring them all here.

"It's still weird to be back in this place." Asuka said. "There isn't any other spot we could find?"

"Nope!"

"Police cleared it out days ago." Touji said. "Dad was talking about it the other day at breakfast. No one's going to disturb us."

Asuka shrugged, not really in the mood for arguing. She jumped on top of a crate and then swung through the air on a chain, yelling out like she was Tarzan. Hikari was startled at the sight.

"That is quite incredible!" Hikari said. "I didn't think I'd ever see something like this in person, even knowing Shinji is Spider-Man."

"She got the hang of this real quick." Shinji frowned. "Too quick. I wonder if some of this was left over experience from…"

He shivered to himself, remembering his fight with Venom, as Kensuke brought out his camera to record the scenes. He had taken the liberty on the way to the warehouse to buy another camera, as he didn't have enough time to get his other one. His dad will be mad at him for wasting his allowance on top of the Military Warship collections he had; but it was for an important cause.

"HOLY SHIT," Kensuke recorded these scenes on his camera. "You said she got them from a blood transfusion with you, Ikari?!"

"Yeah, when she got shot we had to wheel her in the emergency room. We had the same blood type."

"So that's why she was missing for weeks!" Hikari looked at Asuka, still swinging from a chain, before sticking to another wall. "Why didn't you tell us? We thought it was some sort of NERV thing!"

"A lot of personal stuff happened there. I got better." Asuka said simply, continuing to crawl along the wall. "I don't want to talk about it."

Kensuke leaned into Shinji's ear. "So Ikari, um, you still got some of that magic blood? I might wanna give these powers a ride, you know what I'm saying?"

Shinji responded bluntly. "No."

"Daaaarnnnnn… Worth a shot." He blinked. "Figuratively, not uh, literally."

Asuka jumped back to face the others, waving her hands in the air. "Ta-da! Not too shabby, eh?"

"Not bad, Red." Touji looked down. "You're not invited to any more games, though."

"Good. It's get very tiring pretending to lose to you just to make you feel better."

"Wasn't gonna ask you to do that, Devil!"

"This is exciting!" Kensuke jumped up and down, vibrating intensely. "We should, like, get you a codename. Maybe Asuka can be Spider-Girl?"

"Oh suuure." Asuka rolled her eyes, then pointed at Shinji. "As long as he doesn't mind being called Spider-Boy."

Shinji gave her a look. "Why did you bring me into this?"

"You're an easy target."

"Not the other night."

Asuka gave him a smirk. "I think I caught you off guard more than a few times."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Nope."

"I'm pretty sure I did. I can go another round!"

"You would not succeed." Rei said. "He has the advantage, and more abilities. He can web you, for one thing. You would be outmatched."

"Bummer." Asuka shrugged. "I'll catch up eventually."

"Great, so uh, what about that codename?" Kensuke pointed out. "Not Spider-Girl, okay, but what about Spider-Woman? Arachne? Ohhh wait, how about Silk?"

She shook her head. "I'm not really interested in being a superhero, really. Too much happened for me to just accept that without question."

"Awww come on, don't you know that with power comes responsibility?"

"I said no. That's final!"

"Kensuke, knock it off. Asuka doesn't approve." Hikari said. "You seemed all on board with this not a minute ago, though."

"I just don't think it's right for me." Asuka shook her head. "I almost got killed the last time I went for it."

That was true, she did nearly die. But that wasn't the only reason.

These things weren't people. They were just target practice. Her fists were coated in red after a while.

Not by a long shot.

"But that was because you were possessed by an Angel!" Kensuke pointed out. "You're clearly in your right mind, now!"

He had broken teeth and nasty bleeding from the mouth and nose, with her right arm over him, ready to strike him again.

At Asuka's mood lowering, even Touji decided to put a stop to it.

"No, she's got a point, Ken." He said. "That Angel's crazy… I had to rest a few weeks just to get him out of my mind, but even then it's not something you can forget…"

Wow, was that gratitude that Asuka felt for the stooge? Impossible, yet there it was. Maybe it shouldn't have been that surprising, considering Suzuhara's history with that thing. If her heart was just a little wider, Asuka might have sent him a present. If.

"Touji's right." Hikari said. "You don't have to do anything if you don't want to, Asuka. You've had enough."

Marie grit her teeth at that. She had gone through enough? Not nearly enough for Marie's liking. "I'll be on my way home."

She stomped out of the warehouse, more than a little angry at the group. Nobody went after her.

"Seems like she's still mad." Touji stated the obvious. "I'm more than a little pissed too, to be honest. If I catch you doin' something funny…"

"I won't be doing any of that, thank you." Asuka involuntarily let out a yawn. "Sheesh, I'm getting tired right now."

Rei patted Asuka on the shoulder. "I believe it's best if we went home for tonight."

"Not me, there's some things I need to do." Shinji shook his head. "I still need to track down Bardiel."

Kensuke snapped his fingers. "Oh right! You think you'll need our help, or are NERV's resources enough for you?"

"If I need your help, I'll give you a call." Shinji pulled up his shirt, revealing the costume. "For now though, I need to do my thing."

Asuka watched Shinji put on the mask, and swing out of the warehouse. Rei collected the clothes from where he stood, and… Asuka hated admitting it, but her hands clutched into fists at seeing the freedom Shinji had. She was ever so close to her dream, but too cowardly to pursue it.

It was enough to drive someone mad.

In truth, Marie was glad she got a break.

She had frustrated feelings about Asuka to say the least, ones she carried in the Black Cat's swing through the night. Logically, Marie Vincennes knew that Asuka was sorry, or she was as someone like her was capable of doing. But Marie was still hurt, and deep down, she never really liked Asuka in the first place. That arrogance got on her nerves, and that trouble helping her was for nothing. Really, why bother?

Because she's too darn nice, that's why. The Cat was sooo generous that she even helps out the local crime fighter, even though he'd be the first to arrest her on sight. Marie was so lucky to have Spider-Man on her good side, even with that rather interesting first impression they shared. She wondered if Shinji would be out tonight, still trying to find that freaky alien.

Not a moment before she thought that, Marie spotted Spider-Man swinging across her direction. She smirked, before calling him out.

"Hey Spider! What's up?"

Spider-Man turned his head her way, before letting himself drop onto a rooftop. The Black Cat followed him shortly thereafter.

"Hey Cat." He scratched the back of his head, as Shinji did when he was nervous. "Tonight's been another bust. The Angel is still loose."

"Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result." The Black Cat chuckled. "You ask me, you're going to need some fresh perspective."

"But where should I go? I have NE-" He quickly caught himself. "I mean, a support team is backing me up, but with no Blue Pattern or AT-Field signature, I'm basically going blind."

"That's because you're searching every area around the surface." She said. "Have you ever thought about where a black, gooey alien abomination would find the best place to hide?"

Spider-Man thought about it. "The sewers? But I checked there already."

"It's still a more likely spot than, say, a parking lot." Marie shook her head. "Tell you what, I'll show you one place and we'll explore, then we go to a different place that you think it could be. Deal?"

"Well…" He scratched his chin. "I do need an extra pair of hands…"

"Thanks, Spider." She placed fingers on his chest and trailed it up to his chin. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to be a good kitty~"

Spider-Man was so caught off guard that he nearly fell from the edge of the rooftop, only his adhesive feet keeping him in place. He immediately coughed and collected himself.

"Whoah, sorry… not really used to that." Spider-Man nervously chuckled. "Um, I don't mind chatting, but maybe, well, keep some fingers to yourself."

Marie could tell he was blushing underneath the mask and gave him a little grin. "Sure. Now, do you want to follow?"

The two now in agreement, the Black Cat back-flipped and swung on her hookline, with Spider-Man racing behind her. To quote a favorite anime of hers, there will be no victory in strength. Numbers are needed.

After some time, the Black Cat took Spider-Man into an alleyway. Marie presumed that if she was an alien goop trying to end humanity, a likely place to find an alien would be the closest to the crime scene. She already had a bad vibe just standing around the place.

"God, this smells bad." Marie said. "I'll lift that lid open. You stand behind me and get that sonic gun ready."

"Do that." Spider-Man showed her the sonic gun he usually carried, before putting it back in the pocket. "I'm ready."

Nodding, the Black Cat went over to the sewer lid. It was a trivial task to open the thing, really, and Marie couldn't help but thank the amulet in her possession again. The old woman told her that it would grant her strength in addition to to stealing and giving luck from and to others. She went in first, bringing her feet into the dirty floor below.

"Ew, disgusting." Marie said. "I never wanted anything like that."

"Sorry." Spider-Man crawled along the ceiling, avoiding the muck. "Wish you had my wall-crawling, then we could have avoided that."

She glared at the boy. "Cheeky."

"I try to be!"

Rolling her eyes, Marie stomped her boots into the strange muck. The place already smelled horrendous as expected from the sewers, but the last thing she wanted to do was to clean up the suit after taking it to the dry cleaners today. It wasn't easy washing that thing! Taking a few more steps, Marie could definitely feel the grimy muck getting stuck to her boots.

"Ugh. So much for cleanliness."

"If it helps, it isn't too much better here either." Spider-Man said. He landed next to another lid on the wall. "Hm, haven't seen anything yet."

He took out the lid and went inside that hole, as Marie sighed.

"Maybe if I just… hurry up. Yeah, just get out of here as quickly as possible-"

Something slithered up her leg. Something in the muck was moving, and Marie picked on that right away.

"Okay, shoo, shoo."

She lowered her hand to rub the muck off, only to find her fingers caught in it. The goo immediately ran across the hand, over her shoulder, as her entire body was now being covered. Marie realized what was happening, and went to rip out the slime on her costume, to no avail.

"DAMN IT! SPIDER-MAN, HELP!" She screamed. "Get off of me, you piece of shit!"

How did this thing even find her here? It was a complete coincidence they came across Bardiel inside this particular sewer area. Or was it? Did it lie in wait specifically for this moment? Marie knew she wasn't going to get an answer, not as a voice suddenly became clearer in her head.

"Marie Vincennes. Back-up pilot, annoying cat burglar, an unwanted addition… that is what you think of yourself, is it not?"

"Oh no, it talks!" Marie scratched off parts of her costume, only it kept regenerating. "Please, someone save me from a monster that sounds like a British guy's bad imitation of an American! A really rough and growly one!"

"Cute. Unfortunately, your thoughts still betray you. You are but a meat puppet, a slave to others' will. That is all you shall be."

"NO YOU DON'T ASSHOLE, I REFUSE TO HAVE A SLIMEY McCREEPERTON ASSUME DIRECT CONTROL OVER MY BODY!"

Marie continued her struggle against the symbiote. Thankfully, the amulet was able to prevent Bardiel from taking complete control, as its properties prevented direct assimilation of the flesh. Even so, he still kept talking, like a viper to the snake.

"Your amulet is quite annoying, I will give you that. No matter. It will not give what you want."

"I got plenty of jewels. I don't know what you else you could possibly give me! Now GET OUT!"

"Are you sure there isn't something else you want? How fair is it that Asuka is allowed to go free while you're hunted? Shouldn't you have all the prettiest jewels in the world? The freedom to do whatever you please…?"

She wasn't a stupid person, not normally anyway. Marie knew that he was lying; that he was just trying to get into her mind. If she allowed Bardiel any space, it was game over for all of humanity.

"No! No I won't!"

"You won't be a coward anymore… You won't be- GAAAAAHHHHH!"

Thankfully for the Black Cat, Spider-Man had the sonic gun trained on her just in time to stop Bardiel's attack. It slithered off of Marie in an instant, crawling along the floor pathetically.

"Cat, out of the way! You don't wanna be in the line of fire!"

He aimed his sound gun and fired at Bardiel, who kept jumping around the place. Marie clutched her head and waited by the wall, trying to get her bearings as Shinji tried to get a proper lock on.

"Just stay still!" Spider-Man yelled. "We'll get you a nice comfy place at the lab! Then maybe put you in the incinerator for what you did!"

The symbiote refused to stay still, however, and quickly devised a plan. A single dodge and, instead of hitting it, the sonic gun ended up zapping a pillar down. Cracks could be heard, and Shinji realized right away that if something didn't happen the ceiling would collapse! Thus, not making the smartest of moves, Spider-Man placed the sonic gun back in its holster to web the pillar shut.

Bardiel could have used this moment to get away. It had done a perfect job evading thus far. However, with the opportunity ever so close in hand…

"Jackpot."

The symbiote soon sprang forth and attached itself to Spider-Man's body. Shinji hardly even noticed it, not with his effort being put into stopping the pillar from collapsing, but even he couldn't deny it as soon as Bardiel began to take over his mind.

"Hello, Shinji." Bardiel's dark voice came back. "I was aiming for the girl, but your body will do ever so nicely."

Shinji's eyes widened in horror. He tried to fight, scratching at the suit the same way Marie did, only it wasn't working. Unless Shinji also had a magic amulet that he could use to cheat, he was a sitting duck!

"No… please no! STOP! YOU WON'T HURT ANYONE WHILE I- AAAAAAAAGGHHHH!"

Marie's eyes were glazed over. She could only hear the sound of Shinji's horrible, pained screams and the scrunching of machinery. Focusing her eyes more, Marie realized two terrible things: the sonic gun was destroyed and… and…

Spider-Man had been compromised.

"Cat… find help…" A weak, sad voice came from the hulking monstrosity that towered over her. "Call NERV, Asuka, anyone… GRRAAAAAAAHHH!"

The monster jumped upwards, bursting towards the surface while leaving giant hole on top of the ceiling. The Black Cat knew her luck would have run out eventually, but this? This was truly the worst case scenario.

"My God…" Marie said. "It… it has Shinji… I can't fight it… I can't fight that."

It pained her to admit, but she needed help. There was only one person in this city who could be useful right about now…

Asuka laid her head on top of her arms, just staring at the ceiling in contemplation.

She was in the living room. Misato had already left to do the paperwork at NERV, so Asuka was left to her own devices. Tonight, she chose to be introspective. Asuka had practiced her powers twice today, once at NERV, the other at the warehouse with her… friends? Hikari was her friend, Asuka guessed Rei and Shinji were her best friends, but the stooges? Marie? They weren't there, not yet.

The practice at NERV ended in failure, no two buts about it. She had done the course well enough, up until the point she couldn't do the jump and worried everyone. Asuka never liked failure. It was the first thing she condemned herself for. At least doing those stunts in front of her friends felt a lot less stressful. She didn't have anything to lose with them; no walls built up to impress them beyond what she could do.

"But what was the point of it, though? What am I really doing?"

That was the question at the forefront of her mind. Her powers weren't going to be used for much else at this rate, nor was Asuka unreluctant to use them. Her time as Venom proved, she was too flawed to be anyone's hero, not like idiot Shinji, who somehow effortlessly made people love him. Asuka was always a problem child, and thus was reluctant to take on responsibility so soon.

"They're hiding secrets from me." Asuka surmised. "They're not hiding it to ruin me, but they're dumb if they think I haven't noticed."

They were a goody two-shoes pairing, most likely trying to protect her from further agony. However, Asuka was tired of being treated as an animal. She wanted, if nothing else, than to be let on their secrets. Asuka hoped she would have the privilege of that, at least.

The door rang, much to Asuka's chagrin.

"Coming!"

She knew who it could have been at the door before opening it. Rei Ayanami was with Asuka the whole day, and there she was again, right outside, waiting for her.

"Hello."

"Hi." Asuka blinked. "Gonna come in?"

"Affirmative."

She let Rei inside, taking her to the living room to sit her down. Rei brushed a bit of her hair off her face, as Asuka shifted uncomfortably. The two hadn't had a private discussion in a while. Even yesterday, Rei was with Shinji most of the way home. Rei had said she forgave Asuka, but Asuka herself wasn't sure if she was ready to forgive herself, let alone accept that Rei was being sincere when she said it.

It was a mess of feelings, for both of them.

"Today was crazy, wasn't it?" Asuka started. "I don't even know what I'm supposed to do now."

"What do you mean?"

"My powers. What should I do now that I have them? According to Misato, there's only one more Angel afterwards and Shinji still has a goal once it's all over. He's still going to be a superhero."

"You did not want to be a superhero." Rei pointed out. "That is what you said, correct?"

"I know what I did as Venom. I don't want to go through that again…" Asuka blinked. "Can I ask you a question?"

Rei nodded. "Go ahead."

"You were… born to be a pilot. I mean, you were also born to facilitate an apocalypse that would turn everyone into… whatever, that's not important. I was going to ask about… well, do you feel like you ever earned anything?"

"I do not know what you mean." Rei tilted her head. "The purpose I was made for was to fight the Angels and to cause Third Impact on Ikari's terms. I never thought of such things in terms of privilege. It would have been a waste to do so."

"Sorry." Asuka shook her head. "I guess it's just… I have these powers now, and it feels great to have them, not going to lie, but… I got these from Ikari, in a blood transfusion caused by a dumb mistake I made. It's stupid to think like this, but… it doesn't feel right."

"You feel as though you have not earned them?"

"Maybe? I wish I knew what I wanted to do with them, though, but with what kind of person I am, what am I supposed to do?"

"You are not a bad person, Asuka." Rei said. "Is that why you are afraid?"

"Can you blame me? Last time I had powers, I went on a psychotic breakdown and got myself shot. I don't think I'm cut out for it."

"Or do you not feel worthy of it?"

"…"

Asuka brought her knees up in a crouch. Rei scooted closer to her, placing her hands on Asuka's cheeks to make her see her face.

"I am not saying you are wrong to worry, Asuka." Rei admitted. "However, you are being misguided in your thought process. From Bardiel's memories, you should already know that Shinji did not earn his power either. He got them in an accident. There were probably more than many times he did not feel worthy, but still kept being Spider-Man because he knows only he has the power and the opportunity to use them. I believe that, should you decide to do it, you could do the right thing. You only need a chance."

"I don't know, Rei… I don't even trust myself…"

"Very well. I was simply stating my opinion." Rei smiled. "You are not perfect, and neither is Ikari. He nearly killed the Scorpion creature that hospitalized me for a time, yet he still kept going. I do not see why you should be robbed of similar opportunities."

Asuka smiled back at her. "You… make too much sense, sometimes."

"I do a lot of thinking. Mostly inside the entry plug."

A spark came between them in that moment. Asuka and Rei looked at each others lips, frowning in contemplation. They leaned in, their faces getting closer, their lips parting…

Until Rei pulled away. Asuka blinked in confusion, seeing the other girl look away.

"No, not yet."

"H-Huh?" Asuka shook her head. "Right, yeah too soon. Sorry."

"Understand, I did want to, but-" Rei breathed. "I do not believe I am ready. Not yet."

"Hey, when you are, you are. No pressure on my account."

God, it was painful, because it wasn't a rejection, but they also knew the baggage that came with it and neither were willing to step on each others toes. Asuka lowered her legs from the sofa to the floor, while Rei kept a bit of distance from her.

"So.…" Asuka took the remote from the floor. "Do you want to watch anything or…?"

Just then, they heard a loud thud coming from the balcony. Asuka and Rei turned their heads in that direction, the former dropping the remote.

"The shit?!"

Neither knew the person wearing a skin-tight catsuit that barged into their apartment like she owned the place. The Black Cat, however, definitely knew them. She let out a breath of relief.

"Listen, I don't have time to explain-"

"You will make the time." Rei pointed at her. "Or else we will call Section-2."

"Any reason why we shouldn't just arrest this thief?!"

"I want to hear her out."

"Come on, there isn't much time!" Black Cat yelled at them. "I need to get a hold of your Guardian right now or else-"

She saw Asuka picking up a phone and beginning to dial it. Marie, reluctantly, sighed and waved her hands.

"Okay, fine! I'm the Black Cat, professional cat burglar of Tokyo-3-"

"Not exactly filling us with confidence!"

"Listen! I'm friends with Spider-Man, and I need to find Major Katsuragi because we found the Angel inside of a sewer and it's POSSESSED SPIDER-MAN so God help me, I need to get someone or else we're all going to die!"

Both of the pilots were startled. Asuka readied her phone, but Rei stopped.

"I believe her." Rei said. "Let her finish."

"Bullshit, there's no way she could be telling the truth! Did he even tell you about-"

"Yes, quite a few times." Rei turned back towards Black Cat. "Katsuragi isn't here, though we can send her a message."

"Good." Black Cat breathed. "I think he's headed towards the Highway. I can't fight him by myself. Do you have any weapons or something?"

"None."

Marie noticed Asuka's hesitation. She didn't even offer herself up for a fight. Having her opinion solidified, she then got up from the floor.

"Try to reach her in any way you can. I'm going to try to stall him as much as possible, but I don't know if I'll be enough."

Before she left, however, Asuka grabbed her arm.

"Hold on, you can't just fight that thing! It'll kill you!"

Ripping her arm away from the offending grasp, the Black Cat glared at the other girl, baring her teeth.

"Maybe. But if I don't do something, who will? You? I'm not going to leave anybody behind. What do you want?"

Asuka took a step back from this, reeling as the Black Cat ran out from the balcony and disappeared into the night. Asuka couldn't shake the feeling there was something about the thief that was achingly familiar.

"…"

"You want to go after Bardiel."

Leave it to Rei to clear the air. She could be blunt when trying to get a point. Asuka always loved that about her, even as the realization made her lower her head.

"… Yeah." Asuka stated the obvious. "It's not my fault he's free, I know that, but he's out there and… I feel like I have to stop him somehow."

"Why does it need to be you?" Rei asked. "Katsuragi and the others have the means to defeat the Angel. Why do you need to fight?"

Asuka stopped herself, really considering the question. Her hands balled into fists.

"Because it's my responsibility! I listened to him, almost ruined everything for myself, definitely ruined everything for someone else. You told me I needed a chance, right? Maybe this is it… the only way I could maybe do something to correct my mistakes."

Rei looked down, lost in thought. Eventually, she sighed.

"There is no stopping you once you get like that… In that case, come with me."

She took Asuka with her to Shinji's room. A brief trip around the room, and Rei managed to find a spare Spider-Man mask on the desk.

"We do not have the luxury of a proper costume. The mask will suffice." Rei told Asuka. "You said you had web shooters, correct? Use them. It will be necessary."

Asuka tried to stop her. "Rei, are you actually okay with this or are you-"

"I worry about you. But also, I believe in you."

She moved her head and laid a soft kiss on Asuka's cheek. Asuka recoiled from this random moment, unused to such affection from… anyone. With that bit of inspiration, Asuka quickly turned to find her web shooters and some spare clothes.

If nothing else, Asuka wasn't going to let Rei be disappointed in her.

The Kurenjingu Highway was the quickest path to NERV and Bardiel wasn't going to waste any time.

Bardiel had been planning his revenge for weeks. Crawling through the sludgy, putrid human sewer system with only a shred of dignity after abandoning that annoying, insufferable red headed menace for its own survival, Bardiel was more than happy with this change of fortune. At first he had planned on getting the Black Cat, since her bad luck powers would have been useful in infiltrating NERV, but that magical amulet was evidently too powerful for him.

Luckily him, he struck gold possessing the actual Spider-Man himself. That boy had ruined his previous plans for far too long, so he would make the perfect tool for the Angel's vengeance.

"I will use you to get into NERV Headquarters, then activate the self-destruct! Father, Mother and THE REST OF THE HUMANS WILL BURN TO THE GROUND, while I TRIUMPH AT LAST! NO ONE WILL EVER INSULT ME AGAIN!"

The new Venom smashed his way down the Highway, relishing the fear of the crowd as they tried to run away. Many of those pathetic humans left their cars unattended, running away from him as fast as they could. One even abandoned her child to die inside of her car. What a wonderful species, choosing their own survival over cooperation.

"That's what you have been fighting for, Ikari! A stupid, rotten species that will betray and kill one another for their own selfish ends!"

"No… you won't get away with this!" Shinji said, struggling to regain control over his body. "They're not all like that, and we can stop you!"

"Even if they could, they can't do shit to me! Not while I have you inside me! How does it feel to be helpless, Ikari? I certainly felt that way when you BURNED ME ALIVE back then! Now, you will not be able to stop my revenge! NO ONE CAN!"

"GRRAAAAGGHHH!"

"Now silence you… I'll take care of us."

Whatever words Shinji had, they were unable to be said. Bardiel made sure to silence him effectively, as he would rather do anything than listen to any more brats.

Venom punched a hole into one of the cars, and threw it onto the panicked crowd, laughing like a manic hyena. Bardiel had to admit, after being picked on for being the weakest member of the family, it felt fantastic to have this power! He felt smug about the fact that he survived as long as he had. If he had his way, Bardiel would merge with one his parents just to gloat at his siblings for their failures.

But frankly, he was tired of doing favors for anyone. Bardiel had a whole world to conquer now, he was free from his family to do whatever he pleased. Shinji's futile gasps did nothing for him now, now did the panicked shrieking of the humans that dared to stare at him in horror. Venom relished in this newfound confidence. His massive, monstrous form only barely resembled any of his previous forms, more closer to a wrestler than the lithe form of Spider-Man; only the white eyes and spider-symbol denoted who he was, with his mouth parting to bare sharp, grinning teeth. He marched toward them.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! SCREAM! SCREAM AWAY, YOU PRANCING MONKEYS! BEHOLD YOUR SUPERIOR, YOUR NUMBER ONE SAVIOR! VENOM HAS COME AT LAST, HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Excuse me, operator. I'd like to switch my Savior to another modem! I'm thinking we could use more Spider-Man than Venom."

Venom turned his head around. "Sorry, dear customer, we don't do take backs."

The Black Cat had dropped down into the street, ready to face her opponent. Venom had to admit, even though he could smell the fear on Vincennes' body, she did have the guts to confront him, rather than run away like a coward. That took guts, especially for a thief. She raised her hands towards him, her fingers seemingly sharper than they were before. Like they were claws.

"If it isn't the life of the party! Why don't you take us somewhere nice? We heard NERV has a nice swimming pool down by the Eva cages."

"Sorry, smelling like blood is a bit of a turn off." Marie kept her own (fake) grin. "Maybe if you cooled off a bit, we could take a nice quiet stroll around the park. Leave your bad half behind in the fire, Ikari!"

"Oh ho, you know one of our names? That's soooo interesting, HAHAHAHAHAHA! Sadly for you, the only thing we're leaving behind is this WORTHLESS PLANET!"

Venom swung a fist at Black Cat, who ran across his shoulder and scratched his eyes out.

"GRAGH! STAY STILL!"

She landed behind him, moving swiftly to avoid getting stomped on by the monster. His foot made the mistake of crashing through the floor, leaving an opportunity for the Black Cat to jump atop his back. She swiped at his neck, burying her clawed hands deep to try to find the boy inside.

"NO!"

"Fight it, Shinji! You're better than this creep! You can do it!"

"GRRRRR- Cat!" Venom's voice switched from its usual growl into a softer, kinder voice. "You can't get close, he's going to pull something!"

"I can't just leave you in there!" Marie said. "It's my fault, and I'm going to save you!"

"Oh Cat… you're such a good kitty… and so stupid."

Venom simply grabbed her, throwing her harshly into the ground. He went to stomp on her again, but the Cat rolled out of the way, pushing herself far from his range. Venom's frustration increased with every passing second, so he impatiently threw more punches around to try to beat her, but the Black Cat was nothing if not elegant in the way she moved. Marie stuck her tongue out at him.

"Can't hit me~ Too slow!"

That infuriating wench! If only he could kill her right then, but Bardiel can't simply unleash death from his eyes the way some of his siblings can. If only he inherited that ability from his family. This entire little adventure would have turned out completely different.

"Cheeky. I know you're afraid of us!"

Venom picked up one of the cars, aiming it right at Cat. He grinned upon seeing civilians behind her.

"Now listen carefully! You could dodge this, or let it hit one of those precious, stupid people!"

Marie turned her head around, realizing that Venom was right. She sighed.

"Well, everyone runs out of lives some time…"

"That's right! Heh." Venom chuckled to himself. "So long, Kitty Cat! No one's going to miss you!"

Marie closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. If it had to be her or them, she would at least be satisfied. Her friends at Nevada disappeared into the unknown… maybe she will too. Marie raised her hands to face death…

Only, it never came.

Instead, Marie opened her eyes, and the car was being carried by someone else. A girl, roughly the same size as her, used both of her hands to lower the car onto the street. This girl wore a red jacket, sweatpants, and a set of black gloves. To anyone who knew her, the Spider-Man mask didn't do a good enough job of keeping her recognizable red hair from leaking out.

"Asuka?"

Marie said her name in a breathless whisper. Asuka didn't stop to catch her breath, instead pointing at the monster that threatened everyone.

"Hey, asshole!" She yelled at him. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size? Or at least someone who could take you in a fight."

Venom smirked, ever so deliciously. "Isn't this interesting? The prodigal daughter returns. How's the bullet wound?"

"Pretty good, actually." Asuka got into a fighting stance. "You won't be."

She jumped and landed a kick on Venom's cheek, which surprisingly brought him down. He recovered enough that he summoned a tentacle to attack her, but Asuka not only slid out of the way, but the Black Cat swiped her clawed hand at his side, distracting him. Together, the two of them danced around Venom, making sure not to get hit while planning their strategy.

"What do we do?" Marie asked, swiping at one of Venom's legs to slow him down. "He trashed the Sonic gun, we won't be able to stop him at this rate!"

"Rei called NERV." Asuka answered while punching Venom's back, moving again. "Misato's going to send in a team to take him down. We just need to hold off until they get here!"

"As if we'd let you do anything like that!" Venom called out. "TRASH LIKE YOU MEANS NOTHING TO ME!"

In an instant, he grabbed Marie and threw her directly at Asuka, which hurtled them across the street. As they stopped to recuperate, Venom picked up another car to throw at them.

"DIE!"

Asuka realized what was going to happen. "OUT OF THE WAY!"

She pushed Black Cat out of the way, allowing the car to crash into her, and through the lane onto the street. Time slowed down as Asuka gripped the car with her hands. She spun a web as quickly as she could, carrying the car in one hand while holding the web with the other.

"Oh my God…" Asuka said to herself. "This is goddamn torture!"

Luckily, she had made special adjustments to the webbing over the months in Tokyo-3 to support heavy objects. Asuka had intended to show this to potential companies, but it seems it had to be used for this instead. Asuka attached the car to the web, keeping it in place. Thankfully, no one else was in the car, so she was free to go back up to where the fight was. The hope was that whatever team NERV was sending would clear the streets before the hour passed.

"Alright, you piece of shit." She screamed. "Get ready!"

Venom seemed to have been caught by surprise, as Asuka landed a kick at his torso, sending him reeling into more cars.

"Grrrrr, why won't you STAY DEAD?!" Venom shouted at her. "Fine, then how about play catch with these!"

He smashed through two more cars with his hands, not caring about the fire bursting from the broken engines, and threw them in opposite directions on the Highway. Asuka knew she had to act fast.

"Keep him busy, Cat!" She yelled at her comrade. "He's not making this easy!"

"Right!"

The Black Cat dashed towards Venom, leaving Asuka to take care of business. She first jumped towards one, attaching another web to keep it steady in the air. She then immediately dashed under the high way to catch the other car in mid flight using both hands.

"Ugggghhhh, fuck I hate this!" It felt like torture for Asuka. "How does that idiot do it?"

She steadied it to the ground, not leaving much damage to the car. Well, not any more damage than what Venom gave it. The driver should probably get a NERV paid insurance eventually. Eventually.

Asuka quickly zipped up in the air, soon catching onto the fact that Venom was running away from the fight. Even though he ran as fast as he could, the Black Cat was not too far behind him.

"He's on his way to NERV!" Black Cat told Asuka. "Follow us, we're gonna need to work together to stop him!"

"No problem, I'm going right over!"

This was the chance she needed. Maybe with that monster beaten, Asuka could let go of the anger she felt over being used the way she had been before. Maybe she can finally be more than a doll, or an angry child who could only cause problems. Maybe, now, she can truly be…

"SOMEBODY HELP! HELP!"

Asuka let out a groan of frustration. She turned to find an older woman, brown hair, and blue eyes, pointing over one of the broken holes in the lane. This older woman was startled, bawling her eyes out.

"What do you want?" Asuka shouted at her. "I'm kind of a little busy here!"

"M-my baby!" The older woman said in between sobs. "My baby girl, she's trapped inside one of those cars! She's going to burn in there!"

Asuka shook her head, hesitating. As bad as it was for that woman, Asuka needed to focus on fighting Bardiel. He was a threat, a danger to the entire planet. and a liar that betrayed her trust; one that she was responsible for enabling; one that she needed to stop. She had to let this woman down, gently, make her understand…

She had to… to…

The older woman was on the verge of a breakdown. "Please, you're the only one who can save her! We don't know where Spider-Man is!"

Without hesitation, Asuka began to scurry towards one of the cars. She called out to the woman-

"I'll save your kid, just hang on for a moment!"

Asuka climbed down the web she made to keep the car afloat. She could see that the flames around the car were growing significantly. She had to act fast, or else the car could explode, taking her and the kid inside with it. So, with her sharp, razor-fast movements, Asuka reached the car and punched the rear window. It didn't take a moment for Asuka to find a little girl in the front seat, who looked like she had been crying the entire time.

The little girl also had brown hair and blue eyes, just like her mother. She was also afraid.

"I'm so scared… I'm so scared" The girl said. "Mommy please…"

Asuka cursed her luck that she had to deal with a little girl. She never had much interaction with children, as they were annoying little things that demanded your attention even as they spit and laughed at you (not even Hikari's sister Nozomi was safe from that), but Asuka needed to do something to convince her to leave.

"Hey! Hey kid!" Asuka called towards her. "Your mom's waiting for you up there. You need to look at me, listen to me!"

It got the girl's attention. She stopped her crying to stare at Asuka.

"You're Spider…?"

"Not exactly." Asuka shook her head. "I'm his friend though."

"Really?"

"Yes. Come on, get out of there!"

"But… it's too hot and I'm worried I'll get burned… I can't…" The girl sniffed. "I'm so sorry! Mommy help me!"

Asuka got frustrated. "Please, we need to go! We'll blow up if we stay here, move it!"

Her voice only made the girl continue to cry. Asuka shook in frustration, wondering if there was something, ANYTHING she could do to get this kid out of the car. The flames were getting hotter by the second, so she needed to act fast. She scratched the back of her head due to an itch, but the mask got in the way.

The mask. Asuka blinked underneath it, realizing one strategy she could do.

"Hey kid, look at me."

Upon getting the little girl's attention again, Asuka dared to do something brave. Slowly, but steadily, she take off her mask, presenting her face towards the girl. She smiled at her.

"You see this thing?" Asuka pointed at the mask. "This right here? It keeps me safe, helps me be brave. It's like a wall between you and the world. Right now, I'm gonna need you to put this on so you can face the fire with me. Come on, I know you can do it."

She handed the mask over to the girl, who seemed to stare at it in an odd gaze. The girl took the mask for herself, slowly placing it on her head, and letting it fall just before her neck.

"Great, you're doing so good." Asuka waved her hands. "Now come on. We can do this. We should get out of here in no time."

Without wasting a breath, the little girl climbed onto Asuka's shoulders. Asuka carried her off on her back up the web, letting the car fall to the ground to burn. Asuka carefully climbed up the web, making sure to do it in such a way that it helped the girl feel brave. Just before they reached the top-

"Thanks, buddy. You did great." Asuka said. "I'd like to have it now. I'm going to need it for my fight."

The little girl happily nodded, returning it without a second thought. As soon as Asuka pulled them over, the older woman came rushing towards them.

"MY BABY" The older woman fiercely hugged her daughter. "MY SWEET ANGEL, come to my arms!"

"Momma!"

Asuka took a break, crouching next to the mother and daughter pair, watching the moment unfold before her. She felt an odd pang in her heart.

"Oh my baby, I'm so sorry. We're together now."

"Momma… I was so scared… I didn't know what to do, until she saved me…"

"Yes she did, you are safe now. I'm here, I won't leave you. I promise."

When did she get so sentimental? Asuka clutched her chest, wondering how those two could ignore the world around them, the mother hugging her daughter so close like she was a doll- no, that wasn't right to say. The way the mother's eyes shimmered in pride, Asuka knew that she loved her daughter with all her heart. It was enough for Asuka to be content, knowing the little girl wouldn't be alone. Not this time.

At that moment, the mother turned her face towards her.

"Thank you, thank you giving my daughter back to me!" She said. "Who are you, truly? Are you a friend of Spider-Man's?"

In a moment of instinct, she almost said her name, before stopping herself. The mask protected her, Asuka allowing the mother to see the mixed emotions in her eyes as she went to find an appropriate response.

"You could say that, yeah. I'm the Scarlet Spider." Asuka decided, finally. "See you around."

She launched a web and swung away. As much as Asuka wished she could bask in that moment, stay in it forever, she had somewhere she needed to be, a mistake to rectify, and a future that needed saving. The memory of tonight burned into her mind, probably for the rest of her life. Fate would have had mother and daughter separated forever, but found their way back because she chose to be there, rather than stay at home.

Perhaps that was the responsibility that came with great power.

The Geo-Front was under intense lockdown.

Misato had seen to that, after getting the call from Rei. The hallways were on red alert, with several security blast doors sealed shut to stall the creature, at least for a time. NERV was built to withstand an invasion from a military force should the worst case scenario ever come. For Misato, it already happened when she learned Shinji had been the one possessed by the symbiote.

"I already sent a squad to search the Highway." She told the other occupants in the room. "For now, we have to stand our guard."

Maya and Ritsuko nodded in agreement. They each carried a flamethrower in case Bardiel did breach the perimeter. The doctor had wisened up from her earlier assessment a month ago; the next time she saw the Angel, she would burn it to death, once and for all.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you two." Ritsuko told them. "We need to stick together if we want to survive."

"Right. Just don't do anything dumb, Ritsuko." Maya said, forcing a smile. "We just got done with the paperwork, we don't want to burden Misato with more if we end up losing right?"

Ritsuko laughed at what she said. If nothing else, Misato was glad they could find relief in the moment. They had a tough battle ahead… Misato didn't want to think about the possible sacrifices that would come with that.

"Rei told us that Asuka went to fight that monster." Misato said. "Goddamn it, I'm going to lose both of my wards… my kids…"

"No you're not." Maya said. "We saw the test simulations. Asuka can absolutely take care of herself, and Rei is staying behind at your apartment where it's safe. Shinji's trapped but…"

"We have the means to free him from the Angel." Ritsuko interjected. "No one is going to be sacrificed."

Misato raised an eyebrow. "Is that my friend talking? Or the scientist?"

"Both." Ritsuko sighed. "We've beaten the odds before, we'll do it again."

For a brief second, Ritsuko wondered what she would do if she had spider powers, like the ones that Shinji and Asuka demonstrated. The first thing she thought would be to kill Gendo with them. That sounded like an amazing idea… For the first couple of seconds, before Ritsuko shook her head, realizing that it would have caused too many problems in the long run, additionally realizing that thinking was along similar lines to her mother. She wanted to be nothing like her mother.

They heard a loud crash in the distance. Maya was the first to be startled, pointing her flamethrower in the direction of the sound.

"What's the crash?!" She shouted. "Where?!"

Misato picked up her own flamethrower. "I'll take point, you follow me."

To that end, she went out the door first. It was quiet down out there, only the blaring red lights giving off signs of life around the area. A delusional man would say there was no chance of an Angel being able to sneak in undetected. That man would have been spat upon by the survivors of the Matsushiro incident. Misato kept herself still on edge, in case there truly was something lurking in the shadows.

"Hmmm…"

Ritsuko and Maya followed suit. The three surrounded each other, covering for potential weaknesses as they walked down the hall. There was fear, rage, and determination across their every movement; the knowledge that any of them could die and lead to the destruction of the human race drove the pair.

"Come out, already." Maya said. "We're not going to lose our world to the likes of you. We've beaten back all of your brethren!"

"Maya…" As much as Ritsuko wanted to compliment her girlfriend for her bravery, now wasn't the time. "It could attack at any time. Don't provoke it."

Something lowered from the ceiling, the three unaware of what was to come.

"We have the flamethrowers. We can beat him!"

"We're also going in blind! The MAGI can't detect the Angel no matter how much our sensors have been active.

Misato rolled her eyes, ready to quiet them down. The thing went behind her, aiming for the waist.

"We need to focus!" She yelled at her co-workers. "Don't get distracted right now, what if he makes a move while we're fighting-"

In a snap, a tendril caught Misato around her waist, raising her into the air, forcing her to drop the nozzle of the flamethrower. Upon hearing a louder crash, the two other humans drew their guns upon the hulking, brutish monster, only relenting upon seeing Misato captured in his hand.

"Dr. Akagi, Ibuki, glad to see you here." Venom grinned. "I wouldn't point that at us, Misato never did like barbecue, HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Misato tried to fight back. She kicked his face, which only made Venom laugh harder.

"Hahahaha, Shinji always said you were feisty."

A pair of footsteps were coming closer. Venom kept his attention on it, even as he allowed Misato to yell at him.

"Save it! What did you do to him?!"

They were coming closer. He needed only one more moment.

"We had some counseling and came to a new agreement… now, we're together forever, hahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHA!"

In an instant, one of his tendrils slammed the intruder to a wall. Venom turned around, becoming excited to find a tired Black Cat bleeding from her nose.

"Aw, poor lil kitty got lost? Ha, such heroic nonsense from a thief! How you survived this long is astounding."

"I haven't used up all my nine lives yet." Marie spat. "Besides, it's bad for business if Earth gets destroyed. All the world's jewels are mine, after all."

"I believe you're mistaken. Why would I want Earth destroyed? Nah. I left that part behind me."

Ritsuko kept her flamethrower trained on Venom, waiting for an opportunity to blast him with it. Unfortunately, as long as he had Misato in front of them, neither her nor Maya could do anything. So Ritsuko stalled for time.

"Oh?" She asked. "Then what are you here for? What could an Angel like you want with us?"

"I'm here for payback. All of our family were humiliated by you worthless, petty humans, me included! Once I finish off the cat, first I'll kill Misato off, then you, then everyone in this damn base, then just for fun, if I see that miserable excuse for a host, I'll kill Rei in front of her, just to let her know how WEAK she truly is in the grand scheme of things!"

Maya took a step back. "That's so… so petty! You're an advanced intelligent lifeform, but all you c-can think to do is this!" Her voice grew an octave, getting angrier by the second. "Shame on you! You're no better than the humans you deride!"

At that, Venom's grin dropped to a furious scowl.

"By nature of what we are, I am better!" Bardiel snarled through the mass. "You stupid ingrates wouldn't understand our power! We are Venom, we are superior, we are-"

"A selfish monster!" Maya continued. "You're just another rotten, stupid jackass who flexes his might and runs away when someone fights back! You have all this freedom, separated from your so-called family and what do you do? Take over teenagers and make them fight for you! You're pathetic!"

"She's right you know."

A web attached to his back, before the newly christened Scarlet Spider kicked Venom down, forcing him to drop Misato. Ritsuko went to support her friend as Asuka stood over the monster.

"Look at you." She spat. "You're trying to get revenge for something you did to yourself, and got the dorks involved! You're a parasite."

"You're still here?" Venom snarled, launching himself towards her. "We thought you ran away like you always did!"

However, Asuka wasn't having any more of this. She ducked below him and decked his chin across a wall, smashing him through an office and into another hallway.

"Me? Running away?" Asuka cracked her knuckles. "It's crazy to hear the kind of things that come out of the King of Projection."

Venom picked himself up. "Why you-"

She then grabbed him by the collar and started whaling on him, beating his face in with her punches. Asuka kept punching, and punching, and punching. until Venom tried to clobber her.

"Stop it!" He missed his chance, as she flipped out of the way of his attack and behind him. "We- I'll get you- I'll- GAH!"

"You shut up! I let myself fall for your lies, but not any more!" She threw him to another wall, continuing to wear him down with her punches. "You used me! You used the stooge! You're using Shinji right now! You're another freak, no different from the other Angels! No different from your parents!"

She pounded his head. Her hands started to glow green.

"I'm gonna make sure you won't EVER hurt anyone again! Not ever, EVER, AGAIN!"

She hit him again. Bardiel was starting to feel the energy pulsing through her hands, and panicked.

"Please no-!"

Hit.

"Stop-"

Hit.

"We'll do any-"

Hit.

"STOP-"

HIT.

"STOP IT! STOOOOP-"

PUNCH!

A sizable green blast erupted from Asuka's hands. The intensity temporarily blinded her, but Asuka could tell she had won. She rubbed her eyes, trying to regain her sight as she heard the noises around her.

"Security!" Asuka recognized Misato's voice. "We need your help! The Angel is in the building!"

"Thank God, we thought we were goners."

"Is that Ikari over there…?"

"Asuka-!"

She felt a forceful hug upon her. Asuka wondered who it was, until she heard the voice.

"I'm so happy you're alive." Maya said tearfully. "Thank you for coming through for us. Truly."

Asuka awkwardly hugged her back. "No problem…"

Nothing more could be said. Upon further regaining her sense of self, Asuka realized what she had done. The side effect of her blast forced the symbiote from Shinji's body, allowing Bardiel to slither away as the boy lay on the floor. Thankfully, Shinji was still in his costume, rather than being naked like what happened with Touji or herself. Black Cat helped him up.

"Oh, my head…" Shinji clutched his head. "Asuka…?"

"Wrong person, but nice try." Marie said. She turned towards the actual pilot of Unit 02. "Not bad, Asuka. We could have used the green blast earlier, but we did save the day. Somewhat."

Maya let go of Asuka, allowing her to take a look at her hands. Asuka glared at them, trying to will the energy back into those hands. Such as is common in reality, they wouldn't appear.

"I was lucky, that's it. I need better luck next time." Asuka said. "We can't let that monster get away, not while we have it trapped in the base!"

"He's still loose." Ritsuko mentioned, coming through to their side. "We have the flame throwers, but the Angel is probably still on the loose."

"We'll find him. Somehow." The fact that Shinji kept his cool even after the symbiote possessed him was incredible. He took a second to glance at Asuka's costume. "I like the hood, but your costume could use some work."

Asuka let out a laugh. "You've been wearing the same damn thing since you got to NERV. Don't you think YOU need an upgrade?"

"Maybe…" He shrugged. "It's comfortable, though."

"So what do we do, team?" Black Cat says. "Do we split up orrrr?"

"Bad idea. With no AT-Field to track, we're sitting ducks…" Asuka said. "Still, I know how that bastard works. He's not going to latch on to the nearest person and leave."

Asuka smirked, having an idea already crystallized in her head.

"Let's see how clingy you can get."

Bardiel retreated as fast as he could.

There was no reason to continue being here. He was trapped deep in NERV territory, and he sure as HELL isn't going to go back to his Dad. Or Mom. Or wait for Armisael to kill them all, as the rest of his siblings were dead.

Being the last one alive didn't seem like much of an honor anymore.

Right now, he needed an escape plan, from this base, from Tokyo-3, anywhere that was away from Japan. Maybe San Fransisco, he had seen wonderful things from his brief time processing Marie's memories. Whatever it took to survive, Bardiel needed to do it or he would die here.

"I have plans up the wazoo." He told himself out loud. "I can strike at any time, get my revenge later. Maybe I'll wait for any of them to get old and steal their bodies! I'll attack their children! Or even better, I'll possess someone competent, like a secret agent or a serial killer to do my bidding! Yes, I'll get my revenge on these twerps any day I'd like! They don't hold power over me. I do!"

"Hey, Bardiel! Look where I am!"

Asuka. That was Asuka that he heard, wasn't it? That annoying girl didn't know when to quit when she had the chance. Bad enough that he had to deal with that brat for roughly a month and still ultimately lose to Shinji, but she actually received powers and started beating him! How unfair!

"I just want to say… I give up. You win."

Bardiel stopped himself. What?

"I'm nothing without you, you hear me?" Asuka said so tearfully, it was almost delicious. "You can use me however you want, as long as you fill the loneliness in my heart! Come back to me!"

She gave herself up so willingly? Bardiel grinned, momentarily forgetting his position. Yes, he can use her again and escape, then make sure to kill her off properly this time. No convenient escape, no magic salvations; he can dispose of her and be done with it. The risk is great, however; he couldn't possibly attack now, right?

Bardiel inspected the area, finding the girl… kneeling, in the middle of the hallway. She had her arms up in desperation, removed her mask so her face was vulnerable, If this was a performance, she was fantastic at it.

"I'll be a good girl for you! Please, come to me!"

Yes. Asuka sat on her knees, begging for him. Him. Ha, what a good little doll. He had to seize the moment, he had to jump at Asuka, his impatience and glee clouding his proper judgement…

"You're here, Bardiel." She said in an odd tone. "You're here for me."

That's right, princess. Bardiel slithered towards her, wanting to snap her up right then and there.

"I have to admit, it's been a wild ride…" Asuka let out a small smile. "I didn't think we'd get this far… but unfortunately…"

That smile became a smirk. A chance had been taken.

"All good things come to an end."

Bardiel suddenly felt a burst of FLAMES pouring into him. He screeched in pain, the noise filling every inch of the hallway.

"EEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

He saw that Maya Ibuki had the flamethrower on him. He tried to slither away but a larger blast of sonic waves stopped it in its tracks. Bardiel realized he was surrounded on all sides, with Misato and Spider-Man carrying their sonic weaponry against him, as Maya and Ritsuko kept the flames on him. The fire did its job all too well, melting and burning him to a crisp. Bardiel then realized there was no escape. It would die here.

"How…" He spoke softly, before becoming enraged. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME ASUKA?!"

"That's a question you should be asking yourself, Bardiel." She stood up, not even bothering to glance back at him. "Now die."

Thus came Bardiel's undignified end, tricked by the girl he used, and destroyed by the humans he despised.

The heroes stopped to catch their breath. They waited for a moment, wanting to be sure the Angel was dead. The dust that blew away from the burned hole provided their answer.

"Phew, that saga is over…" Maya rubbed the sweat off her forehead. "How are you, Asuka?"

Asuka smiled at her. "Embarrassed that I had to do it. Glad that we pulled through."

"We didn't make the same mistake twice." Ritsuko said. "We've killed every trace of this monster. The Committee can take a hike if they complain."

"I'll say." Spider-Man said. "Thanks for your help, Marie."

"No problem. Just doing you a favor" Marie chuckled, before realizing what he said. "Um, whaaaat? No, I'm not that pretty, cool… pilot?"

"Vincennes? But that's impossible, she's thinner than her." Maya raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you wanted for several robberies?"

"Hey, I gave them back!"

"That's not nearly enough of a good reason. Explain yourself!"

That started an argument between the group. However, it didn't matter that much, compared to a more serious moment brewing in the background. Misato dropped the flamethrower and walked over to Asuka.

"I know what I did, Misato. I don't regret it." Asuka said. "I can't even say I didn't enjoy it… I did. But, I also know you have to stop me. I won't do it again."

She expected Misato to agree to that, to be done with it. Instead, Misato let out a soft sigh as she placed her hand on Asuka's shoulder.

"You and Shinji shouldn't be growing up so fast." Misato said. "I'll always be worried about you, whether as pilots or as you are now. I worry the most about you, because you went through such a horrible experience and I didn't want you to suffer through it again. You proved us all wrong tonight. Thank you."

When Misato gave her a hug, Asuka did not hesitate in returning it.

The happy moment lasted a good long while. As the heroes celebrated and argued among themselves, they were distracted from a very important piece of information they could have needed.

A piece of Bardiel had survived. Currently, it was stuck in the cracks of the walls, not running anywhere or planning. What was the point in fighting a losing battle?

It tried to use an Eva and a pilot, but failed. It tried to cultivate someone into becoming Venom, it became another failure; it tried using someone with powers, and failed again; Even Spider-Man wasn't enough at the end of the day, because somehow, the universe created the perfect counter to him.

Maybe it was pointless to continue fighting… maybe it was time for a fresh start. Perhaps it was time for… a new evolution. So Bardiel created a cocoon, going through another metamorphosis. It waited for the right moment to begin a new life.

Curiously, the cocoon was white this time.

It was truly something to see the city from this view.

High up a skyscraper, the Scarlet Spider could see Tokyo-3 as it was truly meant to be seen; above the skies where the lights in the city gave it life, and its people gave it a pulse. Tokyo-3 was a land of contrasts, where the advanced future collided with the recent past. Asuka could see it all, and grin.

She brought a new costume for this trip; it was a red body suit, one that exposed her midriff and arms, for flexibility (though Rei suspected it was to show off some muscles. Asuka did not dispute it). The chest included a yellow spider symbol, one where its arms stretched across the front to the back; much like Shinji, she had bandaged forearms, and wore a mask over her face. Unlike Shinji, she allowed her mouth to be exposed, since she didn't plan on feeling her every breath while she was in a costume.

"Hmmm…"

Asuka placed the earplugs inside of her cassette player. She had been putting off listening to Kaworu's tape for some time now. After all that happened, Asuka felt ready. She pressed play.

"Asuka? I know things have been difficult lately and I'm sorry about that. I think I know what you're feeling."

Even now, she caught a breath hearing his soft, velvet voice. Kaworu had a way of being soothing, no matter what he actually said.

"Ever since you were a little girl, you had been living with so many unresolved questions. Well, take it from a friend, even if you would never call us that. Those questions send us down a road... they make us who we are, for better and for worse. And if anyone's destined for greatness, it's you, Asuka."

She sniffed. "No, Kaworu, you were… you should be alive too.."

"You owe the world your gifts. You just have to figure out how to use them, and know that wherever they take you… there'll always be people waiting for you. So, do not be afraid, Asuka. You're not alone and… on some level, you are my hero… even if you hated me, I always envied the freedom you had to be whatever you wanted to be."

"Nagisa, you idiot." Asuka couldn't stop herself. Tears began to form. "I never hated you. Not really. I don't-" She swallowed a lump in her throat. "I didn't care if you loved him, I just wanted you to look at me… just the once… I wish I could have told you the truth…"

Asuka let herself cry, even as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked back to find the one person who understood her pain now. Asuka pulled the earplugs away.

"You okay?" Spider-Man said. "That was his tape, wasn't it?"

"Yeah." Asuka sniffed. "I wish I could have told Kaworu th- that I did like him. We wouldn't have gone anywhere, not the way I would have wanted, but I… wish I could have let him know that he mattered, you know?"

"I think he did know." Shinji nodded. His tone indicated he was also having trouble keeping it in. "He sacrificed a lot to save us, even his own life. The best thing we can do is continue living for him."

"Maybe… but I don't think I can go back to the way things were."

"Hm?

"Remember what you told me? With great power…"

"There must also come great responsibility." Shinji raised an eyebrow underneath the mask. "What about it?"

Asuka collected herself. "When we were fighting Venom on the highway, there was a moment where… I could have chased him, no problem. But there was a woman, a mother… she said her daughter was trapped in a car. So I went to rescue her. When I brought her back to her mother… I felt it."

Understanding came to Shinji. However, he needed to be sure. "Felt what?"

"That responsibility? What you said about people depending on you, when their lives were on the line back then? Just seeing that girl with her mom, it's like I just… got it. I don't know where my life is going to go from here, but this responsibility… I want it. I'm ready for it."

"Well." Shinji glanced at her outfit. "You already have the costume, and the moves. Are you sure though? It's not something you can just jump in…"

"No one's ready for the real world, stupid." Asuka laughed. "It's like going to a swimming pool. We jump in and hope for the best. Hey, maybe if I get good enough, I'll be able to beat you."

He also laughed. "Sure. I could always use the competition."

Asuka and Shinji gave each other an over the shoulder hug, just gazing at the city in awe. Maybe they didn't always get along, but being able to share this experience… they had a new closeness they didn't, before. Perhaps this was the way things had to play out.

"How beautiful! Truly, you two are great."

The two Spiders turned their heads to find the Black Cat sitting on the ledge. She smirked at them, taking joy out of being the mood killer.

Asuka glared at the intruder. "Fuckin' Marie."

Their argument at the Geo-Front forced the Black Cat to reveal herself to NERV. Long story short, there was quite a long discussion about what to do with Marie, before they decided to keep the secret as another weapon against SEELE. They also grounded her for a time, which caused no end of whining from Marie about not getting to be the Black Cat for a while.

Evidently, the grounding had been lifted if she was here.

"Haha, thanks for saving all our lives the other day." She told Asuka. "I think I've kind of of forgiven you. Sort of." Marie then got up from her spot. "You two down for a chase?"

"Any time, anywhere, jerk." Asuka took a step forward. "We'll always be able to catch you."

However, Asuka failed to take into account the crack in the floor. In keeping with Marie's power, the rooftop collapsed upon Asuka and Shinji, forcing them down into the room below.

"Ooh, tough luck." Marie laughed. "How lucky the penthouse was scheduled for remodeling tomorrow. See ya!"

The Black Cat jumped out of the building using her hook line to swing across the skies once again. Asuka came out of the broken penthouse first, not ready to throw in the towel.

"That damn kitty!" Asuka cursed under her breath. "Gonna make a rug out of her when I get my hands on-!"

Spider-Man climbed next, futilely trying to catch up to the Scarlet Spider as she also swung on her web. "Hey wait up!"

A new set of Marvels were born tonight as the two spiders patrolled the buildings of Tokyo-3. Twin souls, flawed in the same ways, opposite in reaction, yet equal in stature; the people who loved them were proud of who they are now, and see the potential in who they could become if given the chance.

More than ever, they were not the only ones. No they were not.

Even if their tears became too much, they knew when to stand their ground against the forces of darkness that threatened to consume them.

Together, they had the power to create miracles.

Author's Notes:

Ngl, I cried a few times writing this chapter. Sorry if the Venom fights were a bit disappointing though.

I always saw Shinji and Asuka as mirror foils for each other; both carry a lot of similar anxieties about people hating them, but they express them in opposite ways, with Asuka being aggressive and demanding that people look at her, while Shinji retreated inward and was more passive with life. It's because of this that their dynamic in the show was always interesting. I wanted to keep that in mind once I decided to make Asuka a Spider-Girl type character.

Since Shinji had already ranked up a lot of Raimi Spider-Man comparisons (whether by accident or on purpose), I wanted to put Asuka on a path similar to Andrew Garfield/Marc Webb's version; she tried to fill the hole in her heart with vengeance, only to find an road that lead nowhere. Instead, she truly found herself when she made the choice to be a hero. Her hero moment is a more personal one, bringing a daughter and mother back together when Asuka herself had been denied the chance long ago.

Also, there's a Superwoman of EVA reference in there somewhere.

Time for reviews:

Real Remainder: Mana is the same age as Shinji, fourteen years old. The discrepancy between her age and job is a bit of a plot point to be explored later. Also, I don't really feel like Asuka was grovelling that much given what she had just gone through with the mind rape; she was traumatized by that experienced, and that led to her being more apologetic than normal given the circumnstance.

Dragonlord001: How about Scarlet Spider?

Z-King: I happen to agree.

Author0fntent: You got off VERY lucky, this time! I was planning on having Marie be truly possessed by the symbiote for the fight, probably take inspiration from the Black Cat Symbiote fight in Web of Shadows; however, I found it more dramatic for Shinji to be the final host. Hope people liked this fight!

roting-CORPSE: No, because that'd be silly.

Guest: Me too, it was great to see.

No omake this time, I'm just about spent writing this. Due to a vacation trip coming up, I'll probably take a bit for the next chapter. Then again, this one is already a bit late anyway. We're going to get a Rei centered episode next time, and trust me when I say, it'll be the most insane chapter yet!

Next chapter: The Last Angel