I will say this in advance: I have no rights to NGE or the MCU, please support any and all official releases.

PROLOGUE

… City of Hakone, 2009 …

As the sun began to set over the sprawling city of Tokyo-3, Tony Stark stepped off the private jet that had brought him back to Japan. The neon lights and futuristic architecture of the cityscape contrasted sharply with those back in New York. This was a world he had only read about in the science fiction novels from his childhood, but now it was reality.

Tony's original departure had been prompted by an unexpected turn of events. After the death of his father, Howard Stark, during the global cataclysmic event known as Second Impact. And as soon as he became of age, (which was immediately after he graduated college at Tokyo-2) Tony inherited Stark Industries, and was called back to New York to head the defense contractor his father had built after his mentor, Obadiah Stane resigned. The real truth behind Second Impact and his father's involvement has remained shrouded in mystery, and both eluded and brought up complex emotions for Tony.

As he walked through the bustling streets, Tony couldn't shake the feeling that this little rendezvous was leading to something bigger was at play. The world had changed after Second Impact, and the public eye blamed Stark Industries for all of it, according to the official report on the disaster by the United Nations, the massive explosion was caused by the failed launch of a Stark Industries missile designated to stop a meteorite heading towards Mount Markham. The missile however, failed to detect the meteorite which resulted in it striking with tremendous force, melting the polar ice caps and altering Earth's axis. The subsequent chaos due to the massive loss of life led to global wars, born out of food and resource shortages and refuge crises. However, Second Impact was not the end of human civilization. Instead, humanity struggled to rebuild from the disaster. It was during this rebuilding that Stark Industries faced multiple lawsuits, congressional hearings and UN Tribunals, and though it would survive thanks to Stane. What was once known as the top multi-national conglomerate of the early 20th Century, was now a shell of its former shelf on the verge of bankruptcy and corporate takeover from its competitors, as the weight of this dilemma now fell on Tony, he became determined to rebuild its once proud legacy and distance both himself and the company from what he believed to be his father's stain.

One of those ways Tony hoped would help him, was his reputation as a prodigy engineer, even before attending Tokyo-2 University the stories of his engineering expertise had become worldwide. Catching the attention of one Gendo Ikari, the enigmatic head of Gehirn Research Center. It was Gendo who had reached out to Tony, proposing a partnership between Stark Industries and Gehirn to help develop a top-secret research endeavor named Project E. The invitation intrigued Tony, who viewed it as an opportunity to contribute his expertise to the world as well as repair the reputation of Stark Industries, atoning for their sin of causing Second Impact. He accepted Gendo's offer, eager to prove himself and form alliances in this new and unfamiliar world.

As Tony stepped into Gehirn, he found himself face to face with Gendo Ikari, he was a typical looking middle aged man who was taller than Tony by only a few inches, a slight stubble, and piercing eyes that hid behind muted gold, square-framed, top rimmed glasses. Gendo's gaze assessed Tony, who couldn't help but feel as though Gendo was sizing him up as a potential asset, prey, or both.

"Mr. Stark, I trust your journey was rather uneventful," Gendo said in surprisingly good English, if with a slight accent as he bowed.

Tony returned the bow, "Can't say I've ever been on a private jet to Japan before, but I've had worse trips." Gendo nodded as the two men stared at each other for a slightly longer than intended pause before Tony spoke again, "I take it you're the man behind Gehirn?"

Gendo smiled, "Indeed. I have been following you rather closely, Mr. Stark. Your work as an engineer is quite impressive." Tony felt his skin crawl, it was something about the way he spoke, but Tony buried all his unease with a smirk, "Well, I guess genius recognizes genius. Now let's talk business, Mr. Ikari. What's this 'Project E' you've told me about?"

Gendo led Tony to a tram, claiming that he wanted to show him 'something' and the two began their descent deep down into Hakone's underground. A sense of tension filled the room before Tony notices on the halfway that they are heading into a dome shaped cave, Gendo spoke again, "You're not afraid of a little spelunking are you?"

Tony looked at him in confusion before his attention was drawn towards the end of the tunnel, the tram now going through a huge cavern so big that he had trouble seeing the limits. "A geofront?! Very impressive, I read about them in a geography magazine, but I never thought it could be done. Is this what you wanted to show me?" Tony asked in amused astonishment.

Gendo shook his head, "I'm afraid it isn't man-made, this was something left behind," Tony turned his head and tried to read Gendo, to see atleast some semblance of a sign that what he said was nothing more than a weak, dry attempt at a joke. Yet it was as if the man was made of stone, unable to see anything, Tony raised his eyebrow and chuckled, "Are you telling me those lunatcs on 'Ancient Aliens' were telling the truth all along?" his chuckle became a bit qiueter and more confused when he noticed Gendo's continued silence as he stared out the window and breathed a silent sigh of relief when the tram doors finally opened.

The two men had finally reached their destination, a laboratory complex build on the floor of the dome, where Gendo introduces Tony to Chief Scientist, Naoko Akagi. Tony had known of Naoko and her work in the field of computers, as well as her daughter Ritsuko during his time at Tokyo-2,

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Stark I've heard a lot about you." Naoko greets Tony, "Hopefully all good things," Tony said with a wink,

"Well, after reading the letters my daughter sent me about you, I must agree that you are rather charming," Naoko stated with a smile, causing Tony to chuckle a little with a small, but still noticeable blush. drumming up both fond and not-so-fond memories of his college days with Ritsuko,

"Heh, I see she told you about me huh?" Tony asked, to which Naoko nodded. He then began to wonder how Ritsuko was doing, she and her friend, whose name had escaped him at the moment were underclassmen when he attended, Ritsuko being in one of his classes. The two got to know each other better over the semester and even casually dated, Tony believed the whole thing to be nothing serious however, as he left everything when he graduated and went back to New York. Her friend insisted on going on double dates with her boyfriend. A man even Tony admitted, (though never out loud), was as suave, and attractive if not even more as him. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he was called over by Gendo to follow him into a huge dark hall.

If Tony had thought for a moment things were a little weird now, he would soon know that things were going to get a lot weirder and a lot more difficult as soon as he stepped into the pitch black room.

"Did you pay for lighting in only half the building?" Tony asked, his voice dripping in sarcasm.

The lights turned on and Tony had to try not to jump, or yelp in shock. It's not everyday one finds themselves face to face with a... well, as silly as it sounds a giant mecha, it looked like one of those mechas in animes, only a lot less clunky and a lot more meaner.

"Project E is a crucial research endeavor aimed at the revival of Adam, this is one of the models of that project." Gendo began, "called Eva Unit One"

Tony stared in utter disbelief, "Adam?" He asked, "Like in the bible? This is what you wanted to show me? A big mecha?"

"Exactly" replied Gendo,

A million and one questions filled Tony's head, 'What do you mean, revival of Adam?', 'If aliens are apparently real, is God real too?' 'Why are you building what's essentially a Gundam? What do we need them for?' and most importantly, 'Why is it purple and black? Red and gold is a better color.'

Before Tony could ask any of these questions, Gendo walked right next to him, so that they were standing shoulder to shoulder in front of Unit One and continued, "I believe your expertise and innovative thinking could greatly contribute to its success and shape the future of our world."

Tony, however was still reeling with the shock and awe of what he was seeing, it was a testament to the true innovation of humanity, a marvel of engineering, the perfect marriage of smart and crazy, he had no clue what it was for, and was fairly certain if he refused he'd be shot before he even left the room. He wanted in.

"So, you want me to bring some of that Stark Industries magic into your little science project?" Tony said, trying his best to hide the fact that for the first time ever his mind has been completly blown.

"Precisely" Gendo replied.

"Alright, I'm in. But I need to know one thing." Tony began,

"What?" Came Gendo's curt reply

"Just what the hell are we building this for?!" Tony yelled.

to be continued...

Notes

This story initially started out as a crossover between Transformers and Evangelion. I don't know how MCU Iron Man came into the picture but here we are. I have a rough outline planned up to chapter 14, for this fic I am looking at about 43 chapters give or take. The first couple of chapters will be focusing on Tony's time at Gehirn and the beginning of NERV, then the main story of Evangelion will kick in. I am looking for a co-author for this story to help me outline, proof read, offer suggestions etc. If you want to help, message me (must be familliar of both Evangelion and MCU Iron Man)

This prologue was rather short, but future chapters will be longer.

I appreciate any feedback or constructive criticism, I hope you enjoy the fic and thanks for reading.