Interludes After the Sixth Angel, Part 2

Note, the parenthesis indicate languages other than Japanese, in this case, English.
Please Read and Review. I'd like to know what I'm doing right (to keep doing it), and what I'm I doing wrong (to correct it).

New Yokosuka
Docking Bay

While the carrier dropped anchors, Ryoji Kaji asked. "Say, Rits, could you distract Asuka for a while? I really need to speak with Misato."

The scientist looked at him over her eyeglasses. "You are the most stubborn man I know." ´Second, actually, Commander Ikari is so much worse than you.´ she thought. Kaji looked at her with that annoyingly charming smile of his. She sighed, "Very well, I have to check her and Shinji up anyway."

"Put it on my tab, Rits." He smiled again.

As soon as the plank touched the harbor deck, Asuka ran down, having changed back to a dress, now a cute orange sundress that replaced the yellow one she had worn earlier, now lost with the Othello. "You should have seen me, Kaji!" she giggled. "I killed my first Angel! I am now officially, an Angel Slayer!" and with a happy squeal, she hugged him. Awkwardly, he hugged her back for a few seconds and patted her back a few times; then, carefully and delicately, he pushed her away.

Dr. Akagi cleared her throat. Kaji took the offered opportunity. "I want to hear all about it, but it will have to wait a little while, Asuka. First, I´d like to introduce you to Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, Chief of the E-Project. She is in charge of all Evangelion units in Tokyo-3, and is responsible for the pilots´ health. Dr. Akagi, meet Asuka Langley Soryu, Pilot of Unit-02." He knew that such an introduction would please Asuka, and distract her a bit too.

"Oh, hello, Dr. Akagi; pleased to meet you." Both bowed respectfully. Asuka knew very well that Akagi´s reports were crucial for her continued status as pilot.

"Nice to meet you too, Asuka. Come with me, I need to do a medical check-up on you and Shinji. As he is still on board, let´s start with you, okay?"

Asuka´s smile dimmed a bit. Kaji intervened. "The sooner you start, the sooner you finish." he said, flashing her with a smile. And with that, she went back to smiling. "Go with Ritsuko, I´ll watch Unit-02´s recovery team in the meanwhile."

"Sure!" she turned to Ritsuko. "Lets go, Doctor!" Akagi looked at him significatively, and lead Asuka towards the NERV Medical Mobile Unit.

Kaji sat down on the jeep´s driver seat, and got himself comfortable, waiting for Misato. He didn´t have to wait for long. The good captain was next to go down the plank. "Kaji? What are you doing here? Where´s Ritsuko?"

He got down from the car, and leaned on the hood. "In reverse order, Rits went with Asuka por her post-battle check-up; I was waiting for you; and yes, I am Kaji."

Despite herself, Misato smiled. She was actually glad the big lug had come to the dock to welcome her. But she didn´t believe for a second that was all the reason he had to wait in the dock. "OK, What do you want? And be clear from the start."

Kaji raised his hands conciliatorily. "Easy, Misato. I come in peace. I was at NERV HQ during the fight, heard your report, and came to see if you were okay."

"Me?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Yep. Actually, you and the kids, but mostly you." He opened the passenger´s door, and waited for Misato to get in the car. "Rits and Asuka will take a while. I guess you´ll want to get Unit-02 ready for transport, but the crew will need some time to get ready." He pointed at the ridiculously huge crane by the dock. "I happen to know a little restaurant nearby, we could get something to go and eat it here at the dock. Well… I hope it´s still there, they made a really good shrimp and fish salad. We could be back in less than half an hour, five minutes tops if I have to get you back urgently, three if you still drive like I taught you." He smirked at the last part.

She waited for him to occupy the driver´s seat, and slapped him on the shoulder, laughing; ready to voice her objections, but before she could speak, the groaning of her belly took the decision for her. "OK, but it better be really near. I don´t want to be far when Shinji awakes."

Kaji was about to turn the car key. He furrowed his brow and he turned towards Misato. "Is he okay?"

"Mostly, but he has a really nasty headache. He managed to use Unit-02´s AT Field in ways we didn´t think possible. But it was too much of a mental effort for him. His nose bled for a while; it was a bit like in the old anime shows, you know what I mean. The medic on board the Over the Rainbow gave him some aspirins, and put him in a darkened room to rest; he´s better now. But he was too tired and fell asleep. Toji and Kensuke are with him."

Kaji looked at her. "A nose bleed?" Something was itching at the edge for his mind, like a memory half-gone. He shrugged, maybe it would come back to him. Maybe not. But for the moment, he had some time to talk with Misato.

Gotham City
Cordoned-off Area, Near the Iceberg Lounge
February 19th, 2003; 3:47 A.M

"(Make sure nobody enters. I want every officer on site in hazmat suits. Officers at the perimeter, in gas masks. Everybody, ready your weapons. I don't want any surprises.)" Commissioner Gordon spoke gruffly in the microphone. 'At least it isn't snowing,' he thought. His workload had increased since Second Impact; and worse, the disappearance of Batman and his allies had been a hard blow to Gotham City

It was a cold comfort for him that his daughter, Barbara, formerly Batgirl, was confined to a wheelchair since that murderous maniac had shot her some years before, and therefore, away from the frontlines. Still, her news had shocked him to the bone; the only other survivor of the Batfamily was the original Robin, who had later taken the mantle of Nightwing.

The man had suffered career-stopping injuries. The Batman's legacy had been shot down to pieces saving the world. After a long and grueling physical rehabilitation, the former Teen Wonder had rallied back to the fight, now as CEO of Wayne Enterprises. Although he would never walk again without the use of a heavily reinforced harness on his left leg, and a cane.

His right elbow had been crushed, and the series of operations he had endured wouldn't give him back the mobility and feeling he once had. For a very human crime-fighter, that was the end. But for him, the fight was far from over, Nightwing was no more, but Dick Grayson still had the will to fight, and his deceased mentor had left him with the means to do it, in a very different arena.

Officially, Bruce Wayne and the others had been lost at sea, victims of a storm that had sunk their yatch.

Actually, they had died stopping Ra´s al Ghul´s latest genocidal plan. Tim Drake, Helena Bertinelli, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, even Metamorpho and Katana were gone. They had saved the world one last time.

Meanwhile, the costumed criminals that made their turfs in the old city had become unusually cautious. However, more pedestrian corruption was rampant.

He shook down his remembrances, he had a job to do, and a distraction could prove fatal, not only for him, but also for the officers under his command.

The day before, a deranged and badly injured man had come out from the Iceberg Lounge, laughing and crying like crazy, claiming that he had survived. Not for long, the man had died before he could be taken to the hospital. He was later identified as Crooked Jack Stone, a two-bit enforcer for one of Gotham's minor crime families.

Commisioner Gordon obtained an order to enter the place. Long experience with the criminal element in the city made him mobilize a good chunk of the police force, the Penguin held a tight reign over both his minions and his guests. The place was considered neutral ground for the criminal element of the whole city. A gunfight there would be a signal of at least, a gang war. From the doors and windows, green smoke had filtered out the next hours. He feared the Joker had come back, and without the Batman to stop him, the body count could easily reach hundreds of victims.

He was standing behind a patrol car, putting on the uncomfortable hazmat suit. He checked all seals were secure, and before putting on the heavy duty helmet, he put a comm bead on his ear, checking it worked. Once suited, he looked around, seeing Renee Montoya had already finished with the heavy suit, and was helping Detective Harvey Bullock put on his own. Despite the suits size, Bullock's paunch stretched the suit around the middle. "(Damnation! Don't they make these damn plastic pajamas in adult sizes?)" He grumbled.

Detective Renee Montoya rolled her eyes. "(Shut up, Bullock. This is the largest suit in the catalog. Any larger has to be custom made. And we don't have the budget for it. Just lay off the box of donuts before you go to sleep.)" Bullock glared at her. And he somehow managed to not burst the seams.

"(Ready, Sir.)" Montoya checked her weapon. Handling it with the gloves of the suit was unconfortable, but still manageable.

"(OK, start the air supply now, and check the emergency filters, now.)" A comforting hum filled the suits, for as long as the suits remained sealed, they were protected from any Joker Venom in the air.

The trio walked heavily to the entrance. The bomb squad had already okayed the ground level. There were no explosives on sight, and a robot had opened the doors. The remote control machine had checked the ground floor, and there was nothing in evidence. Just the expected tables and chairs, everything on its place. The place was apparently clean.

"(Damn… this is creepy.)" Bullock mumbled. "(I hate this kind of empty places.)"

Gordon glared at him. "(Be silent.)" He was just as spooked as Bullock, but wasn't eager to give his position to any armed mook, no more than strictly necessary.

At a signal from Gordon, more officers entered the building, in small groups; all of them sealed inside their hazmat suits. Some of them carried heavy weapons and electronic equipment donated by Bruce Wayne months before. State of the art equipment, some were even prototypes from S.T.A.R. Labs or WayneTech, courtesy of Dick Grayson; being put to the test in field conditions.

The policemen made a sweep on all the main level. A mobile control unit was set up over the tables. Electronic scanners were passed over every surface. They were going to check everything before proceeding further.

There were no surprises. No bombs, no bullet holes, no corpses, no bloodstains. In every way, the Iceberg Lounge was nothing but an ordinary restaurant, closed for the night. An image the Penguin had worked hard to achieve and maintain.

For hours, they checked and rechecked every door, every window, every wall, and every square inch of floor and ceiling. Even the columns were checked; looking for secret compartments or hidden rooms or passages. Eventually, they found the secret elevator that connected an innocuous looking Janitor Closet with the secret basement.

"(Oh, God..!)" A hissed report from the robot controller filled the ground level posts. "(…Commissioner… it was a massacre..)"

Behind him, Gordon and several other officers looked at the monitor screen. Looking at the images the robot was sending. The walls and columns were full of bullet holes, some were almost covered in bloodstains. Large bloodstains. But that was to be expected, in a way.

All around the secret basement, corpses. All of them had the twisted facial rictus caused by the Joker's Venom. Many faces were still recognizable as gangsters and goons. A few seemed to be costumed villains. The Mad Hatter still held a broken teacup in his fingers. Mr. Freeze's helmet had been cracked violently, his face was the only one around that wasn't contorted in a hideous smile, but frozen in a horrified gasp. He must have died from exposure to room temperature air before the Joker Venom could affect him; his right hand still clutched his throat. Still, a ghastly smile had been painted on him with red lipstick.

Further away, the Penguin lay on his back, his tricked out umbrella barely held between his fingers. His characteristic monocle had fallen to the floor and broken in pieces. Harvey Dent's disfigured face now held an equally horrible expression on both sides.

"(What the hell..?)" Bullock hissed. "(The Joker killed them? All of them? Why?)"

"(Shh… He might still be around.)" Montoya scolded him. She squeezed the shoulder of the controller. "(Go on.)"

Gordon transmitted in the general frequency "(I want everybody on maximum alert, if the Joker shows his face, shoot to disable once you have a positive ID on him. I don't want a mistaken ID massacre on our hands.)"

The robot kept moving. Its tracks were able to climb up the corpses whenever it couldn't find a ground route. The operator was both terrified and relieved. The sheer amount of criminals dead would put a very noticeable dent on the crime statistics of the city; but on the other hand, for the Joker such a killing spree was merely the opening act.

Finally, the robot went around a column, and there he was. The Clown Prince of Crime himself, sitting peacefully on a chair. Next to him, on a table, rested a videocamera. He wasn't moving. His eyes were wide open, staring glassily ahead. But his mouth wasn't contorted in that damned smile of his. He looked… for lack of a better word, sad.

"(Uh… He isn't moving, Sir. Do I tase him?)" At a nod from Gordon, the officer flipped a cover, and pressed a button, a taser was shot at the Joker. The wires flew through the air, impacting the villain right in the middle of his chest. His body spasmed violently, and fell wordlessly to the floor. The body went deadly still once the electric charge had dissipated. "(Is he dead?)" was the surprised murmur around them. "(Is he faking? Might be a double…)"

Gordon silenced the rumors with a sharp word.

The robot's camera focused on a plexiglass box behind the Joker (or Joker wannabe). It contained an emaciated Harley Quinn. The Joker's moll was slumped in a corner, tapping weakly at the glass. Her red and black harlequin outfit was torn and ragged. Her buffon hat skewed over her head, her blonde hair poking under it. She could barely lift her head. The domino mask she used hanged loosely from an ear, barely holding up by the buffoon hat. Her white make-up showed streaks of her pale skin, especially where tears had run down. Her unfocused gaze was lost in horrified madness. Her lips moved, mouthing something. Gordon read her lips. "(Help me, please… I'll be good, please, I p-p-promise… Let me out, please… P-p-p-please, Puddin'…)"

A piece of paper was taped to the glass. It looked like gift-wrapping paper, decorated with… wait, were those bats? Who even made such a thing?

It held a note, written with green crayon.

"(Do not open until X-Mas, or after
Jimmy G. & His All-Smurfs Happy Band
have taken her to the Hospital; whatever comes first.

With loving hate,

Uncle J.

P.S. Remove the bomb before moving her.
It's under the wheeled thingie.

P.P.S. I still hate you all.)"

Two hours later, a sinister convoy had assembled at the Iceberg Lounge. The Coroner's Office had run out of ambulances to move the corpses, and had resorted to use hearses. From the top of a building, a grim figure pulled his fedora down, watching the vehicles, he had listened to the police band and now had questions that needed answers. This wasn't his city, but he was between cases, and had noticed the absence of the regular protector of the city. He wanted to know the reason.

The Question tightened his trench coat around his waist. His eyes, hidden behind his featureless mask, didn't miss a single detail. Not an easy feat, despite the lateness of the hour, a veritable circus had gathered around the Iceberg Lounge. The media had arrived, attracted by the stench of death and madness.

By the time the bomb squad had removed the bomb, powerful enough to blow the whole Iceberg Lounge to small pieces, Harley had fainted, the medical officer who checked her as best she could through the glass walls of her cage had diagnosed a severe dehydration. She had been locked inside for who knows how long, there were a few oxygen tanks attached to the box, but they were nearly empty.

Plexiglass box and Harley were loaded into a moving truck, and the vehicle departed, with a whole platoon of cops inside. Two patrol cars and six motorcycles escorted the truck. Not so much to protect the patient, but to protect everybody else from whatever surprises the Joker might have left with, around, below, or even inside her.

Behind his mask, the Question raised an eyebrow.

Tokyo-3
Katsuragi/Ikari Apartment
That evening

Shinji had decided to indulge in some cello practice to close the day. The fights he had been in had been exhausting, physically and emotionally..

In a way, it had been easier to fight Gaghiel. All he had to do about the Angel was survive and make sure the Angel was dead. Asuka required a more delicate touch… No, not delicate… Actually, yes, delicate was the word; the German pilot was like a landmine with a hair trigger. Well, at least they made a good team. They had coordinated well during the fight…

But afterwards… Oh, boy; the accusations of him trying to steal her glory, and worse, of being a pervert… Well, he had been warned she was volatile, both by the Phantom Stranger and Misato.

He knew what he was getting into.

Kind of.

Remotely.

Okay, not at all… Shinji frowned.

He hadn't expected such... intensity.

After finally docking at New Yokosuka, and being released from the sick bay (still nursing a headache, thank you very much; he now had a much greater respect for Green Lantern), he walked down the stairs with Asuka's spare plugsuit neatly folded in a plastic bag, holding another plastic bag, this one full of ice, to his forehead. Asuka's plugsuit was too tight for him, it would have been too tight even before he started his physical training, the suit simply had no space for some… bits… of his anatomy.

The sailors had donated a uniform for him, but it hanged loose on his frame. Turns out the sailors had been about to fight for the chance of donating their clothes to the boy. The Admiral had glared at them until they calmed down, and ordered them to draw lots. In the end, one of the biggest sailors had won (to the envy of his mates. He insisted on getting a picture of him and Shinji; to prevent further incidents, Kensuke was volunteered by the Captain to take the picture), and now the ends of the pants were bunched around Shinji's ankles. He certainly looked like a kid with his father's clothes. Not that he remembered having done such a thing.

While Shinji descended the plank with Toji, Kensuke waited for them at the dock, eagerly recording as the recovery crew hooked Unit-02 to incredibly thick chains to put it in a cyclopean railcar container. Misato was nowhere in sight.

"Feeling better, pal?" Toji looked worried. Kensuke put down his camera.

"Yeah… My head hurts; but all in all, I'm okay. The doctor says the headache should be gone in a few hours. And my nose stopped bleeding by the time I was in the sick bay."

Both his friends sighed in relief. It was at this point that Misato arrived in a jeep. To Shinji´s surprise, Mr. Kaji was with her, holding a bag with food containers with his left hand. The man smiled approvingly at him, extending his fist to the boy. Shinji fist-bumped him a moment later.

Later on, preliminary check-up in the Mobile Med Unit; and at NERV, the contamination tests and the debriefing. He was glad the Over the Rainbow had docked about 1:30 PM. Had it been much later, Dr. Akagi would probably had kept him with Asuka in NERV´s Medical Wing for the night. And his nerves were frayed enough.

He had no desire to ever try again the A-T Field manipulation trick he had managed in Unit-02; his headache had lasted for hours; and he feared a second try would have grave consequences, even with the help of the Phantom Stranger.

Dr. Akagi had made up a semi-plausible explanation, one that didn´t took any external factors into account. Having two pilots in the plug allowed them to share the brainload by synching with each other and with Unit-02. Leaving Asuka free to fight while he managed the A-T Field. And luckily, Dr. Akagi had agreed that trying to manipulate the A-T-Field that way again would be dangerous, and had forbidden him and Asuka to try again, especially alone.

As it was, Asuka had glared at him sideways, and requested a guest room at NERV HQ, to stay the night. He sighed. At least she had refrained from assaulting him physically. Right now, the only thing he wanted was to rest his mind. He began his exercises, to loose his fingers and focus his mind. After a little while, he felt he was ready to begin. He set a partiture upon the stand, and began to play. He lost himself in the music, and didn't realize when the outer door opened; a girl with blue hair and scarlet eyes entered the place. Surprised by the music, she remained still, standing in the hall, outside Shinji's view. Listening him play.

Tokyo-3
NERV´s Guest Apartment Nr. 7
That Night

Asuka Langley Soryu lay her head on the pillow; she put her hands behind the back of her head, deep in thought. It had been a full and weird day. She looked intently to the unfamiliar ceiling of the small guests apartment. Kaji had gone away two hours before. She was a bit annoyed by that, but she accepted that until he had his own place, it would be better she stayed somewhere else.

She was quite angry, she felt a bit betrayed. Shinji ikari hadn´t lived up to the standard she held him up. The very same she applied to herself. Oh, sure, he had done acceptably well during the battle. He had kept his head on the fight, and he even had improvised what, according to Misato and Dr. Akagi, was a nearly impossible feat. He had done quite well until the very end, when he threw himself over her. Obviously with perverted intentions.

However…

Usually Misato was a good judge of character, except for her Kaji-shaped blind spot. Asuka couln´t understand how Misato had thrown away her relationship with Kaji. But… she was secretly glad. It just left the way clear for her. If only Kaji realized she was the only woman who could be up to his level, and the age gap be damned to Hell.

She turned around. She was terribly tired, but sleep eluded her. The face of the Third Child kept popping up in her thoughts. Damn! She wanted to dream of Kaji and her; not about the Third Stooge!

She turned to the other side. Misato vouched for him, and Asuka was somewhat willing to believe that Ikari would keep his hands for himself around Misato. Anyway, she wasn´t completely sure Misato´s little pretense of sleeping was Stooge-proof. But she herself was on a very different level. To begin with, she was obviously a better choice, she was around his age, a certified genius, a better pilot, and there surely were many more reasons for him to prefer her, but she would think of them tomorrow.

Hmm… Well… In the deepest corner of her heart, she was secretly flattered about his reaction, wasn´t she the most beautiful woman he could ever meet? Even the exotic First Child paled (heh, heh!) next to her. Asuka smiled wickedly at her own pun.

She jumped down from the bed, and pulled her suitcase from under the bed. Asuka took the letters she had received via Ikari, plus the copies she kept of her own letters; and began to read them again. Surely there was something there she could use to her advantage. She was certain she could somehow provoke him into dropping his good-boy act. Preferably in public.

And then, she would shot him down spectacularly! Now, that would teach him not to mess with the Great Asuka Langley Soryu!

But for that to work, she would have to be somewhat civil around him. Lest he suspected anything. For the moment, she would pretend Misato had convinced her of his innocence.

Tokyo-3
Commander´s Lair
That Night

Kozo Fujutsuki took the phone off its hook. "Hello? Ah, Commander. Everything went fine. Yes, I have the final report with me. I´ll leave it in your safe for your review. In short, the Sixth Angel was destroyed, almost to the letter of the projections. I have sent a recovery team to look for the core fragments." He paused. "Um… there was a strange development. I´ll send you the data tomorrow. As you already know, both pilots were in Unit-02´s plug at the same time. During the fight, the Second Child took care of the physical aspect of the fight, and, according to both Captain Katsuragi and the data logs from Unit-02, Shinji somehow managed to use Unit-02´s AT Field to propel the Eva underwater."

He listened to the Commander´s answer.

"No, I doubt he could manage to repeat it. Dr. Akagi reports that it was very taxing for Shinji. He presented a minor nasal hemorrhage during the fight, and is currently suffering the residual effects of what could have turned into a migraine. After Akagi finished her tests, he was sent back to Captain Katsuragi´s home, he should rest now. No, I assigned a chauffeur and a nurse to accompany him home. Both report he´s in good health. I just thought best to err on the side of caution. Akagi´s exams show no permanent damage. He should recover completely with some home rest."

He listened again.

"Understood. No. Captain Katsuragi reported that although they managed to act together in combat, they clashed afterwards."

"Soryu thinks Shinji is a… let me check," Fujutsuki passed several pages of the transcripts file, until he found the exact text; "I´m quoting her directly. She called him a ´glory-hogging idiot´, and previously, it seems she called him a ´pervert´; this was barely recorded by Unit-02´s comms; she was outside the plug at the moment." He put the stack of papers back in the desk. "I have serious doubts about the wisdom of keeping them together."

"Well. I guess that is better. The Second Child asked for a guest apartment to spend the night. I´ll talk with Rei tomorrow. To inform her she will have a roommate soon. And, for the record, I think she will clash with Rei too."

He put the phone back in its place, and placed the reports and documents in a hidden safe, closing it before leaving the cavernous office.

For once, there was no sarcastic comment from the spiritual plane.

C.C. Haly and Norton Bros. Circus
Moscow-2

"(Where in New Genesis is that girl?)" Oberon mumbled to himself. He passed a hand over his ever receding hairline. "(We have to pack the equipment now, or the train will leave us.)"

"(Shilo! Have you seen Mraia?)" He asked the brightly clad Mr. Miracle, who busied himself checking the handcuffs he had bought for the next leg of the tour, and that would be turned into scrap metal by sets of three by the time he and Mraia had finished with each show.

"(Hum. No. After the show, she excused herself and I haven´t seen her since. Did you check in the mess?)"

"(Yes! It was the first place I looked. Where could she be? We have to pack everything, and she´s the only one who can pick up the Deadly Razorsaws Trap.)"

Shilo Normal, apprentice and successor of Scott Free, stood up. He put his yellow and red mask on, and looked around. A holographic image superimposed over the area, a few blinks later, the holoimage pinpointed what could have been mistaken for a red flag, flapping in the wind, but actually was a scarlet red cloak. "(There she is. At the top of the centerpost. I´ll get her.)" He stood up, putting the handcuffs back in their box. With his big toes, he pushed a button inside his boots, two disks appeared below his feet. A gift from his friend and predecessor. He took flight, and a few seconds later, he was tens of feet above ground, and easily got neat the center post. "(Hey, girl! Oberon has been looking for you.)"

She huddled in her cape, and turned around. She had been crying, Shilo saw the tears in her eyes. He flew around the post to keep facing her.

"(C´mon, kid, cheer up! We have a lot to do.)" Softly, he put a hand on her shoulder, and with the other, carefully wiped the tears from her cheeks, the girl just shook her head. "(I´m not in the mood.)" she said, miserably.

Shilo recognized her tone. Somehow, he managed to sit, cross-legged in the air. He sighed. "(I miss them too, Mraia. Every day. But if I learned anything from your parents, is that we can never surrender. Your dad wouldn´t like to see you sad. And your mom would tie me in knots if she could see you like this.)"

Remembering her mother´s characteristic direct approach to, well, everything, she smiled wanly. "(I know, but I miss them so much! Why couldn´t they take me back to New Genesis with them?)"

"(Honey, you know why… Although you are a very brave girl, you need more experience before getting mixed in a war. Especially one at the level of the New Gods. Scott and Barda grew up in Apokolips, and they didn´t want you to ever know such despair.)"

Mraia sobbed. "(Do you think they are… alive?)"

"(Kid, I know they are. And you know why?)" She looked at him, right into his eyes. The question was etched in her face. Shilo answered his own question, "(Because there is no way Darkseid could ever catch them again. They have escaped his clutches so many times it´s even funny. Not even Himon has escaped death so many times, and he is a professional martyr!)" He smiled at her, his teeth seemed to shine in the dark. "(Tell you what. Take five minutes more, and then we both help Oberon to pack the heavy equipment. We will get the containers ready in the meanwhile. Okay?)"

"(…okay…)" Her voice sounded so small… Usually, Mraia was a bundle of energy and joy; but each year, around the anniversary of the day Scott Free and Barda had left her in his care, Mraia felt sad and depressed. She had been about six years old then, and she had grown tall and lanky since. Shilo could see she would be as tall and strong as her Mother, Big Barda, and as thin and agile as his father, Mr. Miracle. He hoped both would return someday.

But right here, right now, there was equipment to pack, and a train to board. He flew down to the ground, and he and Oberon looked up at her, waving their hands for a moment. Then they went to start their work on the containers.

Mraia stood on the little platform on top of the central post, and fixed her sight on the North Star´s greenish glow. Back when she was seven years old, she had decided that the North Star was where her parents were. Now she knew that New Genesis and Apokolips were in another dimension, but she still looked at the North Star to remember her family.

Author's Notes

Nope, I hadn't forgotten about the Joker. Of course he had to go with a bang!

With the obvious exception of Barbara Gordon; all the characters in the Gotham City scene are more or less based on the BTAS/JLU animated versions. Especially Harley Quinn. I really don't like the after-Arkham-games version of her. Metamorpho and Katana would be closer to the Outsiders comic book version.

Kaji and Misato have restarted their relationship on a much better foot this time. Mostly because Kaji didn´t left Misato to catch an Angel-shaped hot potato, but the talk they had with Asuka helped to show her his more mature side. Plus, talking with Ritsuko has somewhat tempered his desire to rekindle the spark, at least for a short while. Of course, he will try again. But Misato is much less opposed to the idea, as she has seen he has matured since last they saw each other, at least a bit.

Mraia is my take on a Kingdom Come character, but her characterization here is all mine. Her name wasn´t revealed in Kingdom Come, and I don´t know if it was ever mentioned. So, I took a page from Novaro´s book, and gave her a new name, Mraia could be pronounced as "Mariah"; but, to make an awful pun, pronounce it "Moore-ah-yah" which is a homophone for the Spanish word "Muralla" Why? Because a Muralla is a big wall, and so is a Big Barda!

I´ll shut up now.