Interludes After the Seventh Angel, Part 1

Note, the parenthesis indicate languages other than Japanese, in this case, English and Interlac.
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).

Gotham City
Iceberg Lounge
February the 17th, 2001

"(I see. No. I knew it would be so.)"

Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot put the phone down on its hook. He stood, breathed deeply, his fists on the table. "(Waugh! NO!)" Suddenly, he swiped aside everything on his desk. A rain of documents and knick-knacks fell to the floor of his office.

He panted, not so much for the effort, but because of his emotions, his anger, his loss… He already knew, but still had clung to hope against reason. The confirmation still hurt like a stab at the gut. Cobblepot pressed a button. An instant later, his two secretaries/bodyguards, Irina Falcon and Sandra Hawkins, opened the door. "(You rang, boss?)", they asked.

"(Yes. Put that back in order. I'll go to the gym. No one is allowed to interrupt, got it?)" He went out, slamming the door closed.

"(Yes, boss,)" they said towards the door, picking up papers and assorted stuff, and began to put them back in order. The underlings knew their boss was in a foul mood; or, as he would say it, 'a fowl mood', and it would be wise to stay away from him until he calmed down.

Down in the extensive gymnasium he had ordered built in one of the sub-basement levels of his night club, for his exclusive use, Cobblepot changed clothes, from his hand-tailored smoking, into a comfortable track suit. Carefully, he hanged his suit and stored his monocle and cigarette holder into the only locker. There was no point in locking the door, he was the only one who ever used the gym.

He began to exercise, hoping to burn away his anger.

'(Hell and damnation! All dead. This stupid Second Impact wiped them all from the face of the Earth…)' He was, to put it diplomatically, a fat man, but he was in better shape than he looked. Sure, he would never beat the Batman in a fight, but he was far stronger, faster and agile than many thugs half his age and weight, and that was one of the reasons he had achieved his position as one of the top villains in Batman's Rogues Gallery, and in Gotham City's underworld.

After a fast warm-up, Cobblepot picked up a set of boxing gloves, and attacked the sand bag with all his anger. The news he had just received…

"(No more penguins… Waugh! All that's left are the ones in zoos and circuses… and the ones I have )"

He kept his pace at the sandbag for several minutes, letting his anger flow away with each strike.

Finally, his arms were so tired he felt they would fall off. He was covered in sweat, and his track suit was completely soaked.

"(This cannot stand. There must be a way…)" He showered, and once he was clean and calm, he went back to the office; his underlings had done a very good job in organizing everything back. He snapped his fingers, "(Bring me my little black book, my dear ladies; the one I keep in the nest. I have some calls to make.)"

"(Yes, boss!)" they chirped.

A Possible XXXIst Century
Frontier of the Almeracian Empire
Legionnaires Diplomatic Mission

"(…Oh, god…)" Superboy leaned heavily on the door frame. "(I'm never going to go home?)" The young hero was devastated by the news brought by the almeracian ambassador.

"(Sire. Please keep calm.)" Lana Max-El asked.

"(Calm? You have just told me I'm trapped here! My friends, everything I knew… All is gone… and I can't do a damned thing about it!)" He slammed his fist on the metal, denting it with a perfect imprint of his knuckles.

"(Conner!)" Apparition pressed her hand on his shoulder. "(Please…)" The gesture gave him a measure of control back. Nervously, he looked at the dent, breathed deeply, and nodded twice. He got along quite well with her husband, Ultra Boy, and Tinya was one of his closest friends in the Legion.

The young hero sat on a chair, barely seeing where he was. He was about to cry.

"(Cassie…)" he whispered, his voice cracked; and the teen buried his face in his hands.

"(My Lord! Control yourself! This behavior is unbecoming of your station!)"

At the other end of the room, R.J. Brande poured some kono juice in a glass. He put it in Superboy hands. "(Usually, I'd wait for you to be a bit older, but I think you need it now. Drink this, son.)" he said, solemnly. Superboy accepted the glass, but it just stayed in his hands for a long moment. He raised his eyes, looking into Brande's. He found an almost infinite pool of compassion and sympathy. He took a long sip of the glass. "(Thanks, R.J., I really needed that.)"

"(I understand, my boy. It's not every day you get news like this.)" He turned to the almeracian ambassador. "(Miss Max-El, could you excuse us for a moment? Our friend just got a nasty shock.)"

"(But… he should be getting ready to assume his rightful position in the almeracian empire! He is the cousin of the original Prince Consort of the Max-El Royal House!)"

"(Miss… Right now, Kon-El is just a boy who has received the worst kind of news one can receive. He needs some time to digest it.)"

"(I… I understand, Lord Brande.)" Lana knelt in front of Superboy. "(My Lord. I ask you for your forgiveness on bringing you dire news.)"

Superboy merely watched her like she wasn't there. He nodded in the affirmative, and then looked back at Brande. "(Could I… I mean…)" he moved his hand in a vague gesture.

Brande patted his shoulder. "(I know. We will let ourselves out, my boy.)" He smiled sadly. "(Your whole world has turned upside down. Take some time to think. We will manage things. I will come back later to talk, if you want. I think you should speak with M'Onel, maybe Ferro too. You… ahem…know one of our mutual friends had a shock like this one too, remember?)" He cut short the explanation, M'Onel was a well-respected Legionnaire, but his true name and background were kept secret for very good reasons.

"(Yeah… I… I know, I was here when the Legion found him… And Ferro came from my time, he is the only one here who laughs at my jokes about Karate Kid.)" He smiled sadly and drank the rest of the beverage. "(Thanks, R.J., I really appreciate it.)" he yawned.

"(Any time, son. You should try to sleep a bit. Things may look less dark tomorrow.)"

In a rare moment of empathy, Brainiac-5 and Gates stayed behind for a few moments. "(I'll keep trying, Kon-El. There might be a way.)" Gates added some encouraging clicks of his beak. "(Yeah. I'll make sure of that.)"

Superboy nodded back, stifled another yawn and went to his bunk. The group left Superboy alone, and closed the door.

Brande silenced any question with a finger over his lips. "(I gave him a soft sedative with the kono juice. He will sleep for a few hours. I hope he feels better when he wakes up.)"

"(Now, ambassador. I think we should get to this mysterious robot you found.)"

Lana Max-El nodded, and put a memory crystal in his hands. "This contains all the data we have found about the robot with passive scans."

Reverently, Brande took the crystal. "(Shall we..?)" and extended his hand towards the viewing room.

A Possible XXVIth Century
Ruins of NERV-2 (Nevada)
Evangelion Unit-04 Cage

A deep growl made itself heard in the chamber. Kamandi almost dropped Mari on the ground, taking a rifle in his hands, looking for the origin of the sound.

It turned out to be his old friend, Dr. Canus. The dog scientist was on the floor, in fetal position, his eyes were wild and unfocused.

"(Dr. Canus?)" Kamandi asked softly. "(Are you allright?)"

Trembling, Canus shook his head. "(B-b-b-blood… So much blood… I can't… the smell… it's calling to me… I need to… My f-friend… I think-k-k I… Knock me down… I don't want to… to hurt you… the blood… Hurry…)"

Kamandi waved Mari to stay back. Worried, the brunette looked at the scientist lying on the floor, and discreetly, with slow movements, picked up one of rifles Kamandi had discarded. "(No. You stay back.)" Kamandi ordered. "(He is my friend.)"

Mari gulped. "(What's happening? We were just singing.)" she hissed.

"(I don't know! I have never seen him like this!)" Kamandi approached Canus slowly. The scientist was on all fours for a moment, but one of his hands grabbed his head, like he was suffering from a migraine. He mumbled, "(Hurry… I don't… know… how long…)"

Kamandi got closer and closer, Canus growled again, a deep, resonating sound that made Kamandi's hair stand on end. Meanwhile, Mari had checked the rifle on her hands. It was empty, but she could still use it as a club. Her grip on it tightened.

Canus jumped at Kamandi, all wild eyes and drooling mouth. Normally, Kamandi would have reacted with lightning speed, but this was his oldest friend, the friend who had traveled the world at his side. Canus slammed on Kamandi, and fell over him. He was trembling violently, struggling to control himself.

Suddenly, before Canus could bite Kamandi, the butt of a rifle hit him on the side of the head. Canus' body fell over the last boy on Earth like a bag of rocks, unconscious. Kamandi looked up, to see a pair of wild eyes behind red rimmed eyeglasses.

Mari clutched the rifle with white-knuckled hands. Her breath came out in ragged bursts. She was crying.

The girl dropped the rifle and fell to her knees. "(Eeep!)" Kamandi pushed Canus off him, and checked his pulse.

"(He's out.)" He looked at Mari. "(Are you okay?)"

Still shaken, Mari nodded brusquely, her eyes still wide with fear. "(What happened?)"

"(I'm not sure… He said something about…)" he sniffed. "(…blood…)" He turned around. "(Pass me those ropes, will you? I don't want to risk him waking up and going wild again.)"

"(S-s-sure.)"

Soon, Dr. Canus was tied up securely. Once satisfied his friend was safely bound, Kamandi stood up and sniffed around. "(Can you smell it? There's blood somewhere near.)" He followed his nose. To Mari.

"(It's you! Why do you smell of blood?)"

"(Blood? No! It's just LCL.)" She caught herself. "(Wait.)" She sniffed at her fingers and wrinkled her nose. "(Damn! It really does smell like blood. Wait here.)"

She ran up, back to the white cylinder she had come out. She slammed her fist on a panel. The white cylinder slid back into the giant.

"(Hey, blondie. I think the doc will be better now. But, just in case, I should go take a shower. Okay?)"

"(What?)"

"(Gimme a few minutes. The pilot's dressing room is close, I hope the water recycling system still works...)"

She ran away, and disappeared into a side hall.

Kamandi knelt beside his old friend, watching his chest rise and fall steadily.

Tokyo-3
General Hospital

"Rei? Do you have any idea of exactly why the baka asked us to come here? I mean, a hospital? Not the place to take a lady for a walk, unless it's one of those weird cultural things you Japanese have."

"My knowledge of Ikari's motives are as limited as yours. And I would appreciate if you abstain from demeaning him."

"You're sweet on him? Great…" Asuka didn't recognize the feeling, but she had felt a little stab of jealousy. "I though you would have better taste."

Rei blinked twice. "Sweet? Explain, please."

"You like him?"

"Yes. He has been very nice to me. He has granted me his friendship."

"Whoa-whoa-whoa… " Asuka waved her hands around. "Friends? That's it?"

"Friends, yes. He hasn't said or done anything that could indicate deeper feelings."

"What about the girls at school? I have seen some of them undressing him with their eyes. Bunch of weirdos, if you ask me?"

"No. He has been very reserved at school. Aside Aida, Suzuhara, Horaki, you and myself, he hasn't associated closely with anybody. Although he is in friendly terms with the whole class, and several students from other groups, both male and female. He is well regarded by most of the school."

"Reaaaaaally..? Interesting. So he's kinda popular, huh?"

Before Rei could answer, Toji arrived. "Hey, Red, Blue. Glad you came. Shinji is walking around with Sakura."

"Who?" for an instant, several scenarios whirled around Asuka's brain. Not that she would admit any of them, even to herself.

"My sister. Shinji comes to visit her every chance he has. Now hurry up. I want to introduce you two. She wants to meet you both."

"Ab—guh…" Asuka's tongue refused to move in a coordinated fashion. Rei simply pulled her arm after Toji. '…not a girl at school… Rei is just a friend… must be… Sakura must be Monkey-boy's older sister… At a hospital… A nurse!'

"'Physical Rehab'?"

Toji opened the door, and allowed the pilots to enter, he called. "We're here."

For a moment, Asuka's eyes glared jealously at the nurse who was next to Shinji, she was writing on a tablet. The pilot stood up immediately at seeing his friends. "Hi! Glad to see you." The nurse bowed deeply to them, excused herself, and went to the patients in the next area.

"So, what, you're after a nurse or what?" Asuka poked at his chest, tilting her head at the oblivious nurse.

"Hey!" came an indignant answer, from behind a partition. "Shinji came to visit me!"

The young man smiled at the surprised expression on Asuka's face. Toji looked like he was about to burst laughing. "Come out, squirt, you have rested enough. Time for the second lap."

Asuka heard a heavy metallic stomping behind the partition, followed closely by a girl of about eight, maybe nine years old; with her legs encased in a heavy harness. "Hi," she waved at the pilots and bowed as deep as she dared. "Nice to meet you. Shinji has spoken highly of both of you." Asuka smiled at hearing this.

"Sakura," Shinji added, "Allow me to introduce you to Asuka Langley Soryu, pilot of Unit-02; and Rei Ayanami, pilot of Unit-00. Asuka, Rei, this is my friend, Sakura Suzuhara."

While Rei bowed, Asuka stammered for a couple of seconds, trying to reset her brain. "H-hi! Nice to meet you too." Then she bowed too.

"So, you're the Red Devil, uh?" Sakura eyed her in a way that made Asuka think the girl only needed a magnifying glass to look like an entomologist examining a bug.

Asuka turned towards Toji, glaring at him. "Red Devil?"

"Slappy-Happy Red Devil. Toji told me what happened at the ship. You shouldn't slap Shinji. He's nice."

"Hey! He… I… Yeah… Well… I mean… He was about to…"

"Drop it, Red." Toji rescued her. "Just don't try to explain. That's a talk I don't want to give for a few years. Heck, even Dad wants to do it as late as possible."

"Okay, but when you're older I will have to have a talk with you, kid. Right now I don't know how to explain what happened."

"Well. I know about the dress. But that wasn't Shinji's fault." Sakura shrugged.

Toji nodded sagely, and then realized Sakura had defended Shinji, and Shinji alone. "Hey! What about me? That wasn't my fault either!"

"Nope." Sakura loved to rile her brother up. Before Toji could say anything else, Sakura defused him with a hug.

"Guh… Heck, squirt… Knock it off. You have to walk around, don't you?"

Asuka and Rei looked at the scene. "Okay, okay, we get it. She has you wrapped around her little finger, Jock-Stooge. I'm getting cavities just by looking at you."

Rei watched the siblings with curiosity. She hadn't had much chance before to examine family interactions, except for some very limited, and very cold, exchanges between Shinji and Commander Ikari. This was… She tried to find a word that fit, but none came to her mind. She would have to ask Shinji later.

Toji disentangled from the hug, all business again. "Very well, that's enough; now, squirt. What did the doctor said?"

A big smile brightened Sakura's face. "I'm doing very well!" she beamed at him. "I can walk the whole track! I get very tired, but I don't have to stop! He said I'm healing nicely. I still have to wear these things for a while," she patted her harness a couple of times, "(but they will change it for a lighter set in a couple of months. And I'll be able to walk with just a cane."

Shinji beamed a big smile at her. "Great! Let's show Toji how better you are now." The girl blushed cutely. Shinji took her hand in his, and guided her to the start of the track.

Sakura walked stiffly, but she kept her balance quite well, she barely needed to grab the bars.

In route back to the Pilot's Apartments
Later

"OK, there's a story there, spit it."

Shinji swallowed. "In my first sortie, I l-lost…" he swallowed again. "I lost control of the EVA, it caused a partial collapse of the building Toji and Sakura were hiding in. He wasn't hurt, but the debris fell on her, and she got many fractures in her legs. It was my fault. She should be around, running and jumping, not learning how to walk again." He looked absolutely miserable.

"So, I train hard to keep control of the EVA, and not hurt anybody else."

Asuka nodded. Maybe she couldn't ever understand his motivation to pilot the Evangelion, but at least, she could respect it.

Rei added. "Shinji is very considerate."

Author Notes

Hard as it is to believe, the Penguin has been actually shown to be in relatively good physical shape for his size. In Secret Origins Special #1, from 1989 (IIRC), he is shown to have been bullied as a kid; he trained himself to box, and won a satisfactory fight against his bully. Of course, the bully retaliated, and it would be years before Oswald had the chance to settle the score.

In the original DC Comics continuity, Lar-Gand's spaceship landed near Smallville, with amnesia. As he carried with him Kryptonian tech and star maps made by Jor-El, Superboy thought he was his big brother, and named him Mon-El. A series of encounters with lead revealed he wasn't from Krypton, but from Daxam, and he was sent to the Phantom Zone to save his life. Superboy would try to develop a cure for years, but it would not be. The cure had to wait until the 30th Century!

Post-Crisis, Lar Gand had some time to be a hero after the Invasion crossover. He took the name Valor, and had quite a lot of adventures for a while, he even had his own book for a while. The best known (in universe) of his adventures involved seeding a lot of planets with humanoid life. Many of those would be the birth places of different races (and Legionnaires). Eventually, right on time for the Legion Reboot during Zero Hour, he was a victim of lead poisoning, and Superboy had to put him in the Buffer Zone.

In the 30th Century, Valor was seen as some kind of messianic figure. However, he and the Legion decided to give him a new identity, to stop a series of problems, including religious wars over him! He was renamed M'Onel, from the ancient martian language, meaning "the Wanderer."

About Ferro, or Ferro Lad as he was called Pre-Crisis, his is a tragic tale. In the original version, he was a disfigured mutant, born with the power to turn his body into a sort of organic metal (way before Colossus, from the X-Men), a power his twin brother also had. Ferro Lad sacrificed his life to save the Solar System from a monster which literally, ate suns.

The Reboot version was a prisoner at a research center, who escaped with several other immates with help from time-displaced Legionnaires. He became unofficially part of the team, and when they went back to the 30th Century, he left with them and has been in the future ever since, now an official member of the Legion.

However, unlike Superboy, neither M'Onel or Ferro has much to keep them in the 21st Century Earth.

Sakura is a joy to write.