Interludes After the Eight Angel, Part 3

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).

Hot Springs Resort
1 Day after the Eight Angel
12:50 P.M.
Spiritual Plane

"(Feeling better, pal?)" Deadman asked, while walking around in the pool. Playfully, he dodged the splashes of water thrown by Shinji, Asuka, Misato and Kaji, as they played with a beach ball.

The Phantom Stranger rested on one of the lounge chairs, he was obviously tired to the bones. "(Yes. I´ll need some time to recover fully. But I could act now if necessary.)"

"(Good. You had me worried for a while back there. I had never seen you so beat.)" He cleared his throat teathrically. "(You know? Something weird happened in the Evangelion core, and frankly, it has me spooked. Me! A freaking ghost! Spooked! Can you believe it?)"

The Stranger nodded. "(Tell me everything in detail. Yesterday my focus was lacking.)"

"(Weeell... I was in EVA-02´s plug with Asuka, everything was going well, but then she was knocked out. I hijacked her body and tried to pilot the thing. At first it was responding, but the synch went down like a lead shoe. Dr. Soryu, both of her, rejected me in the gestation or whatever you call it when you join minds.)"

"(Gestalt.)" The Stranger provided. "(in this context, it is the connection of two souls to move the Evangelion.)"

Deadman smirked, remembering an old TV show. "(Those Germans have words for everything... Ok, the Gestalt. Dr. Soryu, rejected me. So I dove into the EVA´s core to see what could I do. Her two halves were fighting each was creepy, one looks like she was when her soul got split, plugsuit and all; the other looks like she was when she died, I guess.)" He scratched his nose.

The Stranger nodded. "(Unless her soul is reintegrated, that is to be expected.)"

Deadman sat indian style over a spare beach ball. "(Yeah, I know, but the thing is, one wants Asuka to live,)" he extended his right hand, palm up, "(the other wants her to die.)" He extended his left hand in the same way, "(And neither likes this little red ghost very much.)"

"(I see.)" The Stranger tented his fingers in front of his face, thinking.

"(Please, don´t do that. I´m sick and tired of seeing Commander Bad Father doing it)"

"(As you wish.)" The Stranger extended his index fingers, pointing up, tapping his chin with the points.

"(Better. Back to the report... Ahem. I tried to talk them into helping me help Asuka. The one in the plugsuit was kinda open to the idea, but the other wasn´t. I... I kinda tried to hijack Crazy Kyoko.)" Deadman shut up, gathering his thoughts. "(I hijacked a bodyless soul inside the core of an EVA.)" He stabbed his right index on his left palm, punctuating his words; all the while feeling the eyes of the Stranger on him, waiting.

"(I saw her hands and body, she was wearing my suit, instead of the hospital gown she wore when I got in the core. Is that what happens everytime I hijack somebody?)"

The Stranger took a moment to answer, with a simple "(Yes.)" Deadman shook his head, looking at him.

The Stranger continued. "(Everytime you possess a body, your soul mixes with the host´s, putting them to... sleep for a while, if you want to see it that way. Until now, you hadn´t had the chance to see the effect on a soul. As you were occupying their bodies, their souls were hidden to you, you could only see their bodies. I think, the power Rama Kushna granted you protects your soul from... absorbing some of your host´s personality, and them from absorbing part of yours.)"

Deadman looked worriedly at his hands. "(I have fought ghosts, but this never happened before.)" He closed his fists, had he been solid enough, he might have punched something in frustration.

"(Such ghosts were unusually strong-willed, and you fought them in the spiritual plane. The core of an Evangelion is a different environment.)"

Deadman´s shoulders sagged while he thought about the news. "(I have the feeling there´s something you aren´t telling me.)"

"(It will be disturbing to hear.)" Was the soft answer.

"(Of course it will. Why would things get any easier?)" teathrically, he pinched the bridge of his nose, "(I want to know more, but...)" He turned towards the people in the pool, looking at them with longing in his eyes. "(Let´s leave that for later, I don´t think I can handle any more surprises today.)"

The Stranger nodded solemly.

October the 17th , Year 2002
Over the Indian Sea
11:23 P.M.

Adam Strange, archaeologist turned into interplanetary adventurer, held onto his rocket pack, while traveling along a Zeta-beam. Years before, a scientist from another planet had tried to stablish communication with Earth, by means of an exotic form of energy, the Zeta-Beam. For a long time, he had sent the beams at Earth, aiming towards very diverse regions, mountains, deserts, jungles, seas, but to no avail. However, the beams had an unexpected property. Adam found it by accident, as he was fleeing from a hostile tribe in Peru. He was hit by the energy, and transported to another planet: Rann. There he found another civilization, highly advanced, but in constant danger. Once the initial shock had passed, he found himself practically adopted by Sardath, the scientist; and his daughter, Alanna. Learning their language was incredibly easy, they just used a weird machine, and presto! He was fluent in both Ranneii, the local planetary language; and Interlac, a space lingua franca.

However, the effect of the Zeta-Beams was too short, he could stay on Rann a couple of days, at most, before the effect passed, and he was transported back to Earth. Sardath kept a log of every Zeta-Beam he had shot, and Adam had memorized the coordinates and times each succesive Zeta-Beam would hit the Earth. For years, he had been shot back and forth from Earth to Rann and viceversa.

Adam hated the return trip from Rann. True, he always ended up mixed in some plot to conquer Rann, or fighting some weird creature (or both things at once); but that was just his lot, and if he was sincere with himself, it was mostly fun. Of course, he would love to just enjoy a couple of days with Alanna. But if that the price he had to pay to be with his beautiful girlfriend, now wife, so be it. He smiled at the memory of her perfect face, and that dazzling smile that had stolen his heart since the first time he lay eyes on her.

Alanna was smart, willful, energetic, fun, beautiful, knowledgeable, bubbly sometimes. But above all, she was determined to save her planet from each and every catastrophe, monster or invader that could come.

Now, if everything went well back on Earth, he would pick up a nice and big ring and a set of bracelets for their wedding anniversary. A couple of years before, Sardath, his father-in-law, had taken an afternoon free, to school Adam on Rannian traditions; and to their mutual amusement, found out that both cultures had a similar tradition about anniversary gifts. However, Rannian tradition was very precise, for this anniversary, he should present simple bands of electrum (an alloy of gold and silver, symbolizing the couple), accompanied by a bracelet for each spouse.

Adam had a nice stash of exotic jewels he had collected in Rann, and could afford to sell them for a good amount of money. Nothing too exotic for Earth, of course; he had limited his choice to gems that existed on Earth. Trying to sell a farith gem would be too difficult and create too many questions; no earthly gem shone with purple light under the sun, for example.

Adam was actually enjoying this last leg of the trip, thinking on his return trip in a couple of weeks. After Second Impact, he had been more visible among the superhero community of Earth, lending a hand wherever he could, but his priority was on Rann. The first five months after Second Impact had been the worst. The Impact Wars had claimed the lifes of many friends, and even enemies. Almost since the beginning, he had been part of a team to address the most urgent problems, including the shifts in weather. It had been an honor to work with minds like Dr. Jenet Klyburn (from S.T.A.R. Labs in Metropolis), Dr. Emil Hamilton (Superman´s unofficial scienctific advisor), Victor Stone (AKA Cyborg), Doc Magnus (AKA Veridium, until the disappearance of the Metal Men),Tina McGee (from Mercury Labs), Michael Holt (AKA Mr. Terrific), and even a couple of reformed villains.

He shook his head, things had mostly quieted down, and mankind was already on the way back to normal, despite the changes. It was time to think a bit on himself and Alanna.

Somehow, the Zeta-Beam allowed him to see ahead, and he was already starting to see the main features of the coasts of the Indian Sea.

But there was something weird... Earth was surrounded by a greenish glow... Instinctively, he tried to stop. It was useless, a Zeta-Beam would only stop when it hit a solid object. The Earth was closer by the moment, until he could see lights on the coast, tinged in green. He had no way to calculate how long until he hit the green glow.

Suddenly, he felt like he was being turned upside down and inside out.

Everything went black, and he knew no more.

April the 5th, 2003
Somewhere in the Suburbs Near New York
Scott and Barda Free´s House

"(I want you to be a strong girl, you understand, Mraia?)" Big Barda hugged her daughter, she wasn´t able to actually cry as she wanted to do, a lifetime of conditioning at Granny Goodness' Orphanage had made impossible for her to shed tears, but her voice conveyed her sadness.

The little six years old girl nodded, her own tears flowed freely. Barda was very proud of her daughter´s ability to show her emotions. Although the little one tried to be as stoic as her mother, she had more than a little of her father, Scott Free, in her spirit.

"(But... why can´t you stay, Mommy?)" She hugged Barda with fierce strenght.

After almost a minute, Barda separated herself from the hug; holding her daughter´s shoulders, and looked deeply into Mraia´s eyes. "(We must go, to protect you. The bad god, Darkseid, must be stopped.)"

Mraia nodded, sadly. "(Can I go with you?)"

Barda shook her head, closing her eyes for a moment. "(No, my sweetie. It will be too dangerous for you. Daddy and I need you to grow up strong and skilled. Shiloh and Oberon will train you while we are away. I want you to train hard, to learn all you can, and to be ready when we come back.)"

Mraia nodded, her big blue eyes full of determination.

Meanwhile, Scott Free pulled his mask tight over his head, the fabric clung instantly to his skin, forming a skintight layer to protect him from most substances that could harm him. He put his cloak on, and hugged his oldest living friend on Earth, Oberon. "(Take care of my daughter, old friend.)"

The dwarf sobbed sadly. "(I will, Scott. Take care of yourself and Barda, kid.)" He blew his nose on a handkerchief. "(You know, Thaddeus would have been proud to see you now.)"

"(I owe him more than I could say, Oberon. And to you. Back when we met, I had no idea of what to do, what to be.)" he pulled his Mother Box from the hidden pouch on his left sleeve. She pinged rapidly for a few seconds.

A tall, lanky afro-american man, Shiloh Norman, peeked into the room, pointing his thumb over his shoulder. "(Scott, the kids are ready. Time to go.)" he tapped the door frame twice, and went back to the garage.

In the otherwise empty garage, the Forever People made the last adjustments to their Super-Cycle.

While Mark Moonrider and Vykin the Black finished with the adjustments under the curious eyes of Shiloh Norman, Big Bear went to the kitchen. The red maned New God´s tall and wide body could barely pass through the door frame. He pulled out an economy sized box of cookies from the pantry. "(For the road.)" He explained with a smile. "(New Genesis has many wonders, but these, these you can only get on Earth!)"

Serifan pulled a cosmic cartridge from the band on his cowboy hat, and put it in Shiloh´s hand. "(Guard her well, friend Shiloh. She will be useful one day.)"

Shiloh nodded, solemly. "(What does it do?)"

Serifan smiled with a shrug, "(I really don´t know, but she insisted. Give her to Mraia, she says they belong together. The cartridge will tell you both when Mraia´s ready. Beyond that, I really don´t know)"

Shiloh put the cosmic cartridge in his own sleeve, next to his Mother Box. She pinged happily for a couple of seconds, and the cartridge pinged back. It seemed like they had a lot to talk about.

Beautiful Dreamer poked her head through the door. Her long black hair flowed like a cascade behind her. "(We´re ready, Scott. Once we leave, Earth will be sealed and protected. No other Boom-Tubes will open in Sol System.)"

Scott knelt next to his daughter, and pulled the girl in a long hug. The girl hugged him back fiercely, both crying. "(We will be back, Mraia. We will come back.)"

"(I know, Daddy.)" She wiped her tears.

"(Shiloh and Oberon will be with you. Don´t get into much trouble. But don´t run from it if you can handle it.)"

The goodbyes took a few minutes more, Shiloh was the last to say goodbye to his mentor. He clasped Scott´s hand and slapped his shoulder with long earned familiarity "(Kick Darkseid´s ass for me; okay, Scott?)"

"(We will try. There´s a long line for that, you know.)"

Once the Forever People sat on their places on the Super-Cycle, the sentient machine opened a Boom Tube to New Genesis. Shiloh, Oberon, and Mraia looked into the impossible opening into another dimension, glimpsing the beautiful floating city at the other side. Supertown. The adult New Gods waved goodbye as they moved along the energy tube. The Forever People in the Super-Cycle, Scott on his aero-disks, and Barda being dragged by her Mega-Rod.

In a few seconds, they were gone, the smell of ozone in the air was the only hint of their departure.

Hot Springs Resort
1 Day after the Eight Angel
Sunset.

Shinji sat in the hot spring pool, on the men´s side, relaxing after a long day of fun and games. ´I guess we earned it... This is nice.´

Ryoji Kaji sat a few meters away, also relaxing. He was reading a manga, ocassionally chuckling his amusement at something in the story.

Lt. Hyuga had excused himself a few minutes before, and gone back to his room.

Pen-Pen swam lazily around them. The warm water penguin had enjoyed the day as much, and even more, than his human companions.

From the Ladies´s side, Misato´s voice jarred Shinji out of his hard earned peace of mind. "Shinji? Can you hear me?"

Immediately, Shinji shook his head, dropping the wet towel he had on his forehead. "Y-yes, Misato!"

"Would you throw me the body shampoo, please?"

Then Asuka added, "We ran out of ours."

A very unladylike snort followed that bit. Shinji guessed it was either Lt. Yamaguchi or Dr. Akagi. Mentally, he shrugged and went for the bottle of shampoo. "Yeah, sure, here it goes." He threw the plastic bottle over the bamboo divider, missing Kaji´s raised eyebrow.

A second later, Asuka yelped. "Ouch! You idiot! Look where you´re throwing."

"Um... sorry... It was an accident." Shinji´s inner Robin was trying to get his attention over something, but the young pilot was distracted by Kaji´s "Psst!"

Shinji turned around, to see Kaji holding a finger over his mouth, asking for silence, and then tapping his hear and pointing to the other side of the pool.

"He hit me in my most essential part." Asuka whined.

Misato answered. "Let me take a look."

Asuka giggled, while Misato´s voice commented. "Wow, Asuka! Your skin is so soft and smooth!"

The redhead giggled some more. "No! You´re tickling me!"

Shinji blushed by reflex. A new ´Psst!´ from Kaji distracted him again. The man mouthed silently. "They are playing with you. It´s just a game."

Shinji nodded, and inner Robin reminded Shinji he had clearly heard the splash of the bottle hitting the water. So, he hadn´t hit Asuka at all.

He nodded at Kaji, and sat back on his place, while Asuka and Misato kept their game of "Make Shinji Blush".

He heard Dr. Akagi saying, "Well, it´s time for dinner, we will wait for you at the restaurant. I want to shower first."

Lt. Yamaguchi also excused herself.

As night fell, Shinji and Kaji looked at the sun setting. They could still hear the women´s voices, but their words weren´t clear enough to understand.

"Um... Kaji..." Shinji´s arms rested on his raised knees. His left hand gripping the right.

"Yes?"

"Do you think we have a chance against the Angels?"

The man took a long time to answer. "I hope so. You are doing well, the three of you."

"It´s just... I don´t know what the future will bring."

"No one knows. All we can do is try to be ready, but the only guarantee is that it will surprise you."

Shinji noticed a series of puckered scars in Kaji´s torso. The man nodded. "These?" He pointed at the scars, "A few of those surprises, but they are from a long time ago. They are in the past." His eyes stared at the distance for a long time. Shinji kept quiet, respecting the man´s introspection.

Author Notes

To Mythfan, I hope the explanation satisfies you. I thought long and hard about how Deadman´s power works long before starting with that scene, and this is the explanation I came with. In the comics I read, I never saw any hint of what happens to the souls of the people he possesses.

To Mac, I chose to go with the jealousy angle because I understand it better than the fear of paternity. In my personal headcanon, Gendo was always a jealous, entitled jerk. The whole fear of paternity angle at the end felt, to me, forced. By then, any sympathy the character might have gotten from me was already gone. Too little, too late. As it was, I thought it was a last minute justification.

One of my earliest memories is of reading the Mexican reprints of Mistery in Space, published here in and umbrella title: Titanes Planetarios (Planetary Titans, it included most of the DC Science Fiction titles).

Adam Strange (renamed Adán Luna) was one of my favorites in the rotating cast. I still have a few of those comics, including the earliest one I remember, the one with the strange guru-like creature with a crystal ball for head (Mistery in Space #71).

Adam´s appearance here is an hommage to those little tales. I would like to get a trade of all those stories, not only the Adam Strange, but all of them, including Star Hunters, I remember being very intrigued by the premise, but sadly, only got a couple of issues.

Mr. Miracle was part of one of Jack Kirby´s most enduring works. The Fourth World saga, composed of Mr. Miracle, Forever People, and New Gods (with some parts of Jimmy Olsen, Superman´s Pal for good measure). The fourth World gave us THE definitive vilain in Darkseid, the utmost threat for the DCU.

Kirby tended to go all out with his creations, and the sheer scale of the Fourth World is amazing. Although Darkseid debuted in Jimmy Olsen´s title, it was in Mr. Miracle that the actual scope of the New Gods and their war started to shine. From humble origins as a misterious stranger who is mentored by an old scape artist, Thaddeus Brown, and avenges his death at the orders of a gangster; Scott Free would soon be involved into cosmic struggles.

BTW, I finally found the name of Mr. Miracle and Big Barda´s daughter. It was revealed in the miniseries The Kingdom, the sequel to Kingdom Come. It´s Avia, so she was named after Mr. Miracle´s mother. However, I´ll keep Mraia here.