Darkness, Part 2

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

Tokyo-3
Geo-Front, Dr. Akagi´s Lab
Four Days After Sandalphon. 3:07 P.M.

"Can we take five minutes, Dr. Akagi? Please..." Shinji Ikari was sick and tired of the unending series of tests and calibrations, calibrations and tests, tests and tests, and calibration tests. He had come to hate both words. He had brought a couple of books, as Misato had advised him. One was his Physics textbook, the other the autobiography of Ralph and Susan Dibny, "A Nose for Mysteries"; published just a couple of months before.

But the young man hadn´t had the chance to read a single book. Dr. Akagi and Lt. Ibuki insisted on him being tested with a series of strange machines, somehow, he even had the feeling not all that tech had even been developed on Earth.

"Keep silent, Shinji, or we will have to re-start."

Shinji sighed. This batch of tests had been going on for two hours, with no end in sight. He turned his attention inside, and began to compile a list of questions he would like to have answers for. With a groan, his inner Robin put his imaginary shoulder to the wheel, he was tired too.

Somewhere in the ocean, near Tokyo-3 Bay
Same time

A little box buried in the silt lit up, and a sound carried through the dark waters.

"Ping!"

Tokyo-3
Katsuragi-Ikari Apartment
7:25 P.M.

´(I´ll never admit it, but I really miss the Boy Wonder´s cooking...)´ Asuka played with her food, pushing an unrecognizable morsel around the plate. With Ikari at the Geo-Front, the task of making dinner had fell on Misato´s hands. ´(How can she burn the exterior of chicken nuggets and keep the insides frozen solid? HOW?)´ she thought. ´(It is an affront to science!)´

Somehow, Misato was even able to eat that! Asuka guessed it must be a combination of her atomic curry and the three cans of beer she had drained while preparing... no... making? Nope. Ruining dinner was a better description... And she was almost an hour late.

Rei had been spared from the torture thanks to her vegetarian diet. The bluenette had simply mixed some vegetables in a bowl, with a ready mixed dressing the Boy Wonder had left to be found in the freezer, and she was set. Oh, the unfairness of the universe!

As Asuka contemplated the posibility of bolting away to see if the German restaurant Misato had suggested Shinji was open, the electronic lock opened, and the Third Child entered the apartment. The German girl´s hopes for an edible meal were dashed as soon as she saw Shinji´s face.

"...grooooooo..."

His eyes were half closed, his head tilted to one side, and after a long pause he stumbled inside the apartment. For a moment, it seemed he had forgotten to come inside. He dragged his feet inside, walking like a zombie. Asuka exchanged an aprehensive look with Rei. Apparently, the tests they would take during the next few days were awful! Misato hurried to help Shinji. The boy pulled weakly at the school bag he had taken with him. Rei took it from his hands, and deposited in the usual place next to the door.

"Shinji! Are you okay? What happened?" The worry in Misato´s voice was evident.

"Lots of testssss..." Shinji drawled. He looked at his colleagues. "Don´t bother to take anything... Just a change of clothes..."

"Do you want to eat something? I made some chicken nuggets and Rei can make you a salad or something."

He rubbed his face with a hand, "...gnnn... I just want to sleep, Misato." He stumbled into his room, and a few seconds later, they all heard him just fall down on his bed, leaving the door open.

Misato peeked inside. Shinji had simply let himself fall on his bed, not even bothering to remove his shoes. She did it for him, and covered his body with a blanket. "After all the times you´ve done this for me, I guess it is fair." She whispered, and as she walked out the room, she turned off the light. By then, his young ward was snoring softly. And drooling on his pillow.

Tokyo-3
A Lonely Cabin, Somewhere in the Outskirts of the City
7:42 P.M.

"(I want this equipment. Handle the acquisition discreetly. I don´t want it tracked back to me.)" The thin man in the black suit handed a simple printout to the other man. His eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, the local man guessed it was either to intimidate him or to hide his identity. But actually it was just to hide the dark bags under his eyes, it had been a long trip. And the jet lag was killing him. If it wasn´t for the large dose of black coffee he had drank before the appointment, he doubted he would even be awake.

"(Sure, I can do that. I even have some stuff in my inventory. The trucks I´ll need to get. When do you want the delivery?)" The short man chewed on the end of his unlit cigar, rubbing the stubble on his chin.

"(Five days. My crew and I will check it out and made sure everything works fine.)" ´and it will give us time to explore the city and get rid of this damned jet lag.´ he thought.

"(Hey, man! I deliver quality! And you´re paying good money, I´d like to get some repeating biz, you know? It´s waaay better to get trust than to just scalp people. Especially for the kinda money you are willing to pay. And I´d also like you to reccomend me and my crew to any friends of yours who might want a deal like this.)"

"(Right. You deliver as agreed, and I´ll make sure of that.)"

A down payment was deposited in the account, and both men parted ways. Each to his own associates.

Tokyo-3
Geo-Front, Dr. Akagi´s Lab
7:47 P.M.

"Well, Maya. All results are absolutely normal." Dr. Akagi leaned back on her chair, exhaling a lungful of gray smoke. "Shinji´s brain is as normal as it can get, even with exposition to the EVA´s interface."

"I´m glad of it, Dr. Akagi. He´s a nice kid."

"Well.. yes." She took another drag of the cigarette. ´Pity he will be a basketcase by the end of the year.´ she thought.

"Should I schedule Asuka for tomorrow?" Maya stretched her arms above her head, making her spine pop. "...ooohhhh... I needed that."

Akagi snorted in amusement. "Sure, let´s hope we can find whatever made that weird reading. You may go home, Maya. I´ll inform the Commander of the results."

"Thanks, Doctor. I´ll call Captain Katsuragi before leaving. I´m dead tired."

Tokyo-3
Ayanami-Soryu Apartment
7:56 P.M.

While Rei busied herself with reading an abstruse textbook about biochemistry, Asuka hesitated between raiding the fridge in search of her chocolate ice-cream reserve to wash the taste of dinner from her mouth (and to hell with her diet), or going up to the roof for the next hour or so.

In any case, Rei was deeply absorbed into her reading.

"Hey, Wonder Girl, are you scared?" Asuka finally decided on raiding the fridge. Her little trip to the roof would wait for later.

Rei looked at her. "Of what?"

"Of whatever tests Dr. Akagistein and her Igoruki helper have in mind for us, of course."

"Who? I have no knowledge of those persons in NERV´s personnel."

Asuka sweatdropped. "It was a joke, Wondy. You saw Ikari, right? Who knows what Dr. Akagi and Lt. Ibuki made him do?"

"Oh, I see." She closed her book. "We can ask him tomorrow."

Asuka looked at her sideways from the kitchen. "That´s it? Aren´t you worried?"

"I think Ikari is only tired. Should he not be in good health tomorrow, then we will have reasons to worry."

Right then, the phone rang. Rei answered it.

It was Misato, tomorrow would be Asuka´s turn.

Somewhere outside the Material Dimension
Same time

A dark shape stirred in her solid energy cocoon. It was almost time to awake and start her mission.

Matarael pinged back at the beacon.

Soon she would cross the dimensional barrier and walk to her destination. In the meanwhile, she would take every nanosecond of sleep she could get, going back to her creator would be a tiring enterprise.

Tokyo-3
Geo-Front, Commander Ikari´s Lair
Next day, 8:25 A.M.

"As you can see, sir, Shinji´s results are completely normal. We couldn´t find any hint of a defect or glitch in him nor in the interface systems." Dr. Akagi spread the print-outs all over the Commander´s desk.

With two fingers, Commander Ikari pushed his eyeglasses up his nose, and tented his fingers in front of his face, "I want the Second Child examined with a microscope if necessary." Gendo Ikari decreed. "I don´t want her anywhere near an Evangelion Unit, in case this is not a defect from the operating systems of the EVA or the interface. Neither she nor the other pilots are to know of this development. In case of an Angel attack, the Second Child is to be held in reserve"

"Yes, sir. I´ll log it immediately."

"You will inform me of the results as soon as you have them."

Tokyo-3
Geo-Front, Commander Ikari´s Lair
Spiritual plane, 8:25 P.M.

"Oh, hell and damnation! I may be a high school drop-out, but even I can see why this happened…" Deadman facepalmed and sweatdropped at the same time. He needed to talk to the Phantom Stranger immediately, but feared to miss any other information Dr. Akagi and Commander Badshave could discuss in the meanwhile.

Undisclosed Location
Unregistered Island Near the Coast of Madagascar
Queen´s Private Cell; 10:12 PM (Local Time)

In her private suite, H.I.V.E.´s Queen Bee prepared herself for the night. As always, the hedonistic woman indulged herself in a long bath, the water perfumed with exotic essences, and imported bath salts. Carefully, her attendants washed her long red hair, and treated her skin with youth preserving oils.

Her attendants toweled her body with care, and took care to dry and brush her hair. She was immensely proud of her beauty, and took great pains to keep it. It had been years since the last time she had taken a lover. After her disastrous liasons with that flexible buffoon, she had taken great pleasure in ruining him. Her left eyebrow twitched minutely. She reigned her own impulse to from at the unwelcome memory.

She dismissed her drones for the night. Tonight was a time for memories, and those were the only things she possessed that would not be ever shown off to anybody else. Her memories and feelings were for her, for her alone, and no one else.

Once she was by herself, she pushed a hidden panel at the back of her quarters. A secret door slid silently over exquisitely designed rails. At the other side, her secret chamber awaited for her.

As she crossed the threshold, light fixtures in the ceiling lighted in sequence, illuminating the place from entrance to the further wall.

The chamber was empty of any furniture, except for a dais full of buttons and levers, and a series of screens. A plexiglass cylinder placed in the center of the room shone softly in the light, reminiscent of an obelisk or an altar. Inside it, a deform body stood. The Queen caressed the transparent surface. Her emerald green eyes shone with unshed tears.

Her fingers traced a simple logo set of the surface of the dais, a double "R", the letters were mirror images of each other. A few years over two decades before, that logo was known and respected all over America. Her economic ability and ruthless business practices had placed her almost at the top of the money food chain. Only Lex Luthor was more ruthless than her, and only Bruce Wayne was luckier.

She snorted at the faces her memories had shown her. Both her rivals were gone now. One dead in a ludicrous accident, and the other had slipped quietly into oblivion, after realizing his biggest ambition, becoming the most powerful man in the world.

She herself had came to an epiphany, and that revelation was so painful she had vanished from the public eye, dedicating all her considerable resources to one single goal, rebuild and revive her lover.

She walked around the cylinder, studying its occupant with a love and devotion in her stunning green eyes that no one could have thought her capable of.

It looked like a man, midway between a caveman and Quasimodo. Immensely strong and smart, and as amoral and merciless as her. At the beginning, he was just a mean to an end, wiping Bruce Wayne´s smile and fortune. But at the end, she had legitimately grown fond of the android, and he of her. Pity she had realized that only after his demise.

After his destruction, she had been obsessed with recovering the only man worthy of her affections.

And now, after all these years, the means to restore his incredible mind were at her fingertips.

She smiled at the delightful irony of it all. The destroyers of her love would be the means to resurrect him!

She chuckled softly for a moment, her laughter grew in intensity until she was cackling like a madwoman. She began to dance alone, turning around the plexiglass cylinder; hugging herself, imagining she and her love were dancing over the remains of their enemies.

Author Notes

Ralph Dibny and his wife Susan will eventually make an appearance in this story, still happily married, and having come to terms with the absence of so many friends since Second Impact. Their autobiography doesn´t exist in continuity, I just thought they would write and publish it to hommage their friends. The title not only alludes to Ralph´s strange tic of moving his nose side to side whenever he found some mistery to investigate; also to his talent to find those little misteries everywhere, no matter what he was doing at the moment. Many of those little adventures were published in the back-ups of Detective Comics.

And just because I can, they will have a nice set of companions to herd around.

Ruby Ryder, our mysterious Queen Bee, had several appearances in The Brave and the Bold. Frankly, I thought she had more to do in the DCU, but it seems her creator, the amazing Bob Haney, was the only writer to use her (and certainly, she had nothing to do with H.I.V.E., that is my doing).

Personally, I think Ruby Ryder could have gone to be one of the best DC villains, she was Post-Crisis Lex Luthor before Post-Crisis Lex Luthor was created. And she was waaaay better looking than the bald guy. Coincidentally, both are redheads.

She only had four appearances, total, all of them in TBatB. And it was precisely the last one, the inspiration I needed to weave another connection between the DCU and the EVAverse.