Interludes After the Ninth Angel, Part 1
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).
Tokyo-3, NERV HQ
Central Dogma Cafeteria
Three Days After Matarael
11:45 A.M.
"Graaaargh!" Dr. Ritsuko Akagi moaned into her hands. "This cannot be possible!"
"Rits? What do you mean?" Misato poured a cup of coffee and took a couple of chocolate cookies from the economy-sized box Kaji had graciously donated. Donated… yeah, sure… She furrowed her brow and smiled at the same time. Every time Kaji was around Central Dogma's cafeteria, he took several to munch during the day. Misato thought it was just one of several squirrely depots of his. He had been like that ever since she knew him, back in college. Anyway, back to the present.
"Doesn't matter… I am royally accumulating overtime this month, that's all." Ritsuko moved her laptop computer aside, and began to bump her forehead against the table. Thump. Thump. Thump.
"Rits, knock it off. It can't be that bad. You and Maya got the Magi back in working order in record time!"
"It's not that! And I can't speak about it… Commander's orders…"
Misato raised her open palms. "Oooookay, that's my cue to get away. I'm still angry at him for benching ASuka, and I don't want any other problem. Sorry, friend, you're on your own with this. Whatever it is…" She took her coffee, and hurriedly went back to her office. She still had some paperwork to check and sign. The last Angel might have been a paper tiger in the end, but still, she had to coordinate the removal of the damnably creepy thing from the city.
Ritsuko and Maya had already been to the site, and taken a lot of samples. Once they had decreed it was no longer needed to keep the Angel in (more or less) one piece, the removal process could begin. Misato considered herself lucky that the strange acid the 9th Angel could 'cry' had a short effective time before degrading into, funnily enough, something almost like LCL. At least it smelled like it. And while it was still active, it had exactly the same color. It was easy to know when it was inert, it became a murky red color.
Even luckier, thanks to the Angel being incredibly vulnerable to bullets (a first), and that the city had been immobilized due to the blackout, the city itself had suffered very little damage. Most of it, caused by Shinji and Rei's shots going through the thing and impacting a couple buildings behind the Angel.
Repairs were already under way, and by the end of the month, the damage would be completely gone.
Whistling happily, Misato went on with her day. The only thing that could make it better would be Commander Ikari relenting at last, and reactivating Asuka.
The girl had worked hard during the preparatives of the battle, and her help had been very invaluabble. She deserved to be back on the roster.
Tokyo-3
Geo-Front, Dr. Akagi's Lab
12:03 P.M.
"Maya? Bring the records from the Eight Angel battle, please; and also the analysis of the Second and Third Children's brainwaves."
"On my way, Dr. Akagi."
Ritsuko leaned back on her chair and exhaled a dense cloud of smoke.
Eight minutes later, Maya arrived, her arms holding the prints and the datasticks for her analysis.
"This is everything, Dr. Akagi."
"Okay, let's begin." Akagi shook her head, dreading to find what she knew would find. "You check Asuka's record from the Eight Angel fight, I'll go with Shinji's from the last fight."
Tokyo-3
Geo-Front, Dr. Akagi's Lab
Spiritual Plane
Same Time.
A red clad ghost snickered softly, comfortably sitting over Maya's computer monitor. "I wish I could point you to the answer, but it will be more fun watching you two run around chasing the Ghost in the Machine. Namely, Mrs. Brand's Handsomest Boy." He jumped back, spinning over himself three times before landing with perfect grace.
Tokyo-3
Geo-Front, Dr. Akagi's Lab
Three Hours Later
"How can it be exactly the same brainwave pattern? It makes no sense!" Maya sighed. They had checked every sensor reading, every way to split and compare the EEG readings.
"They can't have the same pattern, Dr. Akagi. Every person's brainwaves are as individual as fingerprints!"
Dr. Akagi lit up another cigarette, took a long drag of it, held the smoke for a couple of seconds, and exhaled it with evident frustration. "We can't deny it, Maya. Both readings show exactly the same pattern. It's impossible for Shinji and Asuka to have identical brainwave patterns, even for just a few seconds." She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "It must be some component in the plug. Or worse, in the EVA neurological system."
Maya's eyes opened wide. She caught the unspoken message. "I-I'll notify the maintenance crew."
"You do that. I'll notify Commander Ikari."
Tokyo-3
Geo-Front, Dr. Akagi's Lab
Spiritual Plane
Same Time.
"Aaaand I'll notify the Phantom Stranger." Deadman mockingly mimicked Dr. Akagi's voice. "See you later, Doc! Have fun!" He waved goodbye at the two women, muttering "The Phantom Stranger will be pleased to know the ruse worked like a charm!"
And he disappeared, traveling through dimensional planes, towards the Quintessence Plane.
September the 23st, 2002,
Gotham City, Wayne Manor
Guests Room (Blue)
8:00 A.M.
Reverently Alfred Pennyworth covered Thalia's face with a sheet. She had passed on during the night. Peacefully in her sleep. Her mouth even held a small smile full of relief and hope. Alfred could appreciate such an end, one he had desperately hoped for his own ward, Master Bruce; but the life he led almost guaranteed it would not be.
He sighed sadly. The day would be full of activity and he had many things to do. Still, seeing Master Richard holding the baby Lady Thalia had brought to them lifted his heart.
The baby would be a blessing for the couple. Some years back, that thrice damned clown had shot Mistress Barbara in a futile attempt to drive Commisioner Gordon over the edge of madness. She had survived, but had been paralyzed from the waist down, and her uterus had been gravely damaged by the bullet. She would never be able to have any children of her own.
Alfred bowed his head for a moment. A last farewell to a woman who had lived torn between love and family.
She had peace at last.
A Possible XXVIth Century
NERV-2 (Nevada)
Evangelion Unit-04 Cage
2 Days After Unit-04 Reactivation
"(Well, most of the systems do work)". Mari Illustrious Makinami pontificated from her position, under a console at Central Dogma. "(We have energy, thanks to the S2 Organ in Unit-04, and the main systems are back online. We will have to replace some minor components before this base can be back to 100% efficiency. And anyway, we don't need that. We can be quite comfy with a 60%.)"
"(I'm amazed, young Mari)". Dr. Canus observed. "(I have spent most of my adult life looking for information about life before the Great Disaster, and not even in my wildest dreams I could have hoped to meet somebody who lived before it!)"
"(Hey, Doc. Word to the wise: Don't go around making a girl feel old!"), playfully, she smacked him in the shin.
Canus laughed. "(Certainly it wasn't my intention! I just meant you came to us from that strange and wonderful time!)"
"(I'm just pulling your leg, Doc. Now, pass me one those tablets. Let's see if these work.)"
She accepted the packages the humanoid dog passed to her. She opened one, and with a magnifying glass, examined a piece of plastic and metal, way beyond the good doctor's knowledge.
"(Amazing! And you say one of these planks holds the knowledge of a human lifetime? Could I speak to that person?)"
"(It doesn't work like that, Doc. These aren't people, not even copies. It's just an easy way to convey the amount of data they can hold. You could think of them as… hmm… books. Imagine a big library, full of books.)"
"(I am…)" Canus closed his eyes, and judging from his expression, he imagined himself in his personal paradise.
"(Okay. Now, imagine you could have all that knowledge at your fingertips. Instantly.)"
"(Oh… yes…)" He smiled beatifically.
Mari looked at him from the floor. Even from there, his facial expression was evident. "(You are perving out, Doc. Knock it down a peg or two.)"
"(Oh, sorry.)" Had his face not been covered by fur, his blush would have been plainly visible.
"(Okay, each one of these tablets, can hold the equivalent to a whole library of data; and access it in just a few moments. So fast, you and I could think it is instantaneous.)"
Canus opened his eyes. "(Wonderful!)"
At that moment, Kamandi entered Central Dogma, still clad with his usual ragged jeans and blue leather boots, he couldn't help but feel a small stab of jealousy at the easy rapport Mari and Canus had. He shrugged once, and it passed. "(I checked around. All access points are closed. And Unit-04 is generating energy just as you said, Mari.)"
"(Cool beans, Blondie! Now, let's see is this works as it should)". She closed a panel, stood up, and pushed a few buttons on a keyboard. "(Pay attention, boys. I'll need you to do this later on other systems.)"
The next minutes were a simple lesson on how to use the base's computers. Very basic, but enough to check the integrity of the systems. It would be a long time before the base was anywhere near to where Mari wanted. But they had time.
Dr. Canus was on the Seventh Heaven! Technology from before the Great Disaster was rare enough, and he usually had to be content to examine broken remains.
Working tech was the finding of a lifetime!
Having somebody to explain it to him and actually teach him to operate it! By Grant! That was a certifiable miracle!
Kamandi wasn't by any means as enamored of tech as his friend, but he could appreciate it could make life way easier.
As they went out Central Dogma, neither noticed a blinking icon appearing in one of the screens. It was shaped like a rectangle, with two lines coming from the upper corners, uniting at the center of the rectangle.
September the 23st, 2002,
Gotham City, Wayne Industries
Richard Grayson's Office
9:45 A.M.
"(Lucius, glad you came by!)" Richard shook the hand of the tall afro-american man who had been key for the continuing prosperity of the Wayne Industries conglomerate. His financial acumen, long term planning, and plain skill on reading people had been invaluable.
"(Any time, Richard)". He greeted his boss with long time familiarity. Unlike his predecessor, Bruce Wayne, his heir insisted on fostering a sense of camaraderie with his people; also, he had known Richard since he was at college. "(Now, what can I do for you?") He sat at the elegant chair in front of the big desk. "(I guess you need something new.)"
"(Yes. Well… turns out yesterday,)" Richard took a stress ball, and threw it up, catching it with the same hand. "(an old woman came to Wayne Manor, and brought with her a baby. Apparently, Bruce had an affair with her grand-daughter about two years, two years and a half ago; I'm not sure. I need you to arrange some verification. If he is, in fact, Bruce's son, Barbara and I want to adopt him. If he isn't, we still want to adopt him. We just want to be sure.)"
Lucius Fox nodded. He had been expecting such an event for years. Apparently Bruce Wayne had been amazingly discrete about his affairs, and only a couple of gold-diggers had tried to baby-trap him, and had been brought to court so fast their heads were spinning even before the judge received the paternity tests results. "(I see. What about the woman? Did she produced any proof?)"
"(Sadly, she was very sick, and died during the night. Dr. Thompkins is taking care of the death certificate, and the woman will be buried in a nice cemetery. I only have her first name, Thalia. I don't know the name of the grand-daughter, who according to the woman, died a couple of weeks ago. Please see if you can track her family. Apparently she was an immigrant, she spoke some kind of foreign language I didn't recognize, and her English was quite bad.)" Richard knew she wouldn't show in any database in the world. Not only she was way older than she usually looked like, she hadn't even been registered by any government. Also, the League of Assassins had their own means to trick most identification currently in use. By the time of their end, they were working on ways to fool DNA matching.
"(Sure, I'll send you a private detective we can rely on. He has worked with my people a couple of times in the last year. Have you notified the police?)"
"(Barbara already spoke to her father. Commissioner Gordon is managing that end of the matter. He has people checking on the missing persons database.)"
June the 26th, 2001,
Salem, Massachussetts
Tower of Fate
"(Are you sure you want to do this?)" A strawberry blond woman asked, her long hair held by a ponytail, it floated behind her as if summerged in the primordial sea. Her translucent form walking slowly around the other woman. A tall, slim woman, clad with a modified stage magician suit; top hat, black jacket, black bowtie, golden corset over a shiny black one piece suit, a red sash on her waist; her long legs covered by a beatiful set of stockings, and shining black slippers. She only needed the stereotypical black wand with white tips to complete the look, but she didn't actually needed it.
Zatanna Zatara weighted the golden helmet on her hands. It seemed to watch her with the empty eye holes on it's featureless front. The fin that adorned the top of the helmet shone in the weak light. The glint promised power at the cost of her individuality.
"(No,)" her voice trembled, and looked at her host's eyes. "(I don't want to, Inza. But...") She exhaled slowly. "(But what I do want is... it doesn't matter.)"
"(Nabu can be a harsh master, I know.)" The ghost of Inza Nelson seemed to shrink on herself. "(I lived with him for several decades... And he sometimes ran Kent ragged. I lost count of how many times he was this close to dying simply beacuse Nabu didn't remember he was pushing my husband's body way behond the human limits.)" She shook her head for a moment.
On the table next to them rested a blue suit, with golden gloves, boots and trunks; plus a golden medallion, the Amulet of Anubis; and the golden Cloak of Destiny; those were the garments of one of the most powerful magic users in the universe. Well... of his host body at least. Kent Nelson was once the chosen host of a Lord of Order, Nabu the Wise.
Nabu had been once advisor to pharaohs in Ancient Egypt; and centuries later, a superhero. The entity needed a host on the material plane to act. And the way he manifested was through his main talisman, the Helmet of Nabu. Once a willing host put the helmet on, he or she (or even them as was the case with the last hosts, Eric and Linda Strauss), would transform into a composite entity.
"(Well... I think it was enough time to say goodbye, don't you think, Inza?)", Zatanna wiped a tear from her eyes, and visibly composed herself.
"(Dear child, there is never time enough to say goodbye.)" Inza answered sadly, her barely there touch on Zatanna's hand granted the young magician a measure of comfort.
Zatanna stood up, "(ayaM ot em ekat dna, eltnam s'etaF htiw em sserD.)" she chanted her spell backwards; and a moment later, her magician suit had been replaced by the blue and gold of Dr. Fate. The medallion hanged heavily from her neck and the cloak flared high behind her for a moment, then draped over her body like a shroud.
With trembling hands, she put the heavy helmet over her head. Her eyes shone with inner light, her pose changed to the proud stance of a warmage from Ancient Egypt. Silently, the new Dr. Fate disappeared from the Tower. Once she was gone, the ancient buiding, a simple square tower with a crenellated top, strangely devoid of doors or windows, folded over onto istelf, and disappeared too.
Author Notes
This version of Mari was trained as a pilot for almost as long as Asuka, but she feels more comfortable working with electronic systems. So she was unofficially, a techie in Branch-2. Plus, the manuals for most of the equipment on base are available in dead tree form. The trio hasn't found them yet, as Mari chose to reactivate as many main systems as posible.
I know, a crew of three doesn't even qualify as a skeleton crew for a place as big as Branch-2, but they will manage for a while.
Of course, Alfred is recalling the events on The Killing Joke (one shot, May 1988).
Dr. Fate is a strange hero to say the least. He was created back in the Golden Age (More Fun Comics, Issue 55, May 1940), and has, except for a brief period between the Golden and Silver Ages, been around in the DCU.
Back during the JSA series (1999-2006), written by David Goyer and Geoff Johns, his hystorical background was vastly expanded, tying the character with Black Adam, Metamorpho, and Hawkman. Specifically, in The Return of Hawkman story arc (issues 22 to 25; May to Aug 2001) and JSA B.C. (issues 43 and 44; Feb and Mar 2003).
Thinking about it a little, Dr. Fate IS creepy. Just imagine putting on the helmet that gives you powers, only to be supplanted by the consciousness of an entity older than the world. This aspect was used to good effect in the Young Justice cartoon (Season 1, Episode 19, Misplaced), and that was the inspiration for this scene. In YJ, Zatanna (who debuted in Hawkman, issue 4; Nov 1964, in the first part of the story-arc Zatanna's Search, which ran in several books) was spared by the sacrifice of her father, John Zatara (First appearance: Action Comics, issue 1, June, 1938; the same issue Superman debuted!), who also did cast his spells by speaking backwards.
To Okami Princess (review from Chapter 30): As you can see, I´m settings things up for a versión of that event; just be patient. I think you´ll like what I have planned.
To Mythfan (Review from Chapter 34): I will be using some other aspects from the Young Justice cartoon later on. I hope you liked this one!