Infiltration, Part 1
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
GeoFront, NERV HQ
Human Resources Department
5 Days After Sahaquiel, 1:35 P.M.
"Well, Mr. Weatherbee, your documents are in good order. My supervisor is very happy with your first written evaluation. Your qualifications match very well with our needs. And you being fluent in Japanese, German, Portuguese and your native English are a big bonus. I assume you can begin work next Monday? There will be an orientation talk this Saturday, 10 A.M., I really suggest you attend." Mrs. Yamada hands were fragile-looking, wrinkled and bones, but they showed no sign of any infirmity as the old woman shuffled the documents into a neat pile. Despite her age, she was still sharp of mind. She was skilled enough in her job she had been promoted several times after she should have retired with a generous pension.
"I could begin right now, Mrs. Yamada; but I guess the paperwork must be handled in the time-honored way. I'll be here Saturday at 10 sharp." Mr. Weatherbee stood up, and bowed deeply to the head of NERV's Human Resources Department. "I'll see you then. I really appreciate the chance to work at NERV."
"We are always in need for good coordinators who can work with multiple nationalities personnel, Mr. Weatherbee." The old woman bowed carefully. "I'll see you Saturday."
Xxxx
Once outside, the man exhaled a lungful of air. He walked hurriedly to the third closest public telephone, inserted a pre-paid card, and dialed a number by memory.
"(Hello, Buzz. Yeah, I'm done with the interview. I'm officially part of NERV, starting Monday. Please call my doctor and tell her I won't need any extra medication, please.)"
"(Yeah, say hello to your kids for me. See you.)"
Mr. Weatherbee hung down the phone, and touched his left cheek. Mercifully, the muscles there hadn't started with those goddamned contractions!
Tokyo-3
Katsuragi-Ikari Apartment
6 Days after Sahaquiel, 6:46 P.M.
"Congratulations on your promotion, Misato!" The kids chorused.
"Oh, it was a surprise. I though the Commander would fire me!" Misato fanned herself with a folder.
"Well, shall we proceed? We prepared a nice feast to celebrate your promotion, Miss Misato." Kensuke's put a can of soda in Misato's hand.
Rei looked curiously; a bit distant, yet more involved that she would have thought possible several weeks before. "What's the connection between a promotion and a feast? I can see no logical reason for it."
"Ah, Wonder Girl, it is a way for bonding!" Asuka passed an arm over Rei's shoulders. "Misato is our commanding officer, and her promotion reflects well in us!"
"I see. We are celebrating a new social level granted to our whole team?"
Shinji smiled at her. "Yes. And it's a good excuse to make a party."
Misato shrugged, "Actually, I owe this promotion to you three!" She grabbed Shinji in a headlock and messed with his hair, while the pilot play-struggled to get free, laughing with her.
Hikari and Toji put some bowls and plates on the table. "Hey, Shinji, anybody else?"
"I think Dr. Akagi and Lt. Ibuki might drop by. Dr. Akagi asked if I could make another chocolate cake. It's in the fridge."
"Okay. I'll go get some more sodas."
Just as Toji opened the door, the bell rang. At the other side of the door, three people stood, a bit surprised.
"Oh, hi, you must be Dr. Akagi, and Lt. ibuki. Hi, Mr. Kaji. Come along, please." Toji stood aside, allowing the trio to enter the already crowded apartment.
"Hi, Suzuhara. Where can I put these?" Kaji held up a bag, while Maya and Ritsuko sat at the table.
"In the kitchen, please, Mr. Kaji. I'm going for some sodas, can I get you anything?"
Kaji dug into his pockets, and gave Toji a bill. "Some chocolate cookies would be good, Toji."
"Sure, I'll be back in a moment."
During the gathering, Asuka ended up sitting in front of Shinji's. It took her a while to realize she was looking at him more than at Kaji. 'Was? Why I'm doing this? He's just a kid! Not a man like Kaji!'
Despite all her preparations with clothes, make-up, and perfume, all especially bought for the ocasión, Asuka couldn't help but notice Kaji's attention was firmly set on Misato...
Outskirts of Tokyo-3
Near Ventilation Shaft 25-E
Same Time
In the air, something waited.
It was nothing but thought, a disembodied mind. Residing in loosely connected nanites.
The mind was busy, thinking alien thoughts. It was not idle. It was incapable of staying idle. It was always thinking, collating, organizing. Now, it looked for something.
A way in.
Iruel had come to Tokyo-3 months before.
It had spent that time watching, thinking, planning.
Evaluating, assessing, analyzing.
Running scenarios, discarding then one after another.
Finally, Iruel chose a course of action, suited to its particular capabilities.
Its original function was to be a living computer, spread all over a whole planet, integrating itself into the inorganic matter. Under certain conditions, it could even integrate itself into a few, especially grown, organisms. Now, it couldn't find a better way to fulfill its purpose than to infect another living computer.
However, Iruel was fragile. It needed a liquid medium to sustain itself, and to perform at its best. It could conceivably function in a gaseous medium, but speed would have to be traded for multiple redundancies to ensure optimal results.
No. Liquid was best.
It had taken a lot of time for Iruel to find a good entry point into NERV's HQ. it could hear its creator's call from afar, and it was compelled to reunite with its Father and obtain new instructions. The order of arrival of its fellow recreators had been inexplicably altered. They were arriving randomly, their missions couldn't be properly accomplished, so all of them tried to return to their Father and get new instructions. Some of them in counterproductive ways, like Sahaquiel, which should have been the first to arrive.
But then again, Sahaquiel's mission was simply to destroy the surface of an uninhabited planet to release any valuable elements in its crust and ease the access to valuable building material. Complex calculations were only needed to determine the best place for the shockwave to start.
Iruel wasn't the only one to arrive out of order. But It was the only one to realize it.
So, it decided to fuse with the other living computers in range, primitive though they were, the increase in processing power could be the key to reach its creator. And to do that, it would need access to them. Iruel had been busy infiltrating particles of itself into the GeoFront's maintenance tunnels. Many had been lost or destroyed during the trip, and its regeneration abilities were impeded by the dry environment.
Still, patiently, Iruel had accumulated enough of itself for the next step if its plan.
All Iruel needed was to go trough a minute, practically undetectable crack to access the liquid medium it needed to really begin its work.
(Mental Plane)
New York
S.T.A.R. Labs Entrance
Same Time
The Phantom Stranger walked out of the shadows, right in front of the New York S.T.A.R. Labs building. He walked hesitantly at first. Being in a place with such a low amount of magic strained him to the very core of his being. Usually, being in a low magic place affected him little, but with most of his power compromised, he really felt the lack of ambient magic.
The automatic doors didn´t open when he approached. Raising a hand, he exerted his will on them, he had an important meeting to attend.
Tokyo-3
GeoFront, NERV HQ
Science Division.
7 Days After Sahaquiel, 11:26 A.M.
The main staff for the SD, meaning Dr. Ritsuko Akagi and her pupil, Lt. Maya Ibuki, were hard at work debugging the MAGI computer system. The incredibly complex trio of living computers that were the main processing force, not only for NERV Tokyo, but also for the whole city of Tokyo-3. They even took all the government decisions.
However, their versatility was not free. Casper, Melchior, and Balthazar needed constant updates and debugging. This task fell into the hands of Dr. Akagi and Lt. ibuki. Who were the top experts in the MAGI workings at Tokyo-3. There were few others who could compare to the expertise Dr. Akagi had on the inner workings of both the software and hardware of the Magi. And these experts were either in Germany or America, tending their respective MAGI systems
The pair ran their respective stations quickly and efficiently, though Maya still had a lot to learn from her senpai, she was catching up quickly.
Today was a particularly important day, after the main MAGI systems were rebooted, a test of the Evangelion pilots had been programmed. It would serve as a basis to compare their current performance against previous results. However, the procedure to establish this new baseline was to be sure to embarrass the trio.
Dr. Akagi tapped her pen on her desk. She had just put a subroutine into action, speeding the working of Maya's station.
After a brief visit by Major Katsuragi, the dyed blonde started the auto-diagnose function of the system. Each one of the MAGI would check the other two. This ensured the system would work best, as every time one MAGI detected a problem, it consulted the other one, and together they would either correct the problem, or notify Akagi about it.
While the team took a brief respite, Dr. Akagi refreshed herself in the bathroom. As always, her thoughts drifted back to her predecessor. Her late mother, Dr. Naoko Akagi.
They had rarely seen eye to eye.
And that was the most diplomatic way Ritsuko could ever describe her relationship with her mother. The woman was too distant and cold to ever be actually fond of anybody. Sometimes, Ritsuko wondered if she herself had been conceived by artificial insemination.
She shook the thought away, wondering instead of she was getting too old for the work. The MAGIs were the last trace of her mother, and despite the lack of love between them, she respected and admired her mother's work.
She sighed, time for the next test.
As predicted, the pilots were not a happy bunch. Though all three were quite annoyed with the parameters set, Asuka was the most vocal about it.
"Was? You want us to take off our clothes again?" The curious elevator they were riding in ran an spiral path in the inside of a colossal shaft, with stops every floor and hexagonal doors that could close hermetically.
It was Major Katsuragi who answered. "The next chamber is an ultra-clean room environment. Even several disinfectant shows are not enough."
It was Shinji who solved the problem, after a quick check with Inner Robin. "Uh. Dr. Akagi. Can you turn off the lights and leave only the emergency lights on the floor?"
"Sure, Shinji. As I was about to say, we respect your privacy."
"Thank you, Dr. Akagi." He turned towards Asuka, the most reticent of the trio. "I´ll go first, just promise not to peek, Okay?" He smiled awkwardly.
Asuka sputtered, and quickly changed to German. "(What? Are you going to parade your shame in front of me? I mean, us? I mean, Wonder Girl, say something!)"
Rei simply looked at her roommate. "(Robin is proposing a sensible solution to your reticence to be observed in a naked state. Personally, I don´t see why there could be any shame in the procedure. Neither of us is in any way physically repellent, as far as I understand beauty standard; I could go first if you both agree.)"
For some reason, Shinji blushed a deep scarlet, and desperately began to mumble something the other two pilots couldn´t hear. Asuka dope-slapped him. "(Stop that infernal mumbling, Wonder Boy. If you have something to say, just say it!)"
"(Sorry. I… well… I know you are very protective of your privacy. If I go first, I won´t be in any way intruding.)"
"(Yeah, sure, you just want to flash your… your… stuff! My innocent eyes can´t be exposed to such indecency!)"
Rei added. "(Turn around. I´ll watch Robin go to his plug and ensure he doesn´t turn around. Would that be acceptable?)"
Misato intervened. "(Enough! Asuka, that´s the best deal you are gonna get. Take it already.)"
She hesitated and reverted to Japanese. "Alright, Misato, but I´ll make you responsible for any loss of my precious purity points!"
"I can live with that." The Operations Chief sighed, completely annoyed.
New York
S.T.A.R. Labs
Cybernetic Interface Lab, Dr. Stone's Office
(Mental Plane)
6 Days after Sahaquiel, 6:52 P.M.
"Dr. Stone! This is the breakthrough we were looking for!" Dr. Mark Smith slapped down a set of folders on the polished steel desk.
"Easy, Mark. Take it easy. We have to do a lot of tests before approving this for general use." Dr. Victor Stone took the folders, and began to check the contents. "Still, this is very promising! You might have found the answer to our problem." He pushed a button an the intercom.
"What´s on, Vic?" s voice answered from the other side.
"Karen, I´m sending you the research by Dr. Smith. I want you to schedule a set of testing on the next few days. He might have solved the problem of sensor input for bionic limbs. Gather some volunteers for testing. I want to check the response for temperature and surface texture as soon as possible."
Dr. Stone wrote a quick note on an old fashioned pad. His chrome fingers easily managed the task. "Mark, I cannot be part of the test batch, I have to keep an… impartial eye on the procedure." He smiled, while his red bionic left eye dimmed for half a second. "Sorry, I never learned to wink with my right eye, and that´s the best I can do with my prosthetic one."
Mark smiled back. "No problem, Dr. Stone. I never managed to wink!"
Dr. Stone gathered the folders, and put them back on Dr. Smith´s hands. "Take everything to Dr. Beecher-Duncan´s Lab. Give her this note, and as soon as we adapt some test prosthetics, we will begin with the testing. Good luck, Mark."
They shook hands. For Dr. Mark Smith, shaking the hand of a former Teen Titan/Justice Leaguer was a humbling experience. This man had gone through hell and back several times, saving the world many times; and now, he worked to improve the lives of many people who had had tragic accidents or birth defects, depriving them of their limbs. Dr. Silas Stone, Victor´s father, had been forced to save his son´s life after a tragic accident, using an untested prototype for multiple amputees. Originally developed for soldiers, the suit had not only allowed Victor Stone to recover some semblance of normalcy, but had granted him the chance to be a hero by his own right.
Dr. Smith walked out the office, barely managing to keep his folders firmly in his grip.
The intercom buzzed again. "Dr. Stone, there is a visitor at reception asking for you. He says it´s a most important matter."
"Tell the receptionist that I have a very important meeting, Sandra. I´m having lunch with my wife."
"I have told him you are not available at the moment, but he insists."
"Just who is this guy?"
"He refuses to identify himself. He says you´ll know him. I´m sending you the feed from the CCTV."
Dr. Stone checked the image. "Sandra, there´s nobody there."
"It can´t be. Dr. Stone. He is standing right in front of the reception desk! Lori is speaking with him at this very moment. I can see them from my desk!"
A chill went down his spine. "Describe him." He had a nasty suspicion about exactly whom was the visitor.
"He´s a tall guy, Caucasian. narrow face, long nose, white hair, clean shaven. He wears a black suit, with a blue cloak. White turtleneck jersey…"
Victor interrupted her. "A golden medallion on his chest? A blue fedora? Somehow, you can't see his eyes? Creepy vibe?"
"Yeah, how do you know that? You said you can´t see him."
"I know this guy. By reputation. Give him a black badge and let him pass. Don´t bother to ask his name, register him as an Special Advisor, Vermillion Level. And please call my wife. Tell her I have to tend to that kind of business. She will know what I meant."
"Yes, Dr. Stone."
Once he cut the intercom, Dr. Victor Stone sat back on his reinforced chair. "Damn! And I was having such a great day!" He felt tempted to slam his fist on the desk, but stopped himself. He would have to either repair or replace the desk.
Author Notes:
Of course, this Mr. Weatherbee is not the Principal at Riverdale High School. However, there are few surnames that suggest any kind of swarming creature, so I had to use Weatherbee.
I thought a lot about what the Angels in Evangelion could be, and where did they could come from, in a DC Universe context. This is the not the first clue about their origin so far, but I think their purpose hadn´t been established in this story.
S.T.A.R. Labs has a long story in the DC Universe. The organization debuted back in Superman issue 246 (Dec. 1971). For a long while the most visible face of the organization was the chief of the Metropolis S.T.A.R. Lab, Dr. Jenet Klyburn, (who debuted in Superman issue 304 (Oct, 1976), and ocassionally acted as Superman´s scientific advisor.
Many superheroes have taken advantage of the scientific expertise of the staff at their closest S.T.A.R. Lab to solve one or another problem.
Victor Stone debuted in DC Comics Presents, issue 26 (Oct 1980, but not in the main story, this cómic contained an insert previewing the launch of the New Teen Titans), and was a member of the New Teen Titans from the very beginning. He was the son of two genius, but instead of dedicating himself to science, he preferred sports. This put a wedge in the relationship with his father, Dr. Silas Stone.
During a visit to his parents lab, a dimensional viewer allowed a transdimensional creature to rampage in the lab, killing Victor´s mother, Elinore; and mutilating him gravely. Silas managed to send the creature back, and barely rescued Victor. (His background was recounted in full in Tales of the New Teen Titans issue 1, Jun 1982)
Silas used a lot of prosthetic implants to save Victor´s life. At the cost of making him a very obvious bionic man. All the external parts are polished and chromed, including the half mask that covers the missing parts of his face and skull.
After he completed a grueling physical therapy to relearn how to move with his new and powerful limbs, Victor tried to resume his sports career, but found himself excluded from any amateur competition. This embittered the young man, and he lived as a recluse for a while. Until he was contacted by the then unknown heroine, Raven, to form a new version of the recently (in comic book time) disbanded Teen Titans.
Victor found himself among people who didn´t care about his looks, and in fact, could also be considered freaks, especially the Titan who would eventually become his best friend, Garfield Logan, the Changeling (formerly known as Beast Boy).
Cyborg was one of the most reliable members of the New Teen Titans.
Dr. Karen Beecher-Duncan is another ex-Titán (she debuted in Teen Titans issue 45, Dec 1976), but she was part of the group during the original team´s time. She developed an exoskeleton and energy blasters. The suit was even able to fly. She took the name Bumblebee, and was a hero for a short time. She married another young hero, Malcolm Duncan, who had several hero monickers (his first appearance was in Teen Titans issue 26, Apr 1970)
Karen joined ST.A.R. Labs, and was one of the scientists who studied the effects of the H.E.R.O dial on its host, Chris King. I have plans for the dial, so I´ll stop here.
The Vermillion level access is a reference to Warhammer 40,000. It's one of the highest levels of authority.