Interludes after the 12th Angel, Part 2

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

Bold text represents T'Charr's dialogue, while cursive is for Terataya. I think it goes well for a Lady of Chaos and a Lord of Order. Text in both bold and cursive represents their synched voices. Due to comic book stuff, it seems people in Druspa Tau speak English.

Subdimension
Druspa Tau

Two voices rang in the ruined building. One was rough and rumbling, the other cultured and crystalline. The two spoke in perfect synch, from the darkness at the end of the building, from behind the altar. A rough build-up of stones, each stone was of a different color, but they were all carefully worked and put into place. The altar war a simple representation of both Chaos and Order, co-existing in harmony, just as the occupants of the building did.

"(Children of Druspa Tau.)" They said, "(Rejoice, for the time of hope and deliverance is close.)"

A group of people bowed towards the large nave at the end of the building. It had taken a long time to clean the place, and longer still for the creators to rebuild themselves.

A pair of children advanced towards the altar, gently pushed by their mothers. They were around four or five years old; and both had two colored hair, half platinum white, half ebony black. The boy had the black half at the right side of his head, while the girl's hair had the black half over her left side. They were not related by blood, but could have passed for fraternal twins.

"(We bring you water from the Dark Spring, Lady T'Charr. Taken from the rapids at the end of the fall)." Said the boy, as he deposited a bowl in front of the altar, bowed respectfully, and walked back to his mother.

"(We bring you flowers from the Fields of the Sun, Lord Terataya.)" The girl set her own bowl next to the other, and walked back just as her companion had done.

"(You have done well, children of Druspa Tau." The voices answered. And a shadow moved behind the altar. Slowly, a golden draconic head came out the shadows, the tongue flicking back and forth. The green eyes looked over the children. "(Soon. Soon,)" the rough voice rumbled again, while its counterpart almost whispered the same words. "(soon our chosen will come to their crucible.)" A claw stomped down on the water filled bowl, barely touching the edge, flipping it over, throwing the water all around. The water fell mostly on the edge of a dry pool, where it flowed down in streams far more abundant than what the bowl could have contained.

Delicately, the dragon's four claws picked up the other bowl, and with delicate movements, incredibly precise for the size of the fingers, each pair of claws made a chain with the flowers, the cultured voice spoke now, while its counterpart reduced itself to a mere whisper. "(In the crucible, they will be renewed as our avatars. And will come to us in our hour of need. Just as we will go to their aid in their own hour of direst need.)"

The dragon put the flowers in the now filled pool, and garlands bloomed into a tangle of branches and fruits. The pool was soon filled to the brim with fruits and flowers. Every part of the plants was edible, though some, like the branches, needed some preparation.

The villagers sang their praise to their lord and lady, and filled their baskets with food enough to last them for another week. As they sang, light and smoke rose from their bodies, to surround the dragon and the jewelled medallion on her neck. They absorbed both light and smoke, replenishing their own bodies with magic enough to last them for another week. It was a symbiotic relationship that had lasted for over a decade.

The dragon retreated back into their lair, satisfied. Lady T'Charr curled protectively around the medallion hanging from her neck, the manifestation of her chosen love, Lord Terataya.

Years before, they had rebelled against their respective fellows, the Lords of Chaos and the Lords of Order. They had fallen in love after aeons of fighting, and decided to prove their counterparts that Order and Chaos could co-exist. To prove it, they had chosen two brothers of opposite temperaments as their avatars. One was impulsive and belligerent, Hank Hall. The other, Don Hall, was deliberate and peaceful. In human terms, they were a Hawk and a Dove, so they watched them until they had need of power to save their father.

So, T'Charr had granted some of her own essence to Hank, while Terataya did the same for Don (1). However, Don was too passive in comparison to his brother, and easily cowed by him. When the Great Crisis hit, Don died saving a child (2) , and Teraraya's essence was granted to a new avatar, Dawn Granger (3), whose own character was strong enough to endure Hank's force of personality. The two worked well together, despite the initial clashes they had.

During a visit to Druspa Tau (3), Hawk and Dove discovered their patrons, who sacrificed themselves to protect the small dimension.

Second Impact and its wars costed Hawk and Dove their lives, and their respective essences returned to a devastated Druspa Tau, where they recreated both T'Charr's golden dragon body and Terataya's golden medallion.

Now, both had chosen new human avatars, who unlike their predecessors, already had experience against unconceivable enemies, facing them with courage beyond their years and human capabilities. The two entities waited for the moment to offer their power to their chosen ones.

When their need was the greatest, their avatars would receive their essence, and in due time would come to Druspa Tau.

And this time, nor Order nor Chaos would interfere. Both factions were busy fighting their own battle; this time, far from Earth. In the Vega System, alongside the New Gods from New Genesis and Apokolips, in a war that war so much more than mere battles of flesh and metal, but also of concepts, minds, souls, and even philosophies.

Nanda Parbat

"(Stop!)" Wildcat signalled the pair to stop their sparring. "(I have seen enough. You two have very different styles. I think you can work together very well. So let's try it.)" Wildcat put his cat mask on, tucking his toothpick into the left ear.

"No protective gear, Mr. Grant?" Asuka asked, arching an eyebrow.

"(No need for it, Red. I'm quite dead, any harm I get here in Nanda Parbat vanishes in a couple of hours. Even if I get a broken neck, I just bounce back. Heck, I don't even sweat. So, don't worry about me. I want you two to attack me. I want to see your teamwork.)" The only concession he did to safety was to put on his old boxing gloves, but that was more to protect the pilots than himself.

A minute later, Wildcat was hard-pressed to keep up with the barrage of attacks the two pilots unleashed on him. They had an eerie synchronization as they fought. It was almost as if they shared a single mind.

When Shinji feinted left, Asuka punched right. And when it was Asuka who kicked high, Shinji grabbed Wildcat's ankle, almost making him fall.

During the next fifteen minutes, there was no banter heard in the old temple grounds, only the sound of three people sparring, punching, kicking, blocking, jumping, rolling, falling, and getting back up.

"(Okay, enough.)" Wildcat stopped the fight. "(You two, to the showers, I left some wood in the cauldron, so both can have a hot shower. When you come back, we will go over your styles and see what we can do to get you to level up.)"

Asuka opened her mouth to object, but Wildcat raised his right index finger, effectively shutting her up. "(Trainer Privilege, Red. I've been in this business since before your grannies met your grampsies. Those Angels of yours are hard foes, but my pals in the JSA and I have been fighting all kind of world-shattering tyrants since the late 1930s. I don't want you making the same mistakes we did. So, I need you to fight hard, to fight smart, and to fight dirty.)"

He paused to pull back his mask, revealing his face again. "(I know you fight hard, the Stranger showed me your fights. I have just seen you fight smart, that twin fight sense you have is good, I have seen such a style very few times, usually with villains. One of those dames I told ya? The Huntress, she and her hubby, Sportsmaster, fought that way. She tried to make me into strips up close with her claws, while he shot at me up from a distance with everything from arrows up to explosive hockey pucks. Even bowling pins! If it was sports equipment, the guy could turn it into a weapon, even without mods. I don't know how long they trained to get so good, but it was a true pain in the butt to fight them both at the same time." His eyes unfocused for a moment. "Pity, she could have been a great asset for the ole JSA back when she still ran the roofs as the Tigress (5)."

Asuka's ears perked up, "Huntress?"

"(Yup, only lasted a few months with that name, but she turned to a life of crime, and never looked back. The second Huntress (5) is the one who really got into the game. Funny, back when I was training her, I would have bet she would follow her predecessor's steps and gone bad, but nope. She stuck to the straight and narrow, right to the end.)"

"Tell me more about the second one." She turned towards Shinji, "That's the one you showed me in that magazine, right?"

"Yes, when she was in the JLA."

"(Tell ya what. You two get clean, and I'll tell you about her.)" Wildcat slapped Asuka's shoulder.

Undisclosed Location
Somewhere in the Nevada Desert
USA
NERV 2nd Branch
Commander's Office

"(Sir?)" Lt. Jackie Burns knocked at Col. Hazzard's door. "(The techs say the S2 test preparations are right in schedule. We are almost ready to proceed. They are running the last simulations in the MAGI, and both Julius and Leonard agree everything is ready, but as always, Arthur is acting funny and is delaying the test.)" (7)

"(And the Problem Child, Burns?)" Hazzard asked, throwing a discarded memo into the waste basket at the other end of his office, and failing. He shrugged and turned towards Burns.

"(According to all three MAGI, the Fourth Child is ready. All the tests are positive, and she knows the procedure forwards, backwards, sideways and in alphabetical order.)"

"(Good, good. Make sure she has a light dinner tonight and a liquid breakfast tomorrow morning. I want all the maintenance EVA teams fresh and rested for the test. I want to rub the success of the S2 test right on Gendo Ikari's sorry bearded face.)"

"(Sir?)"

"(The guy's attitude rubs me the wrong way, Burns. Met him three years ago, at a NERV meeting here in the States. He's a damned cube of ice. I showed him a pic of my son and grandson, and the guy just looked at me as if I was a freak. He doesn't carry a single pic of his family in his wallet. Not a single one. I don't trust anybody with that attitude. I mean, you've been a widower for what? Five years? And you still carry the pic of your wife in your wallet, God rest her soul. I can respect that. Hell in fury! My own divorce was a total mess; lost custody, and I still carry my son's pic. The one with his own son, you know which one I mean. I did show it to you before you started here, remember?)"

"(I… yes, Sir. I remember.)"

"(I had three candidates for the post, all equally qualified. I chose you over them because you are a family man. You know why we are fighting.)"

"(Um… Ah… Thank you, Sir.)"

Hazzard checked his watch. "(Okay, time to get some shut-eye. Go to sleep, I want everybody fresh as cucumbers for the test.)" He stood up, and both men retired for the night.

XXXIst Century
Orbit of Titan

"(M'Onel just arrived.)" R.J. Brande called his two young friends over the secure channel. "(I'll send him over once he delivers whatever news he has.)"

"(Okay, Mr. Brande.)" Saturn Girl answered.

"(Lournu? Please be so kind to open the atmospheric chamber for Lar, please.)"

"(Opening. He's entering now, equalizing pressure. Those force fields Brainy installed in the cruiser are working perfectly.) she noted. "(We don't lose any air at all when we use them.)"

"(Coluan quality design, my dear child. I'll go to the Meeting Room, please direct M'Onel there.)"

"(Sure, Mr. Brande.)" Triad closed the comm channel, and opened a new one to the atmospheric chamber. It had been a good while since last she had the chance to speak to the legendary Valor. She blushed a bit, remembering her idol-worship when they had first met, and hoped the now renamed M'Onel had forgotten about that. (8)

"(Welcome, my boy.)" Brande greeted the time-displaced Daxamite. "(Did you have the chance to study the data package I sent you?)"

"(I did. I am surprised to see Unit-01 again. I thought it was gone forever.)" M'Onel sat down, looking pensive.

"(It seems somebody had plans for it.)" Brande pushed a button on his console at the end of the table, and a holoimage appeared over the polished surface. It rotated slowly around. It showed the best image of the gigantic biomech they had managed to obtain, but the ice covering it had been removed from the holo, allowing a clear view of the Evangelion Unit. "(As you can see, it is Unit-01. Or an fiendishly good copy. All the non-invasive scans we've done fit with my own memories of that time.)"

"(Back when you..?)"M'Onel made a vague gesture. He had watched many events from the healing chamber in the Fortress of Solitude, Kelex and the other robots had kept him updated on many things during their long exile. So he knew who exactly had R.J Brande been before.

"(Yes. Back then.)" Brande shook his head, a thousand years later, and it still hurt. "(You and I are the only ones who still remember what an Evangelion was, what it can do; and more important, what they need to function. I want to know if there is somebody inside the entry plug, and if Unit-01 has an active core. You are the only one I can trust to check that out. I don't trust myself with that. It's been too long. I'm too rusty. Helping Salu to recover from the Emerald Eye possession (9) was very stressful, and I haven't recovered completely yet.)" He tapped at his temple with two fingers.

M'Onel nodded, "(I see. Let me check with Imra and Garth, and I'll report to you later. I will prepare a confidential report only for your eyes.)"

"(Thank you, Lar.)" Brande leaned back on his chair.

"(I'll stick to X-Ray vision for now, if there's even a chance EVA-01 can function without an umbilical cable, I won't be risking it. Not without knowing if there is a pilot in the plug.)"

"(Wise choice, my boy.)"

An onmicomm chimed, and both checked their own units to see whose one had the call, it was Brande's. He smiled, knowing both should have personalized their alerts, but neither had done so. He swiped the screen to open the channel. A well-known face appeared at the screen, tugging at his high-collar.

"(Conner! What a surprise! Everything going well in Almerac, I trust.)" Brande greeted Superboy warmly.

"(Hi, R.J.! Yeah, mostly okay. I need to check on you guys to schedule some advice session, I don't want to thread on the UN's toes. Sensor is right now conferring with Her Majesty as the Legion ambassador in charge, and I have a strange sense of foreboding. Like the spider sense I don't actually have was tingling.)"

"(Just try to stay cool and think before acting, my boy.)" Brande suggested.

"(You know that's not my forte, RJ., but I'll keep it in mind. I hope to get back to Sol System soon. I have a lot of fans here, and I'm getting kinda creeped out.)" He half covered his face with a hand, and whispered, "(Now I get why M'onel changed name and everything.)"

"(Ah, speaking of him, he is here with me.)" Brande turned the screen so M'Onel could look at his friend.

"(Yo, buddy! Things okay there, bro?)"

"(As well as can be expected, bro.)"

"(That bad, uh?)" Superboy grinned.

"(Eh, don't worry, we got things controlled for now.)"

"(Cool! But if you need me and my TTK (10), let me know. I'm having to wear penguin clothes.)" He pulled at the complex garments he was wearing at the moment. "(I'd prefer my uniform, but Sensor insisted on me wearing the things the Royal House wears for formal events. I know I'm supposed to be kinda the Prodigal Heir or something, but frankly… this is kinda uncomfortable.)"

Brande and M'Onel exchanged a look, and burst into laughter.

Author Notes

1. Back in Showcase issue 75 (Jun 1968), though back then, there was no indication there was more than one mysterious voice.

2. Don Hall died in Crisis on Infinite Earths issue 12 (Mar 1986).

3. Dawn Granger debuted in Hawk and Dove issue 1 (Oct 1988)

4. The whole story arc took place in Hawk and Dove issues 14 to 17 (Jul to Oct 1990)

5. Paula Brooks Crock debuted as Huntress in Sensation Comics issue 68 (Aug 1947). Her previous identity as Tigress was later retconned (AFAIK) in Young All-Stars issue 7 (Dec 1987).

6. Helena Bertinelli, the second (or third, see later) Huntress debuted in Huntress issue 1 (Apr, 1989). Helena Bertinelli's family was quite the crime family, and except for her, were all murdered. So its understandable why Wildcat thought she would end up as a villain. She is the post-Crisis version of Helena Wayne, the Earth-2 Huntress, daughter of Bruce Wayne (the Golden Age Batman),a and his wife, Selina (the Golden Age Catwoman). This Huntress debuted in All-Star Comics issue 69 (Dec 1977).

7. Somebody at NERV USA has a strange sense of humor. Their MAGI were named after the Marx Brothers. Julius (Groucho), Leonard (Chico), and Arthur (Harpo, though his original name was Adolph). Personally, I love their movies.

8. In the future, Valor is a big religious figure, and when Superboy revealed accidentally that he was about to return, there was a religious frenzy all over the United Planets. In the end, the Legion of Superheroes faked a failed attempt to bring Valor back, and actually rescued him from the Buffer Zone at a secluded location, in Legion of Super-Heroes, issue 74 (Nov 1995), and after curing him from his lead poisoning, he adopted a new name and identity as M'Onel, . Only the Legionnaires are aware of his true origin. Lournu Durgo, Triad, was a very devout follower of Valor's church, and during their first few interactions, literally worshipped him! After some heated words, M'Onel convinced her that he was not particularly saintly, but just a regular person.

9. In Legionnaires issue 52 (Sept 1997)

10. Tactile Telekinesis, The only power that Superboy has that's not included in the Kryptonian package. It's basically a very short range telekinetic field, that protects him, axting like invulnerability for as long as he is conscious (a nurse had no problem putting a needle into his arm, for example), but also lets him disassemble any mechanical object he is touching. As a bonus, he can also extend the invulnerability effect to another person or object he is touching. Addendum: in their review, mikaerusan reminded me that kryptonians, post-Crisis, have a similar power to Superboy's Tactile Telekinesis. When John Byrne reintroduced Superman in The Man of Steel miniseries, and during his run in the Superman titles, he explained Superman's flight, strenght, invulnerability, and heat vision as effects of subconscious use of a short-range telekinetic field. it also explained that this was the reason Superman could lift large objects without destroying or going through them. Superboy's TTK is a bit different from Superman's in that to be conscious to use it, and can use it to disassemble mechanical objects.