Categories > Anime/Manga > Neon Genesis Evangelion > Science Ninja Avengers
CHAPTER 2
Deep within the underground fortress of NERV, things weren’t going as well as they should have. Commander Gendo Ikari, dressed in a black jacket with white gloves, a brown beard with red tinted glasses, was absolutely livid that the Third Angel had been destroyed, but not by his EVA.
"WHAT IN THE HELL WAS THAT THING?" He roared as a bleached blond woman was looking on. "AKAGI! I NEED ANSWERS, NOW!" he shouted at the woman.
Said woman was dressed in a black bathing suit, slippers and a white lab coat. Her hands in her pockets.
"I don’t know, sir. Yet." she said. "I’m trying to get all the video I can of the battle right now."
However, that did not calm Gendo’s mood.
"Alright, then where is Katsuragi?" he growled.
"We don’t know where she is, sir. She hasn’t checked in." Ritsuko said.
Gendo growled. "Find Her And The Third Child! And I Want The Info On Whatever Destroyed The Angel, On My Desk First Thing In The Morning! IS THAT CLEAR?!!!" he shouted.
"YES SIR!" Everyone on the bridge said.
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Meanwhile, deep within another secret base, Misato Katsuragi started to awaken.
"Ungh," she moaned. ‘/Where am I? Last thing I remember was running my car in…to… a building. I still had 30 payments left on it! And worse, I loose the bosses son!/'
Just then she heard a voice.
"Thank god you were belted up." The voice said. It was gruff and rugged, but with a cool and relaxed tone that set her at ease for the moment. She opened her eyes to see a man with black flared out hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in a white T-shirt, blue jeans, black boots and dog tags around his neck. He stood about 6 foot 1. (6 foot 3, counting his hair) "You okay?" He asked in Japanese.
"You saved my life?" She asked, getting a nod from the man. Misato took in the man. Caucasian, from the voice probably Canadian, athletic and ripped. He looked older than herself, if by only ten years or so, but his manner and the way he carried himself, made him seem older than that. ‘/Got kinda a bad-boy vibe to him./’ she thought to herself.
Just then the person she was looking for walked into her vision. He was a handsome young man with long black hair and blue eyes, dressed in a white shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers.
"Ms Katsuragi?" the young man asked.
"Yes?" she replied.
"I’m Shinji Ikari." he said.
She mentally gasped. ‘/This is the commander’s son? My god, he’s gorgeous! I was expecting a wimpy little boy, not this eighteen year old hunk among men./’ She thought.
He said something but she didn’t hear him.
"Huh?" she asked.
"I asked if you were alright, Ms. Katsuragi?" He repeated.
"It’s Captain, actually. Or just Misato. And yeah I’m fine. Just feel like an Angel stepped on my head." she answered, touching the bandage on her head.
"That’s no surprise." said a red and gold robot. "You have a mild concussion, from the accident."
"Who are you?" she gasped as she stared at the robot.
"Meet my friends and teammates: The Avengers." Shinji introduced.
The assembled group introduced themselves to Misato. After which, she turned and asked...
"So what’s your story Shinji?"
"Let me guess: you were expecting a fourteen year old boy, not an eighteen year old man." he asked, and she nodded. "Well I don’t know what Gendo’s been telling you, but he left me when I was four years old." he said, causing her to gasp.
Shinji then went through his story as to what happened to him, everything except him being Falcon, his mecha Silver Wing, and the ISO Gatchaman project.
"You should rest a while, Captain Katsuragi. Dinner will be ready soon." he said and then headed to the kitchen to start dinner.
"By the way," she said. "Where are we?"
"An ISO special base, about 100 miles below sea level." Shinji said.
At hearing this, the entire crew was suddenly shocked. None more so than Storm, who instantly realized the depths of their situation.
"Uh-oh!" Spidey gasped as Wasp and Black Panther immediately tried to calm down Storm, who looked on the verge of a panic attack.
"Just relax, sweetie, nothings going to hurt you." Wasp said to the weather goddess.
Curious about what was going on, Shinji went over to them.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"My wife has Claustrophobia." Black Panther said.
A guilty look spreading across Shinji’s face accompanied the young man as he went over and hugged the African woman tightly. "I’m sorry, Ms Storm. I didn’t know."
Her panic subsiding for the moment, she looked up at Shinji and smiled. "It’s alright Shinji. You didn’t know." she said.
"But I should have. You’re my teammate. I always look out for the people who watch my back." he explained to her, pulling back from her.
"It is something, I should have mentioned, had I know about the intricacies of your base." she said.
Black Panther came over to his wife and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "I will console my wife, Shinji. But we thank you for your concern." he said.
Shinji bowed to the royal avenger and then went to prepare dinner.
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Meanwhile, a secret meeting was taking place.
"You’re not blaming me for this set-back, are you?" Gendo asked.
(/Who else is there to blame, Ikari?/) Keel Lorenz asked.
(/The Eva’s were supposed to fight and destroy the Angel, not this mysterious metal bird!/) Seele 2 said.
"And that is my fault, how?" Gendo asked. "I have no control over something that I didn’t know even existed. But need I remind you, that this metal bird destroying the Angel has not cost us anything, neither in weapons, ammunition, repairs, or even a cover story to keep the public ignorant. I have my people investigating the matter as we speak."
(/It isn’t the cost we’re concerned about, Ikari./) Seele 3 said.
(/NERV’s purpose is to defeat the Angels so that they do not interfere with our plans./) Seele 5 said.
(/This mysterious metal bird’s ability to destroy the Angels is unexpected./) Seele 4 said.
(/Which means they could become a potential threat to our scenario./) Keel said.
Gendo grimaced. If it’s not cost, it’s interference they’re worried about. He thought. Anything to complain about. Bunch of grumpy old men. "I assure you, once we find out where this metal bird has come from, and who is controlling it, we will either destroy them, or have their technology for our own."
(/See that you do, Ikari. We will not tolerate failure./) Keel said.
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Dinner itself was a feast in of itself, what with sixteen people to feed and all. It was during dinner that several different questions were asked.
"Okay, I’m still confused. How can we be in a high-tech and luxurious base 100 miles beneath sea level?" Misato asked as the group sat around a large dining/conference table.
"It’s a special underground housing project created by ISO." Shinji explained.
"Housing project?" Scarlet Witch asked.
"When Second Impact happened, all of the coastal cities in every country were wiped out. ISO had this idea for years to create a series of underground living facilities that would be... waterproof." he said, bending the truth a little.
"But how is it possible for any facility to survive comfortably inside the mantle of the Earth?" Black Panther asked.
"He’s right." Spider Man said. "The Earth’s crust, which is just rock, is about 30 miles thick. Past that is the Mantle, which is a lot like molten magma. The heat and the pressure would be intense."
"It’s because of the Unobtanium shell that surrounds us." Shinji said.
"Unobtanium?" Black Widow asked.
"Well, that’s its nick name." Shinji said. "Its real name has 37-syllables. It’s basically a combination of synthetic diamonds inside a tungsten-titanium matrix at super-cool temperatures. The heat and the pressure not only reinforce the strength of the shell, but also converts the heat into energy, which powers this base."
"That’s incredible." Iron Man said. "An unlimited source of power."
"Sounds like a movie plot device." Tigra said.
"Wonder if you could make a vehicle out of it?" Ms Marvel asked.
"Or armor?" Iron Man wondered.
"And while this is all fascinating, we really need to get to NERV as soon as possible." Misato said.
"Oh, we will, but not in the manner you suggest." Shinji said.
"Why not?" she asked.
"There’s something going on in NERV. Something that my father is planning." he replied.
"Planning? NERV’s goal is to save the world from the Angels." Misato stated.
"How?" Captain America asked.
"By preventing Third Impact." Misato answered.
"But do you know how?" Shinji asked.
"What?"
"Do you know how the Angels are planning to cause a Third Impact?"
Misato opened her mouth, but no words came out.
"You either don’t know, or never bothered to ask." Black Widow said to her.
"Why do you fight them, Captain Katsuragi?" Scarlet Witch asked.
"Second Impact was the result of the Angel Adam exploding in the Antarctic, where my father was leading an expedition. I was the only survivor. When I got older and found out the truth, I decided to get revenge on the Angels because of that. I joined NERV because I thought it was the best chance to avenge my father." Misato explained.
"Avenge, huh?" Wolverine asked. "Sounds like you’re on the wrong team."
"Especially if what we’ve found out is the truth." She-Hulk said.
"Found out? What truth?" Misato asked.
The group looked at each other before turning to Shinji.
"Captain Katsuragi... I think there’s something you should see." Shinji said as he rose up from his chair.
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(Two Hours Later)
"So... how’s she doing?" Tigra asked.
"Still in a state of shock." Wasp said, emerging from the bedroom.
"I guess she would be, after finding out that the organization she put so much faith in was actually doing all this underhanded dirty-dealing." Luke Cage said.
"Angels in the basement, the Eva’s not being actual robots, human cloning, a secret society running things, and Gendo actually having his own agenda..." She-Hulk said.
"Though that shouldn’t have surprised her." Black Widow said.
"And how’s Storm doing?" Ms Marvel asked.
"She’s adjusting. She’s still wearing that new VR helmet that Shinji gave her last night." Scarlet Witch said.
"But how did he know it would work?" Tigra asked.
"Claustrophobia, like all phobia’s, is a state of mind. What you see and hear the mind interprets." Captain America said, appearing in the hallway. "The helmet makes Storm think she’s flying over a canyon, over the plains of Africa, the rainforests of the Amazon, basically any wide open space that she can imagine."
"Didn’t Tony come up with a device like that once?" She-Hulk asked.
"He designed it to keep your cousin calm and under control." Cap said.
"Guess Shinji knew what he was doing." Scarlet Witch said.
"Speaking of whom, where is that boy?" She-Hulk asked.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
(Living Room, main monitor)
"So, you want me to go ahead to NERV and figure out what’s going on?" Shinji asked.
(Yes, Shinji. But be careful.) Chief Anderson said.
"I will, sir. What’s the inside of the base look like?" he asked.
Anderson sent the schematics that Junpei had downloaded from NERV’s computer systems.
"Hmm. I’ll get the others."
Within a few minutes, Shinji had assembled Captain America, Black Widow and Iron Man in the main room, all of them looking at the schematics.
"Well? What do you think?" Shinji asked.
"I see several weaknesses in their defenses." Black Widow said. "Rather obvious one’s at that."
"The base itself was obviously designed to withstand attacks from exterior and large-scale assaults." Iron Man said. "Such as the Angels, apparently."
"Which leaves it vulnerable to more... human-sized opponents." Captain America said.
"Which is what I’m suggesting." Shinji said. "The Chief wants us, or rather me, to infiltrate NERV and collect any additional information about NERV’s activities.
"Natasha?" Captain America said, turning to the Black Widow.
"I’ll assemble the necessary people." the redhead said before turning to walk away.
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Black Widow’s choices for this covert operation consisted of Shinji, Captain America, Luke Cage, Wolverine, Black Panther, Ms Marvel, and herself.
Wasp and the others were left at the ISO base to monitor them. That’s to Junpei’s info, Iron Man was able to glitch the system, for 30 seconds, allowing the infiltration team to sneak into one of NERV’s emergency entrances without being detected.
"Alright, we’re in." Captain America said to the team. "You all know your assignments?"
The group nodded.
"Then good hunting!" the star-spangled avenger said, before the team split off into their different directions.
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"How long has it been?" Scarlet Witch asked as she paced nervously back and forth in front of the large monitor.
"About 93 seconds since the last time you asked me." Iron Man, continuing to monitor the team. "They’ve only been in for ten minutes, Wanda. Be patient."
"Patient? Our friends are in an enemy complex. If they’re discovered..."
"Highly unlikely. According to the information Chief Anderson gave Shinji, there’s a skeleton crew on at night, which should minimize the chances of their getting caught. However, the base is rather large, and built like a maze, so we shouldn’t expect them to be in and out like lightning."
"I still don’t like it."
"I know. But Natasha specifically selected them for this job, and she's good at this, so we just have to be patient."
Meanwhile, Storm was wandering the hallways of the base and came upon Misato’s room. She knocked twice before she heard a voice.
"Come in?" Misato asked.
Storm entered the room and found Misato lying on a bed on the other side of the room.
"Ms Katsuragi? Are you alright?" Storm asked.
"Oh yeah, peachy! I just found out that the organization I put all my faith in, was actually two-faced and doing all these behind-the-scenes things that I couldn’t imagine. I mean.... I guess I should have figured something, but... I was too wrapped up in my own vendetta."
"Personal vendetta’s often have a way of costing you more than you expect to gain." Storm said, crossing the room to sit on the side of the bed. "I myself have fallen prey to personal vendetta’s."
"What do you mean?" Misato asked, rolling over to face the African woman.
"I had a godson in my world, named Mjnari. Like myself a mutant, but possessing the power to run at the speed of sound. When he was possessed by a ghost-like tyrant named The Shadow King, I swore that I would free him no matter the cost. Unfortunately, that cost came when his mother, Anij, sacrificed her life to save mine, in order to prevent Shadow King from possessing me as well. Anij was like a sister to me, and I have never forgotten her sacrifice, on my behalf and that of Mjnari. So please know that I understand, in some fashion, what you are going through." Storm said.
Misato looked over and smiled at the woman.
"Thanks, Storm."
"Ororo, please."
Outside in the computer monitoring room, Wanda was getting more anxious by the second. So much so that Iron Man had to call in Wasp and She-Hulk to help calm her down.
"I said I’m fine!" Wanda snapped. "I’m just worried about our friends!"
"You worry too much. You’re like a mother hen." Wasp said.
"Did you forget, I was a mother once!" she said.
"Calm down, Wanda!" She-Hulk said. "Remember what happened the last time you lost control?"
"No I don’t!" she snapped. "What are you talking... Ah...Ahhh.....ACHOO!!!!" she shouted as she suddenly sneezed.
However, the second she did, her powers snapped and blasted a hole time and space. The vortex shuddered for a few seconds, before hurling three bodies into the living room, and then closing.
"What the..." Iron Man gasped.
"Who in..." She-Hulk gasped.
"Where did..." Wasp gasped.
"Ohhhh....." the trio groaned.
Iron Man, Wasp, She-Hulk and Scarlet Witch just stared at the trio as the other Avengers arrived.
"What’s going on?" Spider Man asked.
"Long story short.... Wanda opened up a portal to... somewhere and pulled these three here." Wasp said.
"And guess who they are." She-Hulk said.
The largest of the group was a man with short dark hair and a rather athletic body. He stood about 6 foot 6, (6 foot 10 when fully armored) and was dressed in a red and yellow costume with a red X on the belt buckle.
The second individual was a blue-furred creature with a muscular build, dressed in a black vest that showed off his arms and chest, and pants that were without shoes or boots. His thick blue fur covered him from head-to-toe, and his nails were longer than normal. He stood about 5 foot 8. (6 foot 1 if he didn’t slouch over)
These two individuals were known as Colossus and Beast, respectively. Key members of the mutant superhero team known as The X-Men. And what’s more... they were friends of the Avengers.
However, the third figure, a beautiful woman with long red hair, was a mystery to them.
As she came around, Spider Man immediately went over to her.
"Are you alright?" the web-slinger asked.
"P-Peter?" the red-haired woman asked when her vision cleared up.
"MJ?" Spider Man gasped as he suddenly realized who she was.
Spider Man helped the woman up and embraced her tightly. The woman did the same.
"Uh... do you two know each other?" Wasp asked.
The pair pulled apart and got a good look at each other, instantly realizing that something was different.
MJ had seen Peter’s original costume, and had helped to mend it several times, and knew that this was different.
But Peter’s expression was one of confusion when he saw the outfit she had on.
The redheaded woman was now dressed in a form-fitting red pair of pants and sleeveless shirt with a yellow spider symbol on her well-endowed chest, red and silver sneakers, a backpack with a black spider symbol on it, wrapped gloves with spiked claws on the palms, and face mask with white lenses. She had long bright red hair that came down to the small of her back, and stood about 5 foot 10.
"What happened? Where am I? And What Am I Wearing?" she gasped as her costume.
"Something that’s gonna get a lot of attention." Iron Man said as his armors camera’s took a picture.
"She looks like a female version of you, Spider Man." Storm said.
"You mean she’s a ninja?" Spider Man gasped.
"I’m a what?" the redhead gasped.
"You perhaps have the Scarlet Witch to thank for that, my dear." Beast said. "And no doubt we have the same to thank for our current reassignment of addresses."
"Yeah, he’s the Beast, alright." She-Hulk said with a smirk.
"Peter, what’s going on here?" MJ whispered to the web-slinger.
"It’s a long story... Spider Woman." Peter whispered back to his wife.
"Start talking, honey!" she whispered back as the two X-Men got reacquainted with their old teammates.
"Hey! Something’s Happening In NERV!!!" Scarlet Witch shouted, pointing to the screen.
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37 minutes in, deep inside NERV, the split-up Avengers team had completed their assignments and were heading back to the rendevous point, when the alarms suddenly went off.
"What the hell?" Luke Cage shouted.
"Knew this plan was going too smooth! Come on!" Wolverine shouted.
On the other side of the base, Shinji Ikari was bolting from Gendo’s office, the secured file in his hands. However, Section 2 agents were stationed close to the office and were on him quicker.
"DAMN IT!" Shinji groaned as he suddenly found himself surrounded on two sides by four agents. "Oh to hell with this. TRANSMUTE!" he shouted, the watch on his arm initiating the transformation function, turning him into Falcon.
The agents instantly fired on him, but his costume’s bulletproof lining protected him as he threw a pair of falcon-shaped kunai at their guns, knocking them out of their hands as he flew into the two guards, punching and kicking them down quickly. The other guards gave chase, corning the costumed intruder at a dead-end. However, when they rounded the corner, they found their quarry missing.
"What the... where is he? He went this way, didn’t he?" one of the guards asked.
"I sure did." a voice from the ceiling said.
The guards looked up as Falcon dropped from the ceiling, striking both of them with practiced moves, knocking them cold.
Falcon stood up and dashed down the hallway, eventually making it to the hallway where the team had gotten in. However, he found Gendo Ikari waiting for him.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Gendo shouted. "Hand me the file, now!" he said, pulling a gun from his jacket.
"Never!" Falcon declared.
Gendo leveled the gun at the unintimidated science ninja. Just then, a red and white circular shield flew through the air and knocked the gun out of Gendo’s hand. The grim commander turned to the right to see three figures standing in the hallway, one of them, a man in a red, white and blue costume, reaching up to catch the large circular object.
"Power Man! Fastball Special!" Wolverine said as the dark-skinned man nodded.
Luke grabbed Wolverine by his shirt and pants, easily lifting him up into the pair and then hurling him towards the grim commander. His claws retracted, Wolverine’s fist collided with Gendo’s face and knocked the man cold.
"You alright kid?" Wolverine asked as he stood up to face the avian avenger.
Falcon nodded.
Within seconds, the rest of the Avengers showed up and were quickly out of the base.
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(ISO UNDERGROUND HQ)
(/And they didn’t know it was you?/) Chief Anderson asked Shinji.
"No, sir. Iron Man made sure that the lights in those sectors were dimmed or off. Even when I transformed." Shinji said.
(/Good. We’ve received the information you got from NERV. The computer disk in the file will take a while to decode. Until we do, you know your orders./) Anderson said.
"Yes, sir." Shinji said. "Also... have you considered my request?"
(/Yes. You may proceed as you wish./)
While Shinji walked out of the room, the other Avengers were talking to their new X-Men allies.
"And you were able to install the hacker-system into their computers?" Black Widow asked Black Panther.
"Yes. It was simple enough that they will not suspect they are being bugged." the royal avenger said.
"You mean you were in New York when you were just... teleported here?" Ms Marvel asked the newly arrived X-Men.
"Yes. Piotr and I were just walking down Main Street, when this mysterious vortex just picked us up and, then next thing we knew, we were in this rather impressive complex, 100 miles beneath the surface of the Earth." Beast said.
"Is Ororo alright?" Colossus asked, obviously aware of her claustrophobia.
"She’s adjusting as best she can." Wasp said. "But I’m more concerned with that other woman who came with you. This.. Spider Woman?"
"If Spider Man vouches for her, then that’s good enough for me." Captain America said. "For now."
"Agreed." Wasp said.
Meanwhile, Shinji had arrived at his destination.
Knocking and stepping into Misato’s room, Shinji saw the purple-haired woman turn over to greet him.
"Ms Katsuragi?" Shinji asked.
"Misato." she gently corrected him.
"Misato." he corrected himself. "I have a proposition for you."
"If it’s ‘Can I have sex with you until you can’t walk right?’, then the answer is Yes." she said with a smile.
Shinji laughed a little. "I was actually thinking about offering you a job."
"A job?" she asked.
"You want to destroy the Angels, right?"
"Yes." she nodded.
"Then join us. Join the ISO as one of our special agents, and we’ll give you the means to fight the Angels on your terms." Misato didn’t have to think twice about that.
"I’m in." Misato said.
TBC
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OMAKE!
Misato wakes up. At first she thinks she dreaming.
"Where am I?" she asked. "What’s going on?"
"Logan... pop your claws!" Spider Man whispered.
"Huh?" Wolverine asked.
"Just do it." he said. "Marvel Girl, fly around a bit."
"‘Marvel Girl’?" Ms Marvel asked.
"Trust me." Spider Man said.
"Am I... dreaming?" Misato asked as she looked around the room.
"Well... there’s a woman who looks like a tiger, and you’ve got another woman who’s all green. A guy dressed up like a Viking, a blond woman flying around, and a guy with metal claws on his hands and you wonder if you’re dreaming." Spider Man said.
"Riiiight." Misato said with a laugh.
"I will now preform the Vulcan Neck Pinch on you." Spider Man said.
"Vulcan Neck..." PINCH "...pinch? Oh...." she moaned as she fell back.
"How did you do that?" Tigra asked.
"Yeah, tell us Xena!" Luke Cage said.
"I’m not sure. But, a friend of mine named the Black Cat was an expert at pressure-point techniques. She tried to teach me a while back, but I wasn’t interested in learning. Though... obviously... I was paying attention." Spider Man said.
"Right." Black Widow commented.
Deep within the underground fortress of NERV, things weren’t going as well as they should have. Commander Gendo Ikari, dressed in a black jacket with white gloves, a brown beard with red tinted glasses, was absolutely livid that the Third Angel had been destroyed, but not by his EVA.
"WHAT IN THE HELL WAS THAT THING?" He roared as a bleached blond woman was looking on. "AKAGI! I NEED ANSWERS, NOW!" he shouted at the woman.
Said woman was dressed in a black bathing suit, slippers and a white lab coat. Her hands in her pockets.
"I don’t know, sir. Yet." she said. "I’m trying to get all the video I can of the battle right now."
However, that did not calm Gendo’s mood.
"Alright, then where is Katsuragi?" he growled.
"We don’t know where she is, sir. She hasn’t checked in." Ritsuko said.
Gendo growled. "Find Her And The Third Child! And I Want The Info On Whatever Destroyed The Angel, On My Desk First Thing In The Morning! IS THAT CLEAR?!!!" he shouted.
"YES SIR!" Everyone on the bridge said.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Meanwhile, deep within another secret base, Misato Katsuragi started to awaken.
"Ungh," she moaned. ‘/Where am I? Last thing I remember was running my car in…to… a building. I still had 30 payments left on it! And worse, I loose the bosses son!/'
Just then she heard a voice.
"Thank god you were belted up." The voice said. It was gruff and rugged, but with a cool and relaxed tone that set her at ease for the moment. She opened her eyes to see a man with black flared out hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in a white T-shirt, blue jeans, black boots and dog tags around his neck. He stood about 6 foot 1. (6 foot 3, counting his hair) "You okay?" He asked in Japanese.
"You saved my life?" She asked, getting a nod from the man. Misato took in the man. Caucasian, from the voice probably Canadian, athletic and ripped. He looked older than herself, if by only ten years or so, but his manner and the way he carried himself, made him seem older than that. ‘/Got kinda a bad-boy vibe to him./’ she thought to herself.
Just then the person she was looking for walked into her vision. He was a handsome young man with long black hair and blue eyes, dressed in a white shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers.
"Ms Katsuragi?" the young man asked.
"Yes?" she replied.
"I’m Shinji Ikari." he said.
She mentally gasped. ‘/This is the commander’s son? My god, he’s gorgeous! I was expecting a wimpy little boy, not this eighteen year old hunk among men./’ She thought.
He said something but she didn’t hear him.
"Huh?" she asked.
"I asked if you were alright, Ms. Katsuragi?" He repeated.
"It’s Captain, actually. Or just Misato. And yeah I’m fine. Just feel like an Angel stepped on my head." she answered, touching the bandage on her head.
"That’s no surprise." said a red and gold robot. "You have a mild concussion, from the accident."
"Who are you?" she gasped as she stared at the robot.
"Meet my friends and teammates: The Avengers." Shinji introduced.
The assembled group introduced themselves to Misato. After which, she turned and asked...
"So what’s your story Shinji?"
"Let me guess: you were expecting a fourteen year old boy, not an eighteen year old man." he asked, and she nodded. "Well I don’t know what Gendo’s been telling you, but he left me when I was four years old." he said, causing her to gasp.
Shinji then went through his story as to what happened to him, everything except him being Falcon, his mecha Silver Wing, and the ISO Gatchaman project.
"You should rest a while, Captain Katsuragi. Dinner will be ready soon." he said and then headed to the kitchen to start dinner.
"By the way," she said. "Where are we?"
"An ISO special base, about 100 miles below sea level." Shinji said.
At hearing this, the entire crew was suddenly shocked. None more so than Storm, who instantly realized the depths of their situation.
"Uh-oh!" Spidey gasped as Wasp and Black Panther immediately tried to calm down Storm, who looked on the verge of a panic attack.
"Just relax, sweetie, nothings going to hurt you." Wasp said to the weather goddess.
Curious about what was going on, Shinji went over to them.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"My wife has Claustrophobia." Black Panther said.
A guilty look spreading across Shinji’s face accompanied the young man as he went over and hugged the African woman tightly. "I’m sorry, Ms Storm. I didn’t know."
Her panic subsiding for the moment, she looked up at Shinji and smiled. "It’s alright Shinji. You didn’t know." she said.
"But I should have. You’re my teammate. I always look out for the people who watch my back." he explained to her, pulling back from her.
"It is something, I should have mentioned, had I know about the intricacies of your base." she said.
Black Panther came over to his wife and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "I will console my wife, Shinji. But we thank you for your concern." he said.
Shinji bowed to the royal avenger and then went to prepare dinner.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Meanwhile, a secret meeting was taking place.
"You’re not blaming me for this set-back, are you?" Gendo asked.
(/Who else is there to blame, Ikari?/) Keel Lorenz asked.
(/The Eva’s were supposed to fight and destroy the Angel, not this mysterious metal bird!/) Seele 2 said.
"And that is my fault, how?" Gendo asked. "I have no control over something that I didn’t know even existed. But need I remind you, that this metal bird destroying the Angel has not cost us anything, neither in weapons, ammunition, repairs, or even a cover story to keep the public ignorant. I have my people investigating the matter as we speak."
(/It isn’t the cost we’re concerned about, Ikari./) Seele 3 said.
(/NERV’s purpose is to defeat the Angels so that they do not interfere with our plans./) Seele 5 said.
(/This mysterious metal bird’s ability to destroy the Angels is unexpected./) Seele 4 said.
(/Which means they could become a potential threat to our scenario./) Keel said.
Gendo grimaced. If it’s not cost, it’s interference they’re worried about. He thought. Anything to complain about. Bunch of grumpy old men. "I assure you, once we find out where this metal bird has come from, and who is controlling it, we will either destroy them, or have their technology for our own."
(/See that you do, Ikari. We will not tolerate failure./) Keel said.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Dinner itself was a feast in of itself, what with sixteen people to feed and all. It was during dinner that several different questions were asked.
"Okay, I’m still confused. How can we be in a high-tech and luxurious base 100 miles beneath sea level?" Misato asked as the group sat around a large dining/conference table.
"It’s a special underground housing project created by ISO." Shinji explained.
"Housing project?" Scarlet Witch asked.
"When Second Impact happened, all of the coastal cities in every country were wiped out. ISO had this idea for years to create a series of underground living facilities that would be... waterproof." he said, bending the truth a little.
"But how is it possible for any facility to survive comfortably inside the mantle of the Earth?" Black Panther asked.
"He’s right." Spider Man said. "The Earth’s crust, which is just rock, is about 30 miles thick. Past that is the Mantle, which is a lot like molten magma. The heat and the pressure would be intense."
"It’s because of the Unobtanium shell that surrounds us." Shinji said.
"Unobtanium?" Black Widow asked.
"Well, that’s its nick name." Shinji said. "Its real name has 37-syllables. It’s basically a combination of synthetic diamonds inside a tungsten-titanium matrix at super-cool temperatures. The heat and the pressure not only reinforce the strength of the shell, but also converts the heat into energy, which powers this base."
"That’s incredible." Iron Man said. "An unlimited source of power."
"Sounds like a movie plot device." Tigra said.
"Wonder if you could make a vehicle out of it?" Ms Marvel asked.
"Or armor?" Iron Man wondered.
"And while this is all fascinating, we really need to get to NERV as soon as possible." Misato said.
"Oh, we will, but not in the manner you suggest." Shinji said.
"Why not?" she asked.
"There’s something going on in NERV. Something that my father is planning." he replied.
"Planning? NERV’s goal is to save the world from the Angels." Misato stated.
"How?" Captain America asked.
"By preventing Third Impact." Misato answered.
"But do you know how?" Shinji asked.
"What?"
"Do you know how the Angels are planning to cause a Third Impact?"
Misato opened her mouth, but no words came out.
"You either don’t know, or never bothered to ask." Black Widow said to her.
"Why do you fight them, Captain Katsuragi?" Scarlet Witch asked.
"Second Impact was the result of the Angel Adam exploding in the Antarctic, where my father was leading an expedition. I was the only survivor. When I got older and found out the truth, I decided to get revenge on the Angels because of that. I joined NERV because I thought it was the best chance to avenge my father." Misato explained.
"Avenge, huh?" Wolverine asked. "Sounds like you’re on the wrong team."
"Especially if what we’ve found out is the truth." She-Hulk said.
"Found out? What truth?" Misato asked.
The group looked at each other before turning to Shinji.
"Captain Katsuragi... I think there’s something you should see." Shinji said as he rose up from his chair.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
(Two Hours Later)
"So... how’s she doing?" Tigra asked.
"Still in a state of shock." Wasp said, emerging from the bedroom.
"I guess she would be, after finding out that the organization she put so much faith in was actually doing all this underhanded dirty-dealing." Luke Cage said.
"Angels in the basement, the Eva’s not being actual robots, human cloning, a secret society running things, and Gendo actually having his own agenda..." She-Hulk said.
"Though that shouldn’t have surprised her." Black Widow said.
"And how’s Storm doing?" Ms Marvel asked.
"She’s adjusting. She’s still wearing that new VR helmet that Shinji gave her last night." Scarlet Witch said.
"But how did he know it would work?" Tigra asked.
"Claustrophobia, like all phobia’s, is a state of mind. What you see and hear the mind interprets." Captain America said, appearing in the hallway. "The helmet makes Storm think she’s flying over a canyon, over the plains of Africa, the rainforests of the Amazon, basically any wide open space that she can imagine."
"Didn’t Tony come up with a device like that once?" She-Hulk asked.
"He designed it to keep your cousin calm and under control." Cap said.
"Guess Shinji knew what he was doing." Scarlet Witch said.
"Speaking of whom, where is that boy?" She-Hulk asked.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
(Living Room, main monitor)
"So, you want me to go ahead to NERV and figure out what’s going on?" Shinji asked.
(Yes, Shinji. But be careful.) Chief Anderson said.
"I will, sir. What’s the inside of the base look like?" he asked.
Anderson sent the schematics that Junpei had downloaded from NERV’s computer systems.
"Hmm. I’ll get the others."
Within a few minutes, Shinji had assembled Captain America, Black Widow and Iron Man in the main room, all of them looking at the schematics.
"Well? What do you think?" Shinji asked.
"I see several weaknesses in their defenses." Black Widow said. "Rather obvious one’s at that."
"The base itself was obviously designed to withstand attacks from exterior and large-scale assaults." Iron Man said. "Such as the Angels, apparently."
"Which leaves it vulnerable to more... human-sized opponents." Captain America said.
"Which is what I’m suggesting." Shinji said. "The Chief wants us, or rather me, to infiltrate NERV and collect any additional information about NERV’s activities.
"Natasha?" Captain America said, turning to the Black Widow.
"I’ll assemble the necessary people." the redhead said before turning to walk away.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Black Widow’s choices for this covert operation consisted of Shinji, Captain America, Luke Cage, Wolverine, Black Panther, Ms Marvel, and herself.
Wasp and the others were left at the ISO base to monitor them. That’s to Junpei’s info, Iron Man was able to glitch the system, for 30 seconds, allowing the infiltration team to sneak into one of NERV’s emergency entrances without being detected.
"Alright, we’re in." Captain America said to the team. "You all know your assignments?"
The group nodded.
"Then good hunting!" the star-spangled avenger said, before the team split off into their different directions.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
"How long has it been?" Scarlet Witch asked as she paced nervously back and forth in front of the large monitor.
"About 93 seconds since the last time you asked me." Iron Man, continuing to monitor the team. "They’ve only been in for ten minutes, Wanda. Be patient."
"Patient? Our friends are in an enemy complex. If they’re discovered..."
"Highly unlikely. According to the information Chief Anderson gave Shinji, there’s a skeleton crew on at night, which should minimize the chances of their getting caught. However, the base is rather large, and built like a maze, so we shouldn’t expect them to be in and out like lightning."
"I still don’t like it."
"I know. But Natasha specifically selected them for this job, and she's good at this, so we just have to be patient."
Meanwhile, Storm was wandering the hallways of the base and came upon Misato’s room. She knocked twice before she heard a voice.
"Come in?" Misato asked.
Storm entered the room and found Misato lying on a bed on the other side of the room.
"Ms Katsuragi? Are you alright?" Storm asked.
"Oh yeah, peachy! I just found out that the organization I put all my faith in, was actually two-faced and doing all these behind-the-scenes things that I couldn’t imagine. I mean.... I guess I should have figured something, but... I was too wrapped up in my own vendetta."
"Personal vendetta’s often have a way of costing you more than you expect to gain." Storm said, crossing the room to sit on the side of the bed. "I myself have fallen prey to personal vendetta’s."
"What do you mean?" Misato asked, rolling over to face the African woman.
"I had a godson in my world, named Mjnari. Like myself a mutant, but possessing the power to run at the speed of sound. When he was possessed by a ghost-like tyrant named The Shadow King, I swore that I would free him no matter the cost. Unfortunately, that cost came when his mother, Anij, sacrificed her life to save mine, in order to prevent Shadow King from possessing me as well. Anij was like a sister to me, and I have never forgotten her sacrifice, on my behalf and that of Mjnari. So please know that I understand, in some fashion, what you are going through." Storm said.
Misato looked over and smiled at the woman.
"Thanks, Storm."
"Ororo, please."
Outside in the computer monitoring room, Wanda was getting more anxious by the second. So much so that Iron Man had to call in Wasp and She-Hulk to help calm her down.
"I said I’m fine!" Wanda snapped. "I’m just worried about our friends!"
"You worry too much. You’re like a mother hen." Wasp said.
"Did you forget, I was a mother once!" she said.
"Calm down, Wanda!" She-Hulk said. "Remember what happened the last time you lost control?"
"No I don’t!" she snapped. "What are you talking... Ah...Ahhh.....ACHOO!!!!" she shouted as she suddenly sneezed.
However, the second she did, her powers snapped and blasted a hole time and space. The vortex shuddered for a few seconds, before hurling three bodies into the living room, and then closing.
"What the..." Iron Man gasped.
"Who in..." She-Hulk gasped.
"Where did..." Wasp gasped.
"Ohhhh....." the trio groaned.
Iron Man, Wasp, She-Hulk and Scarlet Witch just stared at the trio as the other Avengers arrived.
"What’s going on?" Spider Man asked.
"Long story short.... Wanda opened up a portal to... somewhere and pulled these three here." Wasp said.
"And guess who they are." She-Hulk said.
The largest of the group was a man with short dark hair and a rather athletic body. He stood about 6 foot 6, (6 foot 10 when fully armored) and was dressed in a red and yellow costume with a red X on the belt buckle.
The second individual was a blue-furred creature with a muscular build, dressed in a black vest that showed off his arms and chest, and pants that were without shoes or boots. His thick blue fur covered him from head-to-toe, and his nails were longer than normal. He stood about 5 foot 8. (6 foot 1 if he didn’t slouch over)
These two individuals were known as Colossus and Beast, respectively. Key members of the mutant superhero team known as The X-Men. And what’s more... they were friends of the Avengers.
However, the third figure, a beautiful woman with long red hair, was a mystery to them.
As she came around, Spider Man immediately went over to her.
"Are you alright?" the web-slinger asked.
"P-Peter?" the red-haired woman asked when her vision cleared up.
"MJ?" Spider Man gasped as he suddenly realized who she was.
Spider Man helped the woman up and embraced her tightly. The woman did the same.
"Uh... do you two know each other?" Wasp asked.
The pair pulled apart and got a good look at each other, instantly realizing that something was different.
MJ had seen Peter’s original costume, and had helped to mend it several times, and knew that this was different.
But Peter’s expression was one of confusion when he saw the outfit she had on.
The redheaded woman was now dressed in a form-fitting red pair of pants and sleeveless shirt with a yellow spider symbol on her well-endowed chest, red and silver sneakers, a backpack with a black spider symbol on it, wrapped gloves with spiked claws on the palms, and face mask with white lenses. She had long bright red hair that came down to the small of her back, and stood about 5 foot 10.
"What happened? Where am I? And What Am I Wearing?" she gasped as her costume.
"Something that’s gonna get a lot of attention." Iron Man said as his armors camera’s took a picture.
"She looks like a female version of you, Spider Man." Storm said.
"You mean she’s a ninja?" Spider Man gasped.
"I’m a what?" the redhead gasped.
"You perhaps have the Scarlet Witch to thank for that, my dear." Beast said. "And no doubt we have the same to thank for our current reassignment of addresses."
"Yeah, he’s the Beast, alright." She-Hulk said with a smirk.
"Peter, what’s going on here?" MJ whispered to the web-slinger.
"It’s a long story... Spider Woman." Peter whispered back to his wife.
"Start talking, honey!" she whispered back as the two X-Men got reacquainted with their old teammates.
"Hey! Something’s Happening In NERV!!!" Scarlet Witch shouted, pointing to the screen.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
37 minutes in, deep inside NERV, the split-up Avengers team had completed their assignments and were heading back to the rendevous point, when the alarms suddenly went off.
"What the hell?" Luke Cage shouted.
"Knew this plan was going too smooth! Come on!" Wolverine shouted.
On the other side of the base, Shinji Ikari was bolting from Gendo’s office, the secured file in his hands. However, Section 2 agents were stationed close to the office and were on him quicker.
"DAMN IT!" Shinji groaned as he suddenly found himself surrounded on two sides by four agents. "Oh to hell with this. TRANSMUTE!" he shouted, the watch on his arm initiating the transformation function, turning him into Falcon.
The agents instantly fired on him, but his costume’s bulletproof lining protected him as he threw a pair of falcon-shaped kunai at their guns, knocking them out of their hands as he flew into the two guards, punching and kicking them down quickly. The other guards gave chase, corning the costumed intruder at a dead-end. However, when they rounded the corner, they found their quarry missing.
"What the... where is he? He went this way, didn’t he?" one of the guards asked.
"I sure did." a voice from the ceiling said.
The guards looked up as Falcon dropped from the ceiling, striking both of them with practiced moves, knocking them cold.
Falcon stood up and dashed down the hallway, eventually making it to the hallway where the team had gotten in. However, he found Gendo Ikari waiting for him.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Gendo shouted. "Hand me the file, now!" he said, pulling a gun from his jacket.
"Never!" Falcon declared.
Gendo leveled the gun at the unintimidated science ninja. Just then, a red and white circular shield flew through the air and knocked the gun out of Gendo’s hand. The grim commander turned to the right to see three figures standing in the hallway, one of them, a man in a red, white and blue costume, reaching up to catch the large circular object.
"Power Man! Fastball Special!" Wolverine said as the dark-skinned man nodded.
Luke grabbed Wolverine by his shirt and pants, easily lifting him up into the pair and then hurling him towards the grim commander. His claws retracted, Wolverine’s fist collided with Gendo’s face and knocked the man cold.
"You alright kid?" Wolverine asked as he stood up to face the avian avenger.
Falcon nodded.
Within seconds, the rest of the Avengers showed up and were quickly out of the base.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
(ISO UNDERGROUND HQ)
(/And they didn’t know it was you?/) Chief Anderson asked Shinji.
"No, sir. Iron Man made sure that the lights in those sectors were dimmed or off. Even when I transformed." Shinji said.
(/Good. We’ve received the information you got from NERV. The computer disk in the file will take a while to decode. Until we do, you know your orders./) Anderson said.
"Yes, sir." Shinji said. "Also... have you considered my request?"
(/Yes. You may proceed as you wish./)
While Shinji walked out of the room, the other Avengers were talking to their new X-Men allies.
"And you were able to install the hacker-system into their computers?" Black Widow asked Black Panther.
"Yes. It was simple enough that they will not suspect they are being bugged." the royal avenger said.
"You mean you were in New York when you were just... teleported here?" Ms Marvel asked the newly arrived X-Men.
"Yes. Piotr and I were just walking down Main Street, when this mysterious vortex just picked us up and, then next thing we knew, we were in this rather impressive complex, 100 miles beneath the surface of the Earth." Beast said.
"Is Ororo alright?" Colossus asked, obviously aware of her claustrophobia.
"She’s adjusting as best she can." Wasp said. "But I’m more concerned with that other woman who came with you. This.. Spider Woman?"
"If Spider Man vouches for her, then that’s good enough for me." Captain America said. "For now."
"Agreed." Wasp said.
Meanwhile, Shinji had arrived at his destination.
Knocking and stepping into Misato’s room, Shinji saw the purple-haired woman turn over to greet him.
"Ms Katsuragi?" Shinji asked.
"Misato." she gently corrected him.
"Misato." he corrected himself. "I have a proposition for you."
"If it’s ‘Can I have sex with you until you can’t walk right?’, then the answer is Yes." she said with a smile.
Shinji laughed a little. "I was actually thinking about offering you a job."
"A job?" she asked.
"You want to destroy the Angels, right?"
"Yes." she nodded.
"Then join us. Join the ISO as one of our special agents, and we’ll give you the means to fight the Angels on your terms." Misato didn’t have to think twice about that.
"I’m in." Misato said.
TBC
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
OMAKE!
Misato wakes up. At first she thinks she dreaming.
"Where am I?" she asked. "What’s going on?"
"Logan... pop your claws!" Spider Man whispered.
"Huh?" Wolverine asked.
"Just do it." he said. "Marvel Girl, fly around a bit."
"‘Marvel Girl’?" Ms Marvel asked.
"Trust me." Spider Man said.
"Am I... dreaming?" Misato asked as she looked around the room.
"Well... there’s a woman who looks like a tiger, and you’ve got another woman who’s all green. A guy dressed up like a Viking, a blond woman flying around, and a guy with metal claws on his hands and you wonder if you’re dreaming." Spider Man said.
"Riiiight." Misato said with a laugh.
"I will now preform the Vulcan Neck Pinch on you." Spider Man said.
"Vulcan Neck..." PINCH "...pinch? Oh...." she moaned as she fell back.
"How did you do that?" Tigra asked.
"Yeah, tell us Xena!" Luke Cage said.
"I’m not sure. But, a friend of mine named the Black Cat was an expert at pressure-point techniques. She tried to teach me a while back, but I wasn’t interested in learning. Though... obviously... I was paying attention." Spider Man said.
"Right." Black Widow commented.
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