Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is the creation of Anno and Gainax. I don't own it, make no claims to it, and am making no profit from this fan fiction. No infringement of copyright is intended. In other words, please don't sue.

Disclaimer: I do not own DC comics or anything associated with it and am making no profit off this fan fiction. No infringement of copyright is intended. In other words, please don't sue.

Chapter Nineteen: It All Comes Tumbling Down

As a small, family owned grocery store, Fukuki Market was a rarity in Tokyo-3 several times over.

Small businesses or organizations of any kind had become increasingly sparse ever since the Angels had begun to appear. The battles themselves had destroyed several such establishments directly, and many more had departed or succumbed to bankruptcy as people left the area and took their money with them. Big corporations had the wherewithal to stick it out, and many did, either out of obstinacy or because they hoped to dominate the market once the war was over and people started to return. In some cases, the big companies remained because they received generous government subsidies meant to entice them to stay in spite of everything. Smaller enterprises usually weren't eligible for those.

Beyond that, Fukuki Market was one of the few places in Tokyo-3 where people could buy fresh produce from actual human employees. Automated stores had become increasingly popular in the city as people departed, and they rarely if ever offered fresh fruits and vegetables, viewing the perishable foods as more trouble than they were worth to stock.

Fukuki Market was different. The Fukuki family had called the area home since long before Hakone had become Tokyo-3, and they had run their business there for generations. They knew many of the people in their corner of the city, those that remained at least. They weren't going to leave or change how they did things.

They were also, at the moment, being robbed.

"Please, don't do this," pleaded Rika Fukuki, the seventeen year old daughter of the couple who currently owned the store. She had been minding the counter when a man with a gun had entered. "This place is my family's entire livelihood. You're going to ruin us."

The man who was currently shoveling money from the cash register into a shopping bag (and he'd made her give it to him, not even bothering to supply his own!) chuckled in response to that, even as he kept a pistol pointed at her with the hand not pilfering her family's money.

"You think I care?" he asked.

"No, but a girl can hope," Rika replied coldly.

"Hope just leads to pain," the robber said sagely.

If Rika hadn't feared for her life, she probably would've rolled her eyes at the criminal attempting to dispense wisdom.

"Well," the man said as he finished transferring the last of the money from the register to his bag, "that will be all. See ya."

Rika barely heard him; she was too busy worrying about what her parents would do. The store had been struggling lately and there had been more money in the register than usual…

Then the man walked out the doors and let out a loud cry. Rika looked up just in time to see a blur or blue and red.

"No way," she breathed.

Scrambling around the counter, she rushed outside, finding the man who'd just robbed her sprawled out on the sidewalk, looking woozy. His gun, or the remains of it, sat next to him, mutilated to the point where it would obviously never fire again.

Supergirl was relieving him of the bag of money.

"You work there?" the Girl of Steel asked Rika, gesturing to the store.

"Uh…yeah," Rika stammered, hardly able to believe that this was happening.

"Then you should probably put this back where it belongs," Supergirl said, holding the bag of money out to her. "Also, would you mind getting something to restrain this guy with?"

Nodding dumbly, Rika accepted the bag, then dashed back inside the store. Quickly stashing the money behind the counter for a moment, she grabbed a spool of thick twine and rushed back outside.

"Thank you," Supergirl said cheerfully when she took the string, quickly binding the robber's wrists and ankles. "Think you can call the police so they can pick this creep up?"

"It would be my pleasure," Rika said, finally finding her voice. She glared down at the man, who looked like he was waking up enough to realize what was happening to him. He did not look happy, she noted with satisfaction. "You can bring him inside the store, if you want. I'm afraid someone will let him go before the police get here if we just leave him on the sidewalk."

"Sure," Supergirl said amicably.

Despite everything she knew about the Girl of Steel, she still couldn't help but be a little surprised when she saw Supergirl effortlessly pick up the big man and carry him into the store.

"He didn't have any accomplices or anything, did he?" Supergirl asked as he placed the robber on the floor.

"No, it was just him," Rika confirmed. "Thank you, Supergirl." She added, bowing.

"No problem," the superwoman smiled and turned to leave, her red cap swishing after her.

"Supergirl," Rika spoke just as she was about to reach the door.

The Girl of Steel turned. "Yes?"

"I, um, I don't know why you sort of…disappeared for a while," Rika said awkwardly, wondering if it wouldn't have been better if she'd just kept her mouth shut. "I won't ask. I know it's probably not my business. But I'm glad you're back. The whole city just feels better when you're on the job."

Supergirl beamed. "Thank you."

Then she was out the door. Rika watched her take off into the air, feeling like she'd just had an encounter with a world far more colorful and exciting than the one she usually inhabited.

She was pulled out of her thoughts as the man on the floor let out a small groan. Giving him a scowl, Rika headed for the phone to call the police.

Flying through the sky above Tokyo-3, Supergirl couldn't help but smile. Being a superheroine could be rough at times, and holding herself to the standard she'd inadvertently set wasn't always easy, but days like this made it all worth it.

She was definitely glad she'd gotten back into the saddle.

However, she couldn't be Supergirl all the time. Changing course, the Girl of Steel headed back to the apartment building she called home. In only a minute, she was entering her room through the window and exchanging her blue and red costume for her yellow sundress.

Stepping out of her room, she quickly spotted the Third Child, who was seated at the kitchen table, looking over his homework.

It was so nice not to have to worry about explaining where she'd been to him anymore, she decided.

"Hi, Shinji," she greeted him.

The Third Child jump slightly, startled. Obviously he hadn't noticed her come in. However, he quickly recovered, giving her a bright smile. "Hi, Asuka. How was it?" he asked, referring to her afternoon as Supergirl.

"It was nice. I'll tell you all about it on the way," she said.

Shinji nodded. "Right," he agreed, closing the textbook he'd been working with. "Just let me put this stuff away and we can go."

Quickly gathering up his school things, the Third Child made the brief trip to his room to drop them off, emerging again almost immediately.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yes," Asuka nodded, "but we're just a little too late to make a clean getaway."

Shinji blinked. "How do you…?" he trailed off as he belatedly remembered the redhead's superhuman senses. "Never mind."

A second later, the door to the apartment slid open. "I'm home," Misato called.

"Hello, Misato!" Asuka greeted their guardian with more cheer than the sight of her actually invoked at the moment. "How was your day at work?"

The purple haired woman blinked, then her eyes narrowed slightly. Asuka supposed that they probably did look a touch suspicious, the two of them just standing in the kitchen as though waiting to greet her for some reason.

"Oh, it was all right," Misato said, shrugging it off. "The Saturday shifts are never too bad. Too many bureaucrats want to spend the day golfing or whatever to bother…"

She trailed off, frowning, her gaze turning to the stove.

Even though Asuka had a pretty good idea what their guardian was thinking, she posed the question anyway. "Something wrong, Misato?" she asked in an innocent tone.

"Is there any reason why no one made dinner?" the purple haired woman asked, her mild tone almost certainly concealing real annoyance. Misato tended to come home from NERV hungry.

Even though Asuka was the one who'd asked her what was wrong, Misato had directed the question at Shinji, since he did the bulk of the cooking around the apartment.

Nevertheless, the redhead answered before the Third Child could. "Oh, so upset that your man slave doesn't have dinner ready for you the moment you get home?" she asked with a smirk, crossing her arms over her chest. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe he doesn't feel like cooking every night?"

Misato just gave Asuka a look in response to that, and even Shinji wore an amused expression. Between the two women, the redhead had taken far greater of advantage of Shinji's willingness to perform domestic tasks than the older woman had.

The Third Child cleared his throat, getting Misato's attention. "I cooked a dinner for you," he said. "It's in the fridge. You just need to warm it up."

"Oh, all right," Misato said, mollified but still confused. "But what about you two?"

"Shinji and I are going out to dinner tonight," Asuka announced. "And then we're going to see a movie together."

She gave their guardian a look that practically dared her to object, but Misato appeared too surprised to even notice the unspoken challenge.

"You two are going out on a date?!" she asked, eyes wide.

"Yes, we are," Shinji said firmly, turning to look at Asuka and smiling helplessly as he did so.

The redhead gave him a quick grin in response before she directed her gaze back at Misato, making sure to keep an even look on her face as she braced herself for whatever was coming next.

She didn't think Misato would completely freak out and try to move one of them out of the apartment, but it was difficult to predict exactly—

"Oh!" their guardian exclaimed, startling both Shinji and Asuka. "You…" she pointed to the Third Child. "It was her all along!"

"…what?" Shinji asked, sounding as confused as Asuka felt.

"Well, I thought…oh, this is such a relief!" Misato continued to babble. "I thought…never mind what I thought! You two go! Have a good time!"

Asuka and Shinji exchanged a look, both still very perplexed. However, since this was pretty much exactly the outcome they would've hoped for, the redhead decided it was best to just go with it.

"I'm sure we will," she said. "Let's go, Shinji."

"Right," he agreed, and the two of them slipped out before Misato could have second thoughts.

"So, who is he?" Fuyutsuki asked, gazing through the one way mirror at the man Section Two had hauled in earlier that day.

"Some vagrant. I didn't ask Chiron for the details, but he assured me no one will miss him," Gendo answered coolly.

The two men stood inside a little used area within Terminal Dogma, only a few kilometers away from where the Commander's son and the Second Child were happily going on their long postponed date.

The particular chamber they were in had been set up as an interrogation room, just in case Gendo should ever need to question a prisoner away from the prying eyes and loose lips of Central Dogma. As of yet, he hadn't needed it for that purpose, and that remained true even now.

However, it would make an excellent test chamber for the experiment he had in mind.

"You know, you don't need to do this, Ikari," Fuyutsuki said.

Gendo allowed himself the smallest smirk. "Are you really so against the enterprise, Sensei?"

"Frankly, yes," Fuyutsuki grunted. "The Dead Sea Scrolls state that the Anti-Life Equation is supposed to be absolute proof that life is meaningless. Don't you think that something like that is too…extreme to use?"

"Compared to all the rest of the things we've already done? Hardly," Gendo said. "Regardless of any moral qualms you may have, the power of the Equation is too great to leave unused. If the scrolls are correct, the absolute despair and feelings of meaninglessness allow the one who exposes others to the Equation to control them completely."

"And I can easily imagine who you'd like to gain absolute control over," Fuyutsuki remarked.

"The Scenario would be much easier to execute if the members of SEELE would just do everything I order them to," Gendo said.

"I can hardly argue against that," Fuyutsuki sighed.

By this point, the bum Section Two had abducted off the street was pacing the little cell in great agitation. He abruptly struck the one way mirror, failing to crack it but startling Fuyutsuki. He began to shout, but neither the Commander nor the Vice Commander could hear anything through the soundproofing.

"All that noise might interfere with the test," Gendo remarked, picking up a microphone from a nearby control panel and stabbing a button.

Immediately, speakers in the room came to life, and the homeless man's voice blared through them.

"—can't do this to me! I'm a Japanese citizen! I know my rights! Not even NERV is allowed to—!"

Gendo cleared his throat, and the man went silent, a scowl on his weathered face as he glared at the mirror.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, sir," the Commander said politely.

"Inconvenience!" the man sputtered incredulously.

"Indeed," Gendo said. "This has been a grave mistake. You will be allowed to leave shortly."

"Well, it's none too soon," the vagrant growled, crossing his arms.

Gendo switched off the microphone and speakers. "I just need you to listen to something first."

The Commander hit another switch, which had been set up to play a recording of the Anti-Life Equation Gendo had made earlier.

The two men outside the interrogation room heard nothing, but the effect on the unfortunate bum Section Two had dragged in was still easily apparent. Fuyutsuki felt almost ill as he watched the look on the man's face quickly transform from confusion to agony. He clasped his hands over his ears, screwing his eyes shut, mouth open in a scream.

However, it was clearly too late. A few seconds later, the man lowered his hands to his sides, his mouth closing. The look of pure pain was gone, replaced by pure emptiness. Fuyutsuki didn't think he'd ever seen someone with eyes so completely vacant. Even the backup clones of Rei, with their mindless, soulless giggling seemed more alive than this man now did.

Fuyutsuki shivered.

"Well, I'd say that does it," he whispered.

"Not quite," Gendo said, reaching for something by his hip.

"What are you doing, Ikari?" Fuyutsuki asked, frowning.

There was a small slot through which it was possible to transport small objects from the room where the Commanders now stood to the interrogation room. Fuyutsuki had no idea why it was there, and he'd always assumed it would see even less use than the room itself ever would. However, it appeared that he was wrong. As he watched, his former student placed a pistol into the slot.

"Completing the experiment," Gendo answered.

The gun landed in the interrogation room a second later.

Gendo switched the microphone on again. "Can you hear me?" he asked.

The bum nodded, never for a moment losing that horrible, thousand-yard stare.

"Pick up the gun," Gendo ordered.

"Ikari, what are you doing?" Fuyutsuki asked nervously.

Gendo didn't answer, watching silently as the man in the interrogation room did as he was told, scooping up the weapon.

"Now," the Commander said. "Shoot yourself in the head with it."

"Ikari!" Fuyutsuki hissed.

It was too late to do anything, the Vice Commander realized immediately. The vagrant didn't hesitate to press the muzzle of the gun against the side of his head. Never losing that empty look, he squeezed the trigger.

Click.

"It's unloaded," Fuyutsuki breathed.

"Of course," Gendo replied.

Immediately, the older man felt foolish. Gendo Ikari might be many things, but a sadist wasn't one of them. In the years since he'd found himself effectively conscripted into NERV, Fuyutsuki had learned that Gendo had no apparent qualms about causing pain if it advanced his goals. However, he had never reveled in it.

He should've remembered that. It was easily to forget sometimes, though.

Fuyutsuki watched as Gendo ordered the man to return to his daily life and act as he normally would. When the Commanders handed him off to a member of Section Two to escort out of the base, there was no trace in his behavior that anything unusual had happened to him, aside from being arrested on the most dubious of grounds and briefly made a prisoner inside of NERV Headquarters, of course.

The Vice Commander thought he could still see the horror lingering in the man's eyes, but he might just have been imagining it.

"I'd call that a very successful experiment," Gendo remarked as they headed back to his office. "Perhaps it's time to introduce SEELE to the Equation."

"The results of an experiment with a sample size of one are hardly conclusive, Ikari," the former professor pointed out.

Not that he truly cared all that much about flaws in Gendo's methodology. Rather, he just wanted to try to prevent the younger man from exposing someone to that horrible thing ever again.

"True," Gendo conceded. "Yet time grows short. Only one Angel remains, after all. I doubt it would be feasible to run a proper study."

"So you intend to use the Anti-Life Equation on SEELE and just hope it works?" Fuyutsuki retorted as they entered Gendo's office. "And what happens if it isn't effective on all of them? Those that have their free will intact afterwards will immediately seek to have you killed."

"A valid concern. However, the Equation is too useful a resource to leave untapped," Gendo said, sitting down at his desk and leaning his face against his folded hands. "I will spare the old men its power for now, but I will try to use it on others by way of further experimentation."

"And who do you plan to try it on?" Fuyutsuki was almost afraid to ask.

"Katsuragi. As the Ops Director and guardian to two of the pilots, she would be a useful pawn, yet she can be easily replaced," Gendo said.

"Do you really think she deserves that?" Fuyutsuki asked.

"I thought you had learned by now, old friend," Gendo said. "Nothing is about what people deserve. Not in the world you and I inhabit."

Fuyutsuki sighed. "Indeed."

"That was a really great restaurant," Shinji remarked as he and Asuka walked toward the movie theater, hand in hand. "How did you hear about it?"

"Oh, you know, I get around," she smirked.

"So, you saved the restaurant from a robbery or something?" he asked, keeping his voice quiet so no one but her would be able to hear it.

"Nah, the business across the street from it caught on fire," the redhead answered with a grin.

Shinji just grinned back, aware that he was smiling like an idiot but unable to make himself care. Asuka was Supergirl, which was amazing and incredible, but it felt like a minor thing compared to the fact that they were walking down the street with their hands clasped together. The contact seemed to be sending little jolts of electricity into him, almost as though he was holding a live wire.

It was kind of funny, in a way. Some part of the Third Child had assumed that once they'd kissed and officially become a couple, they'd be completely comfortable around each other, but that wasn't the case. Every new act of intimacy, no matter how small—whether it was holding hands as they walked together, pecking her on the cheek to say hello, or putting an arm around her as they watched TV—was nerve wracking and thrilling to undertake with Asuka.

"What are you thinking about, Shinji?" she asked, apparently having noticed the look on his face.

He shrugged. "Just that I'm happy to be here with you."

She shook her head. "I never knew you could be so corny," she said. Nevertheless, her cheeks reddened.

He shrugged, still smiling. Shinji couldn't remember the last time he'd smiled so much.

"By the way, do you have any idea what Misato's reaction to us going out was all about?" the redhead asked, changing the subject.

He frowned slightly. "Not really," Shinji said. "I mean, I know why she was so shocked, but I don't get the rest of it."

"Why was she so shocked?" Asuka asked.

"She tried to convince me not to pursue you," Shinji answered. "Said a lot of stuff about how sometimes two people just weren't meant to be. Things like that."

He still couldn't help but feel rather smug whenever he thought about that conversation with his guardian. It showed what she knew.

"That's weird," Asuka said. "I would've expected her to be urging you to go for it."

"Really?"

Asuka nodded. "Misato definitely seems to be the type to do that," she said, then shrugged. "Well, whatever. At least she wasn't trying to kick one of us out of the apartment, to ensure no naughty deeds ensure or whatever. I was worried about that."

"Me, too," Shinji admitted.

He had no desire to move out of Misato's apartment, or to see Asuka move out. He was happy with the current arrangement, and he certainly didn't want to be separated from Asuka now, of all times.

And if we're not living in the same apartment, I can't do as much to help her, he thought, recalling the nights when she'd come into his room, plagued by memories of the Fifteenth Angel and what it had done to her.

They'd shared her bed again on those nights. Just like the first time, they hadn't done anything but sleep, but it had still been very nice. Shinji was glad he could be there for her on those nights, and it was hardly burdensome to curl up with the beautiful redhead.

"Anyway, speaking of people's reactions, how did Larry and Curly take seeing you and me holding hands while walking to school the other day?" she asked.

He chuckled at the description of his two friends. "They were…less shocked than I would've expected," Shinji answered. "They weren't exactly happy about it, but they weren't trying to convince me to break up with you. Not that they could." He added quickly.

"I'd hope not," she scoffed.

"So how did Hikari react?" Shinji asked.

Asuka smirked. "Oh, she was downright giddy. She practically interrogated me about it at lunch, going on about how it was all so romantic," she answered. "Of course, she was really smug about it, too. She's been saying for months that we should get together, and that we like each other."

"I guess she knew us better than we did," Shinji remarked.

"Considering that she can't manage to let Jock Stooge know she's interested, I think I'll hold off on telling her to start that love advice column," Asuka smirked as the two walked up to the movie theater.

"So, which movie to do you want to see?" he asked, looking up at the names of the films currently playing.

"Who cares?" she asked with a sly grin.

The Keel estate just outside of Berlin was nothing short of massive. Far more than a mere residence, far more than a home office on steroids, it was a monument to the power of the man who called it home.

Kaworu had never liked the place much. It had always felt grim to him; the architecture of the estate had thoroughly dour, Gothic feel to it. It was all stained wood and stone and dark colors. All of it was grand, but none of it was cheerful.

It made the ashen haired boy wonder if Lorenz Keel had ceased to care about having his surroundings be pleasing to the eye after he'd had his visor installed, or if he'd simply always been indifferent to that.

He hoped it was the former; the latter possibility was simply depressing.

"You wanted to see me?" he spoke, tapping on the door to Keel's office.

"Enter," a gruff voice called from the other side of the door.

Letting himself in, Kaworu approached the great oak desk where the man at the head of the secret SEELE council currently sat. "Good afternoon," he said politely.

Keel just grunted by way of greeting. He hated exchanging pleasantries with all the other powerful people he had to regularly deal with, so he simply didn't bother with people who were his subordinates. Kaworu took no offense.

"It is time," Keel said.

"Time?" Kaworu asked, feeling excitement and dread at once.

"Indeed," Keel nodded. "The Second Child has not undergone a synch test since failing to report for duty during the battle against the last Angel, and Ikari has none scheduled for her. While he may refuse to formally put her on the inactive roster, Unit Two is effectively without a pilot. I will be sending you there to rectify that."

Kaworu didn't even need to ask to know that piloting Unit Two was merely the excuse to send him to Tokyo-3, not the real reason for his trip.

"Very well," he said. "When do I leave?"

"Today," Keel answered.

Kaworu nodded, unsurprised. "I'll go pack."

"Don't forget to take your medicine," Keel said.

"Believe me, I won't," Kaworu said.

The next morning, Misato Katsuragi was up bright and early. Well, relatively speaking. By her standards. For a Sunday.

Regardless of all the qualifiers, she was the first one up in the apartment for once.

This is actually pretty nice. Peaceful. I can almost understand why Shinji does this everyday, she mused as she stumbled toward the front door, still clad in her pajamas and with untamed bed head.

Oh yeah, she had it going on. No wonder she had teenage boys drooling over her left and right.

Opening the door to the apartment just long enough to snatch the newspaper that was sitting outside, Misato tucked the publication under her arm and headed back to the kitchen. After grabbing a can of Yebisu from the fridge, she plopped down in a chair at the kitchen table.

Yes, this was kind of pleasant, she decided as she cracked open her can of beer and took a pull from it. If only she was awake for reasons that didn't involve a nightmare about Kaji being gunned down.

She'd starting having those nightmares occasionally as the long haired man's absence dragged out without any contact from him, and one of them had hit her last night. No doubt because seeing Shinji and Asuka going on a date had gotten her missing and thinking about her own man.

Of course, it was worth the price to know that Shinji wasn't crushing on her. She was so relieved that was not a problem she actually had on her hands.

Though, now she had a pair of teenagers who were apparently dating in her apartment, whose bedrooms were right across the hall from each other.

Misato took another pull from her can of Yebisu. It was too damned early to be worrying about that now. She opened up her newspaper…

And jumped as something unexpectedly fell out of it and clattered onto the kitchen table. Sitting there was a white envelope that had her name typed out on it.

Frowning, she opened it, finding a simple, unlabelled cassette tape inside. She stared at it for a while in confusion, wondering what the hell it was and where it had come from. Could be it a confession from some admirer of hers? It wouldn't be the first time. Maybe even a message from Kaji?

"Eh, probably some kind of advertising gimmick," she concluded. "I'll bet everybody got one with their newspaper."

Kaji would probably just write her a letter if he was going to send her a message, and she doubted it was anybody's proclamation of love.

Putting it aside for the moment, she opened up the newspaper and started to skim across the articles. However, she didn't get far before she heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Good morning, Misato," Shinji greeted her, visibly surprised to see her in the kitchen so early.

"Morning, Shinji," she said. "So, what are you doing today, young man?"

The Third Child sighed as he popped a couple of slices of bread into the toaster. "I have to go into headquarters this morning," he said glumly. "I have a full physical scheduled for today."

Misato grimaced, knowing full well the extensive battery of tests that NERV regularly put the pilots through to ensure that they were still fit for duty and physically unharmed by their experiences in Evangelion. Years ago, when she'd been Asuka's guardian in Germany, the redhead had complained bitterly about it every time she was forced to go through it.

"Try and think happy thoughts and ignore the doctors, and it'll be over more quickly," a new voice advised. "Or at least, it'll feel that way."

"Morning, Asuka," Misato greeted her.

"Morning," the German nodded, then turned to the Third Child with a smile. "Morning, Shinji."

"Good morning, Asuka," Shinji replied, brightening.

Despite all the potential problems that could come from those two being an item, Misato had to raise her can of Yebisu to her mouth to hide a grin. Seeing the perpetually glum Shinji Ikari and the eternally prickly Asuka Langley Soryu light up like that from simply seeing other was just plain nice.

"Hey, since Shinji's stuck going into NERV this morning, why don't we girls go out to breakfast, just the two of us?" Misato suggested to Asuka.

A conversation between herself and the German girl was long overdue, the purple haired woman mused with more than a touch of shame. She hadn't paid as much attention to Asuka as she should've since the redhead had borne the brunt of the Fifteenth Angel's attack.

Of course, there had been a lot of work she'd had to do at NERV, and she'd been preoccupied by Kaji's abrupt disappearance for a while. However, as Asuka's guardian, she really should've put all that aside long enough to make sure her charge was okay.

Hopefully a chat over lunch would allow her to belatedly correct that mistake, at least partially.

"Sure, why not?" Asuka agreed, obviously surprised by the offer.

"Great, then let's get cleaned up and presentable so we can get out there and grab some grub!" she declared, rising from her seat and heading for the shower.

"Hey, wait, I'm the one who actually has an appointment to keep this morning," Shinji protested. "Shouldn't I get to shower first?"

Misato tossed her now empty beer can at the Third Child. Surprised, he fumbled with it for a few seconds before finally losing it, and Asuka easily snatched it before it could hit the floor.

"Sorry, Shinji, you snooze, you lose!" Misato said, playfully sticking her tongue out before slipping inside the shower.

Hey, she'd probably never get to use that line again, considering how Shinji was always awake before her.

"One hundred and twenty minutes have elapsed. The synch test is complete."

Rei opened her eyes as the test plug she'd been confined to for the last two hours opened. Out of habit she glanced to the other two tubes in the room, but of course neither one of them opened up, as both were unoccupied. Pilot Ikari was getting his regular physical. As for Pilot Soryu, Commander Ikari had quietly issued an order indefinitely removing her from all the activities associated with being an Evangelion pilot, which naturally included synch tests.

The First Child felt a small pang shoot through her. Prior to Shinji's arrival, she had always been the only pilot doing synchronization tests at NERV Central, and that had never bothered her before. Yet now she found herself feeling surprisingly lonely.

"Your synch rate has remained stable," Doctor Akagi announced from her place in the test chamber's control room. "You're done for the day."

Nodding, Rei wasted no time in leaving the test plug, making her way to the women's locker room. Shedding her plug suit, she stepped into one of the shower stalls and turned on the water.

"I wonder if it is true," she mused aloud, as the hot spray cascaded over her.

Though the First Child had never expended any effort to remain informed of the gossip that was always circulating through her school, some of it inevitably reached her anyway.

The news that Shinji Ikari and Asuka Langley Soryu had been seen walking to school holding hands was one such piece of information. Rei had not had a chance to observe this herself, having been at NERV headquarters performing a memory upload at the time, but the news was all over the school.

She had dismissed it at first, aware of how inaccurate such rumors could be. However, the First Child had kept her ears pricked for more information, and when nothing contradictory had surfaced, she'd begun to realize it might be true.

The notion filled her with a number of emotions, many of which she could only struggle to describe. However, nearly all were unpleasant.

Giving her head a minute shake, Rei banished these thoughts for the moment, focusing on the task of removing the LCL from her hair. Once clean, she dried herself off and dressed in one of her school uniforms. Emerging from the locker room, she headed for the exit to the base, intending to return home.

However, she didn't get very far before she heard someone calling out to her.

"Pilot Ayanami."

She turned and her eyes widened ever so slightly at what she saw. A boy her own age stood in the hallway, one she'd never seen before. He was tall, powerfully built, and handsome, she supposed. However, what really drew her attention was the pale skin, and the unnatural color of his hair and eyes.

His red eyes.

"Excuse me. I hope I didn't startle you," he said politely, approaching her. "I just wanted to meet you. I am Kaworu Nagisa. I was sent here by the Marduke Institute to be the Fifth Child."

"Why did you wish to meet me?" Rei asked, suspicious.

Neither of the Commanders had mentioned the arrival of a Fifth Child, and she knew the Marduke Institute to be merely a front.

Kaworu smiled. "Because we are the same, you and I."

Rei had a pretty good idea what he meant. It wasn't a topic she wished to discuss, however.

"I see," was the only reply she offered him.

Rather than look annoyed by her minimal response, Kaworu's smile only grew wider. "I was also hoping that perhaps I could also meet…"

His words abruptly dissolved into a grunt of pain, and he nearly doubled over, pressing a hand against his torso.

"Are you all right?" Rei asked, alarmed. "Should I get a doctor?"

"I'll be fine," he quickly assured her. He was still smiling, but there was a distinctly forced look to the expression now. Beads of sweat had formed on his forehead, and his breath was suddenly ragged.

As the First Child watched, Nagisa reached into his pants pocket and withdrew an inhaler. Rei frowned at the sight of it. One of her classmates at school had asthma and occasionally used an inhaler when he had an attack. Kaworu's was not like that one; it was bigger, bulkier, and both the inhaler itself and the canister inside it lacked any writing on them. No brand name, no instructions, no warning labels.

Kaworu took a pull off the inhaler, and immediately his condition improved. With obvious relief, he stood up straight again and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Much better," he breathed, though he was still gasping.

"You will be all right?" Rei asked.

"Yes, of course," Kaworu replied, sunny smile still in place.

"Then I shall go," the First Child announced, and quickly resumed her course for the exit, not giving him a chance to respond.

Kaworu watched her go, releasing a small sigh. "Me no like this," he muttered to himself as he put the inhaler away.

"I'm home," Shinji announced as he practically staggered into the apartment.

He hated the extensive physicals NERV occasionally put him and the other pilots through, but it seemed he always forgot just how much he hated them until he had to endure another one.

I swear, I've been poked and prodded in places I didn't know I had places, he thought irritably.

Walking into the kitchen, he was surprised to find no one there, and only Pen-Pen in the living room, watching a nature show. Asuka and Misato could've easily gotten breakfast (and lunch) and come back by now.
He shrugged. They'd probably gone shopping or something after eating; Shinji knew the whole reason for the excursion was because Misato wanted to talk to Asuka, and if their guardian didn't want to end whatever conversation the two were having, she'd find something else for them to do.

"I bet Misato's grilling Asuka about me, and what we've been doing," he muttered to himself as he reached into the fridge and withdrew a can of juice.

He really hoped Misato didn't overreact and try to send one of them somewhere else to live. The Third Child liked being close to her, and he wanted to continue being there for her as she worked to recover from the trauma the Fifteenth Angel had inflicted upon her.

It would just figure if, after being forced to live together when we were at each other's throats, we get kept apart when we enjoy each other's company, he mused.

Well, they would deal with any attempts to separate them when they came. There was no point in worrying about it now, he decided.

He was about to head to his room when he happened to look down and spot a certain cassette tape that was sitting on the kitchen table.

"Ah ha! There you are!" he said triumphantly, picking up the tape. "And Misato said she didn't take it!" he added, feeling vindicated.

His favorite SDAT tape had gone missing days ago, and despite his best efforts, he hadn't been able to find the thing. Shinji had asked Misato a while ago if she had "borrowed" it, but the purple haired woman had vehemently denied it. Indeed, she had presented the picture of innocence, seemingly surprised and hurt that "her little Shinji-kun" would ever accuse her of such a thing.

She'd been so convincing that the Third Child would've felt guilty…if not for the fact that he'd caught her helping herself to the use of his things without asking in the past. So, he'd dropped it, but he'd remained fairly sure Misato took the tape, especially when all his searching had failed to turn it up.

"Thank goodness she left it out here like this," he said to himself. "I was almost ready to ask Asuka to use her X-ray vision to find it!"

The unexpected surprise of finding his tape (almost) wiping away the memory of the invasive physical, Shinji went to his room, grabbing his SDAT player and some of his school books. Returning to the kitchen, he spread what he needed to do his homework out on the table and sat down, putting in his ear buds. Humming softly to himself, the Third Child put the tape into his SDAT player and grabbed a pencil.

Leaning over one of his books, he absently pressed the play button.

The pencil held in Shinji's hand snapped as the Third Child let out a strangled little gasp. His eyes widened, even as his pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks.

Then, Shinji Ikari screamed.

"So, thanks for breakfast, Misato," Asuka said as she and the purple haired woman walked toward the door to the apartment they called home, shopping bags in hand. "The trip to the mall was nice, too."

Of course, she'd had to pay for the stuff she'd bought with her own money, but that hadn't exactly been a surprise. Yebisu didn't grow on trees, after all.

"No problem," Misato replied cheerfully. "I'm just glad we got to spend some time together."

Asuka looked away, rolling her eyes at the corny line.

Really, the whole encounter could've been a lot worse; Misato hadn't asked as many probing questions as the redheaded had feared, seemingly held back by a combination of awkwardness and the fear that her charge might still be very fragile after what the Fifteenth Angel had done to her.

Misato had barely even broached the subject of her and Shinji being together, something Asuka was more than a little grateful for.

"I wonder if Shinji's back yet," Misato said.

"I'm sure he is," Asuka replied as they reached the door, shifting her bags to one hand so she could get out her card key with the other. "After all, we were gone for hours, and NERV physicals only feel like they take forever."

She swiped her key through the reader and the door slid open. "We're home," she announced as she stepped inside. "Shinji? Are you…?"

Asuka trailed off as she arrived at the kitchen, the next word dying unsaid.

The kitchen looked like a bomb had hit it. The table was overturned, pieces of broken dishes littered the floor, and the refrigerator door was hanging open. An overturned can of apple juice had stained the floor a pale brown.

And in the middle of this chaotic scene was the Third Child. Shinji Ikari lay on the kitchen floor, a crumpled, unmoving heap.

"Shinji!" Asuka exclaimed, dropping her bags and kneeling next to him.

"Oh my God," Misato breathed.

Afraid of what she might find, the redhead started searching for injuries with her X-ray vision. To her surprise, however, she couldn't find anything wrong at all; there were no broken bones, no organ damage, no internal bleeding. There was nothing to explain why her boyfriend was lying unconscious on the floor.

In fact, the only part of him that was actually hurt was his hands, which were bleeding from several small cuts and scrapes, several bits of broken plastic embedded in the flesh.

What in the world? She thought, trying to understand how that had happened.

It didn't take much searching to discover the completely destroyed remains of Shinji's old SDAT player and one of its tapes.

Asuka blinked. Had he…torn those apart with his bare hands? Was that how he'd hurt himself? Why would he do such a thing?

"He's alive, and he's breathing," Misato said, unaware that the German girl had discovered as much several seconds ago. She gently turned the Third Child over so he was laying on his back. "Shinji? Shinji, can you hear me?" she patted his cheek.

"Wake up, Shinji," Asuka pleaded. "Please, wake up. For me."

Gott, she could juggle trailer trucks without breaking a sweat, but all she could do here was beg.

"I can't find any wound, but he's not waking up," Misato said worriedly. "We need to get him to NERV Medical, right now."

"Right," Asuka agreed.

She almost picked Shinji up herself before realizing that doing that would've revealed her super strength, or at the very least made Misato very suspicious. Reluctantly, she allowed her guardian to scoop up the Third Child instead.

As they were heading for the door, Shinji mumbled something. His voice was too quiet and too indistinct for a normal human ear to decipher; Misato didn't even realize Shinji had made a sound at all, in fact.

However, Asuka's hearing was far better than that of a normal human, and the Third Child's words sent a chill down her spine.

"No point," he mumbled.

"I have the doctor's report on the Third Child from the Medical Ward," Fuyutsuki announced later that day, walking into the Commander's cavernous office.

Gendo folded his gloved hands in front of his face as his immediate subordinate approached. "What does it say?" he asked.

"No physical damage, except for the minor lacerations and punctures he got when he destroyed his SDAT player, and a few bruises, presumably obtained when he collapsed to the floor," Fuyutsuki said softly, opening the manila folder he held and glancing at the contents, even though he had no trouble recalling any of the details. "Toxicology report turned up negative; he wasn't drugged or poisoned. However, he appears to be in a persistent catatonic state. All attempts to rouse him so far have been completely unsuccessful."

Gendo responded with a small grunt and a marginal nod.

"Ikari, you know how this came about, don't you?" Fuyutsuki asked.

The higher ranking Commander gave him a look. "The dots are hardly difficult to connect."

"Indeed," Fuyutsuki agreed. "For whatever reason, he listened to that tape you sent Katsuragi."

Gendo nodded. "Do you know if she's inquired about that? If she's made the connection?"

"She hasn't mentioned it that I'm aware of, no," Fuyutsuki answered. "Probably too upset to think about it, though who knows how long that will last."

"It's not a natural assumption to think that an audio recording to have that sort of effect on a person," Gendo said, speaking more to himself than to the older man. "In any case, there is no way to trace that tape back to us."

"Don't you think we have more important things to worry about than the chain of evidence, Ikari?" Fuyutsuki demanded. "Your son is lying in a hospital bed in the ward, completely incapacitated."

"I'm aware of that," Gendo replied coolly.

"How did that happen?" Fuyutsuki asked. "Why did the Anti-Life Equation do that to him?"

"Impossible to know for certain," Gendo answered. "As with the Evangelions, when we utilize the Equation, we are using things beyond our full understanding. However, I would speculate that the damage to the Third Child's psyche in the past made him unable to withstand the Equation well enough to react in the intended fashion."

Silence hung in the air for a few seconds. Both men knew that some of that damage had come from what Shinji had endured during the war so far…but much of it had also come from events that had taken place long before the First Battle of Tokyo-3.

"It is regrettable," Gendo mused aloud. "Hopefully, the Scenario can survive without further assistance from the Third Child. And clearly the effects of the Equation are too unpredictable to use it, except in the most desperate of circumstances."

"And what about Shinji?" Fuyutsuki asked. "Aren't we going to do something to help him?"

"Such as?" Gendo challenged. "The Dead Sea Scrolls never mentioned any way to counter the Anti-Life Equation."

"Surely there must be a way," Fuyutsuki countered. "We need to tell someone about this, Ikari. If the right expert knows why Shinji's in this state—"

"And what expert would that be?" Gendo demanded. "You and I know more about the Anti-Life Equation than anyone else on Earth, and neither of us has any idea how to rouse the Third Child."

The Commander took a deep breath. "The Third Child will likely remain in his current state for the rest of his natural life. There is nothing we can do to change that. Confessing would not help. Indeed, it would harm the situation, since Third Impact may be his only possible release, aside from death."

Fuyutsuki thought, or maybe just desperately hoped, that his former student seemed grimmer than usual as he said that.

"I see," the older replied eventually. "Will there be anything further?"

"No," Gendo replied. "Dismissed."

"Everyone, stand! Bow! Sit!" Hikari ordered, watching as the rest of class 1-A followed her orders, working on reflex by this point. "Dismissed."

With the final word from the class rep, several of her fellow students immediately made their way for the door, relieved that classes were finished for the day, while others lingered long enough to speak and joke with others, the order and precision of a moment ago turning into a sort of cheerful chaos within the space of two seconds.

However, there was one student who was neither rushing for the exit or conversing with anyone, Hikari noted. At her desk, Asuka was slowly packing away her things, not saying a word to anybody.

The pig-tailed girl didn't think she'd ever seen her looking so down in the dumps.

"Hi, Asuka," she said gently, approaching her friend.

The redhead looked up. "Hello, Hikari."

"Er, I have the printouts for Ikari," the class rep said awkwardly. "Are you going to go see him again today?"

It was a silly question, Hikari felt. Asuka had been going to see Shinji every afternoon since he'd mysteriously taken ill a few days ago. The class rep wasn't sure how Asuka was keeping up with her homework, unless she was doing it in the hospital room.

"Yes," the German girl answered, accepting the papers. "I'll leave them with him. Of course, he won't be able to do any of them."

"So he hasn't improved, then?" Hikari asked.

Asuka shook her head. "No, he just lays in bed all day, not really conscious. Sometimes he mumbles stuff, but that's it," she said. "And the doctors are no closer to figuring out what's wrong with him than they were when he was admitted."

Hikari winced. "I…I'm sorry to hear that."

She still didn't know quite what had happened between Shinji and Asuka that had led the two of them to get together, nor did she know precisely how Shinji had helped her friend escape the depression that the Fifteenth Angel had inflicted upon her. Asuka had not exactly been forthcoming with those details, much to her frustration.

However, what she did know was that the two had come to care for each other a great deal. From Shinji's desperate efforts to help the redhead, to how happy the two had looked on the first day they'd made it obvious they were a couple, it was impossible to miss.

And now Shinji had been struck down by some mysterious ailment.

It isn't fair, she thought. Those two endured so much, fought to protect everyone. They should get to be happy.

"I should go," Asuka said, standing up.

"Okay," Hikari said. "But, if there's anything I can do—anything at all—just let me know, all right?"

The class rep expected the Evangelion pilot to brush off her offer with some polite platitude. After all, it wasn't like she could actually do anything to make the whole sad situation better. To her surprise, though, the redhead hesitated, appearing to consider it.

"Can you meet me on the roof in a couple of minutes?" she asked. "I'd like to talk for a bit. In private."

"Sure," Hikari agreed, surprised but eager to be able to do something to help.

Gathering up her things, the class rep quickly made her way to the roof of the school. She didn't have to wait long before Asuka also arrived.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" the class rep asked.

Asuka didn't answer right away. "Can you keep a secret, Hikari?"

"Of course, Asuka."

"It's a big secret," her friend warned. "If it gets out, well, things could get very complicated."

"I promise, Asuka, I won't tell anyone," Hikari vowed, even as her mind whirled with possibilities, everything from some lurid personal issue to nefarious conspiracies at NERV.

"Okay," the German girl said.

Then, to Hikari's great surprise, she began to unbutton the front of her shirt.

"Asuka…what are you doing?" the brunette asked, confused and a bit alarmed.

Her friend ignored her, then, grabbing either end of her mostly unbuttoned shirt, quickly pulled it open.

Hikari's brown eyes widened at the sight of the now famous S-shield.

"Y-You…are you really her?" she breathed.

"Yes," Asuka said, quickly closing and buttoning her shirt back up. "I'm Supergirl."

Then, the redhead bent down, picking up a fist-sized chunk of concrete that was sitting on the roof, an artifact of some construction or maintenance project. Holding it in her hand, Asuka squeezed gently, and it instantly crumbled to pieces in her grip.

Feeling like she was in a dream, Hikari squatted near to the ground and picked up a couple of the broken pieces, squeezing them between her fingers, then in her own palm. They completely refused to break for her.

"How…?" Hikari stammered. She had so many questions she could barely pick one. "When did you—?"

"I don't really want to get into the whole story right now," Asuka cut her off, her tone firm but not harsh. "I can tell you all the details later, but right now, the important thing is that I'm Supergirl. Power Girl, too, before I changed costumes."

Hikari stood there silently, unsure of what to say.

Asuka turned, directing her gaze out over Tokyo-3. "I was the one who blew up Brainiac's space ship. Wonder Girl and I were the ones who stopped the Parasite. I was the one who got Suzuhara's entry plug out of Unit Three. It was me who rescued Shinji when the Light of the Divine kidnapped him, and I was the one who defeated the Sixteenth Angel."

Her tone was very flat, Hikari noted, almost devoid of emotion all together. There was none of the boastfulness the pig-tailed girl had come to associate with her friend, which was more than a little strange, considering she was rattling off a list of her extraordinary accomplishments.

"I have all these incredible powers, and I'm the strongest woman alive. The strongest woman who ever lived," Asuka continued, looking down at her hands as she opened and closed them. "But…despite all that, I can't do a thing for Shinji!" she yelled, bringing her fists down on the short wall that ringed most of the roof, shattering the bricks there.

Startled, Hikari let out a small squeak and jumped back a step. When she'd regained her composure, she eventually managed to speak. "I'm sorry, Asuka," she said. "But, why are you telling me all this?"

The redhead took a deep breath, calming herself. "I guess I just needed to tell someone. Normally, I would talk to Shinji about this. He figured out I was Supergirl when I saved him from that cult. But of course that's not an option now," Asuka said. "It's so frustrating. I have all this power, but I can't do anything to help him."

"I'm sorry, Asuka," Hikari said quietly.

The redhead nodded. "Thank you for listening, and for being my friend."

The class rep hesitated for a moment—the memory of Asuka smashing solid brick as she let off a tiny bit of steam was still very fresh in her mind—then she moved forward.

"I believe he'll come back to you," Hikari said as she embraced her friend in a tight hug. "I don't think he went through so much to give up right after he finally found someone who makes him happy."

"I hope you're right," Asuka whispered.

Later that day found Rei Ayanami walking through the hallways of the NERV Medical ward.

The First Child didn't like this particular area of NERV headquarters. Unlike the Second and Third Children, she had endured most of her invasive physicals in Terminal Dogma, rather than the ward, but she still had her share of bad memories here.

The worst, of course, was her recovery from the disastrous activation test with Unit Zero. After that, Rei had never been able to step into the ward without recalling the days and nights spent in dull, grinding agony, the pain kept in check only by powerful drugs. Indeed, the smell of the antiseptics alone brought it all back to her.

However, Rei Ayanami was nothing if not resilient, and her discomfort at visiting the ward never even made her think for a moment about not actually doing it. She didn't even give her displeasure much thought as she made her way toward the room where they were keeping the Third Child.

All the while, she remained alert for any sign that Nagisa was nearby. She had found their previous encounter more than a little disquieting and did not wish to repeat it unless absolutely necessary. Fortunately, there was no indication he was anywhere in the area.

Reaching the door to Shinji's room, she was about to enter when she realized someone was inside with him, speaking to the Third Child. She crept closer, silent as a mouse.

The door was open just a crack, allowing the blue haired girl to see the Second Child sitting in a chair next to Shinji's bed. She pricked her ears, listening to what Soryu was saying.

"Why won't you wake up, dummy?" the EVA pilot in name only asked. "It isn't right for a boy to just lie around all day like this. Hmph. And after all the time I spent, letting you accompany me to the gym until you finally put on a little muscle. It's all going to turn to mush if you stay like this much longer."

It was hardly the most affectionate monologue, but the Second Child's soft tone and her actions belied her words. As Rei watched, Soryu gently stroked Shinji's face and hair with a tenderness that was unmistakable.

"You're not as stealthy as you think, First," Soryu said.

Rei jumped, though very, very slightly. Feeling sheepish, an unusual sensation for her, she opened the door and entered.

"Good afternoon, Pilot Soryu," she said.

"Hello, Rei," Asuka replied. "Come to visit Shinji, too?"

"Yes," she answered.

The blue haired girl took hold of the room's second chair and dragged it next to the unoccupied side of Shinji's bed, sitting down.

For a few minutes, the two girls just watched Shinji in silence. The Third Child appeared deeply unconscious, though the staff had informed Rei that he would occasionally open his eyes or mumble things in his sleep. However, he had yet to regain awareness for even a moment.

"Pilot Soryu?" she spoke up eventually. "May I ask you a question?"

The Second Child quirked an eyebrow but nodded. "Go ahead."

"Does he care for you?" Rei asked. "Truly?"

Soryu frowned. "Why are you asking me that?" she demanded.

Rei hesitated, unsure of how to answer. "I have heard that you two are romantically engaged," she said. "I…wish to know."

Soryu gave her a funny look, then turned her gaze back to Shinji. "Yes, he cares about me," she eventually spoke. "He must, even though sometimes I wonder why he would. Shinji worked so hard to help me, and was always good to me, even when I was horrible to him. No one would do that for someone they didn't care about."

"And do you care for him?" Rei asked.

Soryu answered immediately this time. "Yes," she said. "I wish I'd realized it—and been able to admit it—sooner. I could have been good to him more. We could've been happier longer."

Rei was silent for a long moment, considering that.

Finally, she spoke up again. "Thank you for answering my questions," she said, rising from her chair. "I hope Shinji will wake soon, so that you may be together again. Good day, Pilot Soryu."

With that, she headed for the door.

"Bye, Rei," Soryu said as she walked out.

"Well, that was weird," Asuka muttered as Rei departed.

Shinji, of course, didn't respond.

"Don't know why I even answered her," the redhead told the unconscious boy. "It's not like our relationship is any of her business, after all."

Asuka frowned thoughtfully. "I guess it didn't hurt anything, though, and that sounded…suspiciously like approval. From the First Child."

She chuckled. "Misato's more or less okay with us being together. Hikari was thrilled for us, and even your stooge friends have grudgingly accepted it. They told me to pass on their regards, by the way, did I tell you that?" she said. "And now Ayanami gave us her seal of approval…unnecessary though it is."

She looked down at him. "It looks like there's absolutely no one who wants us apart," she remarked. "There's only one thing keeping us from being together, so wake up, Shinji. I want you with me, so wake up."

The redhead had made similar pleas several times in the past few days, with no results, so she wouldn't have been surprised if this one had also gotten no response. However, instead of ignoring her, Shinji's eyes abruptly opened.

Asuka gasped, her heart leaping.

Then the Third Child's eyes rolled back into his head before his eyelids dropped closed again. He mumbled something that sounded a lot like, "Hopeless."

"No…" Asuka said softly. "No!"

Fury shot through her then, borne just as much from her frustration and feelings of powerless as they were from way she'd had her hopes raised and then shattered. Rage seemed to course through her whole body. She couldn't believe he'd done that to her!

She raised a hand, seized by the urge to strike him with every ounce of strength her superhuman body could muster.

Then she looked down at him, her blue eyes softening as she recalled everything he'd done for her, all the support and care he'd given her. She lowered her hand, her anger evaporating. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Damn it, Shinji," she choked out.

For the first time in years, Asuka Langley Soryu broke down crying, sobbing into her unconscious boyfriend's chest for what felt like a very long time.

"I really didn't believe this day would ever come," Kaworu Nagisa mused to himself, looking out over the city of Tokyo-3.

Though he didn't know it, the observation deck upon which he stood was the very same one where the Third Child had watched the city transform back to its peacetime configuration after the First Battle of Tokyo-3.

It probably would've amused him, if he'd been aware of it.

His current line of thought, however, was much less lighthearted.

Destiny is such a funny thing, he mused. Almost as strange as my response to it.

There was just no escaping it, and yet though he had known his fate since he was old enough to understand it, he had never quite been able to prepare himself for the day its jaws would clamp down upon him.

"A funny thing," he said mirthlessly, looking down upon the city again. "Immutable in the broadest sense…but possible to change at the margins. Keel proved that much, at least."

An uncharacteristic scowl spread over his face as he thought about the SEELE council's chairman. He resented the extra task he'd been given to perform before he could finally fulfill his ultimate purpose, and he disliked what had been done to him even more.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it now.

Reaching into his pocket, Kaworu withdrew his inhaler. Putting it to his mouth, he pressed down on it again and again until he'd depleted the remaining medicine in the canister.

There was only three puffs' worth, he noted. Keel had measured it out almost perfectly, ensuring he'd have little choice but to proceed with the plan, even if he'd had second thoughts.

With a sigh, Kaworu slowly rose upwards, his feet leaving the ground. The ashen haired boy allowed himself one more moment of peace and tranquility.

Then he rocketed forward, moving on a downward trajectory, becoming a blur of white and gray. Only a second later, the Fifth Child slammed directly into an office building, not slowing down as he impacted the glass and concrete and steel of the structure.

Screams came from every direction as the building started to collapse around him, the sounds assaulting his suddenly too sensitive hearing.

"Supergirl!" he shouted as he burst forth from the rubble and dust. "Where are you?!"

Asuka gasped, bloodshot eyes widening as she raised her head up from Shinji's chest. The sound of a building collapsing had been impossible for her superhumanly sharp ears to miss, and someone shouting her alter ego's name had been almost as obvious.

Someone was calling Supergirl out, someone who'd already destroyed something and had probably killed some people.

"I'll be back," she said softly to Shinji.

Then the Second Child all but disappeared, pushing her super speed to nearly the limit, moving faster than either a security camera or a human eye could hope to see. In seconds she had navigated her way out of NERV headquarters without alerting a single person to the presence of a superwoman inside the secure facility, and a moment after that she had escaped the Geofront entirely. A fraction of a second more was spent shedding her outer clothes and donning her mask, and then Supergirl was flying through the air above Tokyo-3, searching for the threat.

It wasn't hard to find the general area—a great cloud of dust was still billowing from the ruins that had recently been an office building.

Of course, whoever had caused that destruction obviously wasn't interested in hiding.

No sign of him right now, though, she thought, flying toward the area, scanning the rubble with her X-ray vision.

Remaining on guard for any sign of an attack, the Girl of Steel landed lightly on the ruins, grabbing a chunk of concrete the size of a sedan and picking up.

"Supergirl!" gasped out the soot and dust streaked young woman who'd been trapped beneath the debris. "Thank goodness!"

The superwoman helped her to her feet. "Did you see what did this?" she asked.

"No," the woman replied, dusting herself off and checking for injuries. "I was just in the office, doing my job, and all of a sudden—"

That was when Supergirl heard it, and felt it. The faint whistle in the distance, the small shift in the wind.

She turned, spinning on her heel, her arm wheeling about with her as she balled her hand into a fist.

A sound like blast of thunder and a meaty crack happening at once cut through the noise of Tokyo-3 as the Girl of Steel's knuckles met the blur of gray that had been streaking toward her back.

Moving even faster than it had been before, that blur slammed into a parked car, leaving a massive dent in the side of the vehicle and shattering every piece of glass in it.

"You picked a really bad time for this," Supergirl growled at the young man that the blur had transformed into when it stopped.

"Did I now?" he asked, pulling himself out of the wreck of the sedan enough to sit up. He was smiling.

Supergirl cracked her knuckles. "Yes, you…" she frowned, looking at him intently. "Wait a second, I know you!"

Asuka Langley Soryu had yet to make the newly arrived Evangelion pilot's acquaintance, nor was she in any rush to do so. However, in spite of her decision to give up piloting, in spite of her worries about Shinji, she hadn't—couldn't—be completely disinterested when she'd heard news that the Marduke Institute had sent a new pilot to Tokyo-3. She'd known that they had almost certainly done it with the intent of putting that pilot into Unit Two.

So, she'd logged into the MAGI one evening with her account that nobody had bothered to deactivate yet and had looked up the Fifth Child. There had been a shockingly small amount of information there; aside from the records of his training and average synch ratio, it had contained nothing but his place and date of birth.

However, there had also been a picture of him.

"And how you know me?" he asked.

"That doesn't matter," she frowned, not wanting to give out a clue as to her real identity. "Why are you—?"

He surged forward then, flying through the air, and this time he caught her off guard. Supergirl cried out as he slammed into her, sending them both crashing into the pile of rubble that had recently been a building. The Girl of Steel cursed herself for giving him this opening.

Then his fist flew straight toward her nose, and there was no time for self recriminations. Supergirl parried the blow with her forearm, noting the small sting of pain that resulted. Nagisa was strong, no doubt about that.

He threw another punch, and she blocked that, too. Undeterred, he began to rain a flurry of blows down upon her, all of which she deflected. Almost immediately, his movements began to speed up, and so hers did, too.

Within seconds, the series of blows, blocks, and counter attacks that the two were exchanging were much too quick for the human eye to hope to follow, their arms a blur of movement, releasing bursts of noise that sounded like thunder at a rapid, irregular rhythm.

Never ceasing the furious back and forth of attack and defense, Supergirl inhaled deeply and held her breath for just the briefest of moments, actually feeling the air growing cold inside her lungs. Then she pursed her lips and blew, exhaling a continuous gust of subzero, hurricane force wind.

The fist fight halted abruptly as Nagisa found himself caught in the gale. Somehow he managed to anchor his feet and avoid just blowing away, but his upper body was lifted up and away from Supergirl. In seconds, ice crystals began to form in his hair and eyebrows, tiny snowflakes in the middle of a perpetual summer.

Supergirl unleashed a fierce uppercut, getting him right in the chin and sending him hurtling straight upwards. Finally free from him, the Girl of Steel flew upwards, heading straight for him, but she underestimated how quickly he'd be able to get himself back under control.

With lightning quick movements, he got behind her, grabbing her cape with both hands, then began to spin around in place like some crazed top. Supergirl let out a cry of surprised and displeasure as the world spun around her so fast it was blur even to her eyes.

Then he let go of her cape, and she went streaking through the air, too disoriented to regain control. With a loud crash, she slammed face first into the concrete side of a tall building, leaving a sizable dent and network of cracks in the structure.

Scowling, she pulled herself free, giving her head a quick shake to dismiss the stars flicking before her vision. Turning around, she spotted Nagisa hovering in the air a few meters away from her and quickly got into a fighting stance.

"I never understood why you wear that cape," he remarked, a bemused smile on his face. "It seems like a liability."

"It aids with the aerodynamics," she replied. "How did you get those powers, Nagisa?"

"I could ask the same of you," he replied with a small chuckle. "I would still like to know how you know my name, as well."

"Tough," she snapped. "Why are you here? Is it a fight you want?"

His smile faded. "It is would not be…accurate to say I want a fight with you, Supergirl," he said. "But that is my purpose today, yes."

She frowned at the rather cryptic statement before putting her questions aside. "Fine, but if you insist on doing this, then let's get away from the city. I don't want any more innocent people to get hurt."

He shrugged. "As you wish."

She scowled at his obvious indifference to the fate of so many lives, taking off toward the mountains outside the city. There would be no one to hurt in those rocky peaks.

Eventually deciding that they were far enough away from the city, Supergirl came to a halt, turning. "Okay, we're here, now how—"

Nagisa didn't stop, and too late she realized that he wasn't planning to. He slammed into her at top speed, fist connecting with her midriff and knocking the wind from her lungs. Still not slowing, he angled himself downwards, and the two of them both went crashing into the side of a mountain with enough force to shake the ancient mountain of stone. Boulders the size of station wagons came tumbling down, but neither of them paid the rocks any mind.

"I do apologize, Supergirl," Nagisa said as he pulled her to her feet with one hand, balling the other into a fist which he cocked back, preparing to hit her. "But I must kill you."

He threw a punch, but Supergirl's hand came up, smartly catching his fist in her palm. Closing her fingers, she began to squeeze. Nagisa set his jaw, pain clear in his red eyes.

"And why is that?" she asked.

"You should no ask me that," he said.

"What?" she frowned.

"You shouldn't ask that," he said. "I can't answer."

Supergirl brought her knee up, hitting him in the gut and causing him to double over. Releasing her grip on his fist, she entwined her fingers together and brought her joined hands down onto his back, sending him plummeting downwards at top speed. He crashed into the ground hard enough to send rock and dirt flying in all directions.

"Not good enough!" she yelled, zooming down after him. "Tell me who's got a hold on you, Nagisa! I can help you!"

"You can no help me!" he barked as he got back to his feet, not much the worse for the wear.

There's that weird speech pattern again, she thought. Does he even realize he's doing it?

Nagisa shot back into the air, meeting her at about the midpoint between where they'd both started. Her fist slammed into his chin just as his hit her in the nose. Both went careening away from each other, all control of their flight momentarily lost as they tumbled end over end through the air.

The Girl of Steel landed in tiny, dusty little valley between a pair of mountains. Looking up and searching with her super vision, she quickly spotted Nagisa approaching her at top speed.

Rather than take off again, she unleashed several brief puffs of her super breath in various directions, stirring up the dust and gravel all around her. In seconds, she was completely concealed inside a thick cloud.

That's right, come here, she thought as she moved several meters away from her original position, watching Nagisa approach with her X-ray vision. Come right in here where you're completely blind…

He didn't slow down, and she got into a ready stance, preparing to take advantage of his inability to see the moment he entered the dust cloud.

At the last moment, Nagisa altered his course so he was heading not for where she'd been, but where she was now. Caught by surprise, Supergirl barely managed to leap out of the way and take to the air again before he slammed into the spot where she'd been standing with the force of a cannon blast.

"Do you have X-ray vision?!" she demanded as she put distance between them as quickly as she could.

Nagisa didn't answer, silently taking to the air again in pursuit of her.

Supergirl came to a stop against the peak of one of the range's shorter mountains, quickly scanning the area with her super vision. It didn't take her long to spot Nagisa coming toward her again.

Digging her hands into the solid stone next to her as easily as a regular person might stick their fingers into damp clay, Supergirl pulled forth a chunk of stone larger than she was. Holding it above her head, she hurled it straight at Nagisa.

Not waiting to see if the rocky missile hit him, she ripped another boulder out of the mountain and hurled it as well. Then she did it again, and again. Moving at top speed, the Girl of Steel soon had the air thick with flying boulders, pulling several tons of material from the mountain in the space of less than two minutes.

Nagisa bucked and weaved through the air, trying to avoid the barrage of stones coming at him, punching away several that drew too close, all the while making relatively slow but steady progress toward Supergirl.

Then he went a bit too far to the left to avoid one boulder, getting grazed by another. He winced in pain, visibly losing some control over his own flight path.

Supergirl hurled another, particularly large boulder, and her aim was true. It struck Nagisa dead on at top speed, taking him along with it as it sailed through the air.

Taking off again, the Girl of Steel sped right toward the boulder just as Nagisa managed to free himself from it. She unleashed a flurry of relatively weak punches to his face and torso, her fists a complete blur.

"Yah!" she shouted as she finished with one great, spinning kick that sent him crashing into the base of a large mountain.

"Come on, Nagisa, let's talk," she said as he struggled to clear his head. "Then you can try and kill me, if I can't convince you otherwise."

He responded by throwing a boulder at her.

Supergirl easily dodged it and went flying toward him. She was unsurprised when he started hurling more and more rocks at her, copying her earlier attack. Now it was her turn to dodge and weave.

"I mean, you don't want to kill me, but here you are, giving it your best shot," she said, even as she avoided the storm of boulders. "That means someone's forcing you."

He launched a boulder twice the size of a city bus at her. Supergirl didn't try to dodge that one and instead began to rotate her body at amazing speed as she flew the air, turning herself into a living drill. The two collided in the air, and Supergirl went cleanly into and through the rock, superwoman and boulder barely slowing down as she did so.

"And nobody could physically coerce you to do something," she continued as she quit her spinning, as though she hadn't just been interrupted by several tons of high speed rock. "So, somebody's forcing you to do their bidding some other way. Blackmail, probably."

"Stop it!" Nagisa snapped. "This isn't helping!"

Supergirl ignored him. "Do they have someone you care about?" she asked. "A family member? Or a girlfriend, maybe? We can find them, Nagisa!"

"Shut up!" he yelled. "You not know anything!"

"And why do you keep talking like that?" she asked.

Nagisa responded by redoubling his efforts to hit her with giant rocks. Asuka put on one final burst of speed as she closed the remainder of the gap between them.

Suddenly she was right in front of him, not having taken a hit from a single rock.

"I told you the cape helps with aerodynamics," she said smugly.

Then she gave him an uppercut that sent him sailing into the air, eventually landing none too gracefully on the peak of a nearby mountain. Scowling, he quickly got back up, then tore a huge chunk of rock free from the stone beneath his feet. Supergirl readied herself for another round of dodging big rocks.

Only to watch in confusion as he hurled the boulder over the opposite side of the mountain. Confused, she used her X-ray to try to figure out what he was up to.

Her eyes widened. A loud boom sounded as she took off with a burst of incredible speed, rushing to the other side of the mountain. Spotting the rock Nagisa had thrown, she flew toward it, the air rushing past her.

With a grunt, she managed to catch the boulder before it struck the pair of very scared looking climbers who'd had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"This is a really bad place to be right now," Supergirl said to them. "You should really get away from here as fast as—"

She didn't get any further before Nagisa had crashed into her, causing her to drop the boulder, which thankfully spun well away from the climbers on its way to the ground. The Girl of Steel grunted in pain as she was slammed into the side of another mountain.

Not giving her a moment to recover, he grabbed hold of her wrist in a vice like grip, taking off at top speed and whipping her into another mountain. He repeated the process for what felt like an eternity, leaving Supergirl's head spinning.

Apparently deciding that he'd slammed into her mountainsides enough, he came to a stop on a small outcropping of rock, finally releasing his grip on the now limp superwoman.

With a small groan, she managed to look up just in time to see him changing a portion of the outcropping into a modest pool of lava with a stream of heat vision.

Dimly, some part of her mind noted that he seemed to have demonstrated every power she had, save for her super breath. She wished he'd been feeling a lot more chatty at the start of their fight.

Once he was apparently satisfied with his small lava pool, Nagisa went back to Supergirl, grabbing her by the hair and dragging her over.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Then he pressed her face into the molten rock.

It took every ounce of will power the Girl of Steel possessed to not scream and allow the molten rock into her mouth. Her invulnerable flesh refused to burn, but it still hurt and not even Supergirl was completely immune to the panic inducing effects of having her ability to breathe forcibly cut off.

"You probably hate me," Nagisa mused aloud as he kept her face pressed into the pool of orange lava. "I wouldn't hold that against you. But you not understand. This is so much bigger than simple blackmail. I never had a choice."

Finally, Supergirl ceased her struggles and was still.

"Hopefully not too late," Nagisa muttered to himself, releasing the Girl of Steel and standing up, preparing to leave.

He was just about to take off into the sky when something hit him on the back of the head with the force of a speeding freight train, sending him crashing into the side of another mountain.

"I was ready to be nice until you decided to endanger those people to get the upper hand," Supergirl snarled. She still had droplets of lava sticking to her face that were quickly cooling into bits of dark stone. "Not anymore."

She took off toward him, and Nagisa likewise launched himself into the air at her. There was a loud crack that echoed across the mountain range as they met in the air, fists preceding them.

Nagisa went careening backwards in the direction he'd come from. Supergirl didn't and kept right on going, catching up with him again just as he had impacted the mountain again.

She punched him squarely in the face, with enough force to dent the solid rock beneath him.

"I don't care what your deal is!" she yelled. "There's always a choice, and you've been making all the wrong ones! So I'm gonna make the choice to stop you!"

She hit him again and again, fists moving like pistons as they crashed into his face and body. Every blow sent the both of them a little deeper into the side of the mountain, until they could barely see sunlight within the depth of the tunnel Supergirl had carved. The mountain shook and bits of stone began to tumble all around them as the two drew closer and closer to the center of the crag.

"No!" Nagisa yelled. "Stop!"

Supergirl ignored him, firing one particularly brutal blow to his gut.

It was all the mountain could stand. The top half of the centuries old peak just gave out under all the violence, breaking into thousands upon thousands of individual stones, most of which went tumbling down in a colossal avalanche, hundreds of tons of stone falling like so many raindrops.

Not too far away, a pair of climbers redoubled their effort to heed Supergirl's warning and escape the area.

Finally, the world was quiet. As though the entire area was holding its breath.

Then, several rocks again went flying, this time as Supergirl burst from the enormous pile of stone and gravel that still remained atop what had once been a much larger mountain. Panting heavily, she began to scan the area with her X-ray vision.

Nagisa burst out before she could find him, rising into the air high enough to hover at the same level as she, several meters of distance separating them.

Supergirl's eyes widened. "What the hell happened to you?" she breathed.

The Fifth Child's once delicate face had become a misshapen, asymmetrical horror. It looked more like it belong on some wax figure that had partially melted more than it belonged on any living person.

Yet even worse than that was the color; Nagisa's already pale skin was now a deathly, impossible white, completely devoid of any true glow of life.

For a brief, terrible moment, she wondered if she was to blame for this. However, she quickly realized that was impossible; there was no way a beating could ever do that to a person's appearance.

He looks completely bizarro, Supergirl thought.

He reached up, feeling his own distorted face, and his eyes widened. "No!" he yelled, and his voice sounded deeper, stranger than before. "It happening! Me too late!"

"Too late for what?" she demanded.

"This your fault!" he roared, hurling himself at her.

Nagisa's agility and coordination weren't what they had been a few minutes ago, and Supergirl easily managed to dodge his initial charge, then block the series of punches he followed up with.

"Me was supposed to kill you!" Nagisa yelled, never letting up on his assault, ineffective though it was. "Me was supposed to kill you, and then when me did, me would get the medicine!"

"What medicine?!" Supergirl demanded, opting not to counterattack now that her foe had suddenly become talkative.

"The medicine to stop this!" he screamed, tiny droplets of spittle flying everywhere. "When me killed you, he was supposed to give me more medicine! Enough so me could perform me real purpose!"

"Who is 'he'?" Supergirl asked. "And what's your real purpose?"

"Me am supposed to find Adam! Reunite with All Father!" he said, ignoring her first question completely.

"Adam? You mean the First Angel?" Supergirl asked.

"Yes! Me find Adam! Me join Adam!" he yelled. "Me start off Third Impact!"

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen, because I won't let you do that," Supergirl snapped, finally hitting back, landing a right hook that sent him crashing into the ground. "Besides, in case you hadn't realized, your plan's already shot. Whatever medicine you were taking, I doubt it'll be able to change you back to the way you were."

Nagisa blinked. "Me cannot change back?"

"I seriously doubt it," Supergirl replied, crossing her arms.

"Me cannot change back," he repeated, softly.

Supergirl looked down at him silently, waiting for the resignation to come. Once he'd given up, she could find someone to help him.

Of course, she wasn't quite sure who that would be. NERV was the obvious choice, but she wasn't certain she trusted the organization with something like this. She wondered if Professor Hamilton would be willing and able to try and help Nagisa.

"If me can no change back, me must join with All Father like this!" he yelled.

"What? No!" Supergirl exclaimed, flying toward him.

She had almost reached the mutated EVA pilot when a barrier of orange light sprang up between herself and him, blocking her way.

"An AT field?!" she sputtered, even as she pounded it with her fists.

Great, her foe had powers just like her, and he was clearly an Angel.

Nagisa gave her a horrible, crooked grin, then took the air.

"Come back here!" Supergirl ordered.

She flew after him in hot pursuit, trying to halt his progress, but she couldn't breach the damned AT field.

In only minutes, he had reached the city.

"Here me come!" Nagisa yelled and began to plummet straight downwards, using his flying abilities to go faster than terminal velocity.

He slammed into the middle of a city street feet first, setting off a cacophony of screeching breaks and car horns as he easily crashed through the asphalt and then the armor beneath to emerge in the Geofront below Tokyo-3. Scowling, Supergirl followed him.

Inside the Geofront, the klaxons and alarms coming from inside the NERV pyramid—which had no doubt started the moment the Fifth Child had unfolded his AT field—were nothing short of thunderous. Even someone with normal hearing could've picked it up easily.

"Nagisa, stop! This is a bad idea!" Supergirl yelled.

"This is why me exist!" he screamed. "You not understand!"

Well, she supposed she couldn't argue with that last part.

Nagisa crashed into the side of the pyramid, making a much larger hole than he should have, thanks to his AT field. Technicians and other NERV personnel who'd been passing through that part of the base screamed and fled.

"Think about what you're doing here!" Supergirl yelled. "What will be the result if you join with the 'All Father' with the way you are now?"

"That not matter!" he yelled as he continued to crash through walls and floors, a human wrecking ball who would not be stopped. "Me exist to do this! Me have no choice! Me never had choice!"

He sounded…sad, Supergirl realized, and in spite of everything, she couldn't help but feel a brief surge of pity.

She still didn't have the complete picture on Nagisa, but she felt certain that he really believed he had no choice.

Which hardly meant that she was just going to let him continue; she had to stop him.

Nagisa crashed through another floor, this time breaking into a cafeteria. It wasn't heavily occupied, thankfully; even if it had been the lunch hour, very few personnel would've remained there after the Angel alarm had gone off. Still, a few people were present, and Supergirl had to press her speed to the limit to ensure that none of them were injured by falling debris or hurt in some other way.

Meanwhile, Nagisa just kept going. By the time Supergirl was satisfied that everyone was okay and caught up to him, he'd made his way into some stupendously long shaft that had to go all the way to the lowest levels of the base.

"I can't just let you do this, Nagisa!" she yelled as she punched and kicked at his AT field, all without any effect. "Third Impact would kill everyone!"

"Me not need your okay!" Nagisa barked, his AT field flaring more strongly, expanding and pushing Supergirl further away from him.

Her heart seemed to clench inside her chest as she said that, and the reality sank in. Shinji, Hikari, Misato…if this guy actually could set off an Impact-level event, they couldn't hope to survive.

Twin beams of heat exploded forth from her eyes, causing the orange barrier to flare to life. At first, the Girl of Steel thought it wasn't doing anything and nearly ended the assault.

Then, she felt more than saw a crack form in the shield of light. Not letting up on the heat vision bombardment, she reached forward with both hands, ignoring the way her red gloves were almost instantly reduced to ashes, ignoring the searing pain she was inflicting upon herself. She dug her fingers into the breach, jaw clenching as she applied every ounce of her awesome strength to the task of making the opening wider.

"You not can succeed!" Nagisa taunted her. "Me start Third Impact!"

"Raugh!" Supergirl screamed, the muscles in her arms bulging as she gave it one final, titanic burst of effort.

Nagisa's AT field tore like gossamer fabric.

Crimson eyes widened as Supergirl shot forward, bowling into Nagisa, sending them both crashing into the far wall. He fought back, and for several seconds, the two bounced around the shaft like a couple of pin balls as they clashed.

It wasn't until they'd reached the very bottom that their high speed brawl came to a conclusion. Nagisa launched a savage kick that sent her flying, then quickly turned toward the massive steel door that waiting for them. Moving as quickly as he could, he grabbed it with both hands, ripping it off its enormous hinges with a grunt, then tossing the door carelessly in Supergirl's direction.

She dodged it, rushing toward Nagisa again as he entered the room, only to be thwarted by his AT field as it flared to life again.

"Here me am, Father!" he said cheerfully, floating into the room.

Looking beyond Nagisa, Supergirl saw an enormous, puffy white figure that was crucified upon an equally huge red cross. There was no doubt in her mind, this was an Angel.

"W-Wait!" Nagisa suddenly yelped. "This no Adam! This…this Lilith!"

Supergirl didn't even bother to wonder who or what Lilith was, never having heard the name before. She doubted she could get any kind of coherent explanation out of Nagisa, even if he'd wanted to oblige her. Instead, she watched him, waiting to see what he'd do next.

That turned out to be something rather unexpected.

Nagisa suddenly let out a loud groan of pain, wrapping his arms around his abdomen. Scrunching his face up in pain, he doubled over, his breath suddenly coming in ragged pants.

He's still changing. Still…mutating, Supergirl realized.

Nagisa let out a loud cry of pain, and then his AT flickered and was gone.

With a cry, Supergirl launched herself at him, grabbing two handfuls of his shirt and slamming him up against the far wall.

"Please," he moaned, still grimacing in pain. "Kill me."

"What?" she gasped, caught entirely by surprise.

"Kill me," he repeated. "Me can no find Adam in time me have left. Me can only…can only…"

He groaned as another wave of pain took him, never finishing his sentence, but Supergirl understood. The changes roiling his body would end him long before he could hope to locate Adam, assuming it was even anywhere near them, assuming it still existed in some form. All he could do now was die, either slowly and painfully…or quickly and cleanly.

Supergirl swallowed. Slowly, she released her grip on his shirt, reaching up and placing one hand on either side of his head instead.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

He smiled. "Thank you."

A meaty crack echoed through the gigantic chamber.

Several minutes later, Supergirl flew off, the limp form of Kaworu Nagisa in her arms, as she went to look for a suitable spot to bury him.

Many hours after Supergirl's departure, after NERV headquarters had finally returned to an approximation of normalcy, the door to Emil Hamilton's cell opened.

"Good afternoon, Doctor," Chiron said as he entered the cramped room, two other Section Two agents remaining just outside the door. He had one arm in a sling, but that did little to diminish his aura of menace, at least so far as his prisoner was concerned.

"Oh no," Hamilton moaned.

"Nice to see you, too," the chief of Section Two smirked. He squatted down so he was roughly at the same level of the scientist, who was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall.

"Please, no more," Hamilton begged.

Chiron ignored him. "I don't know if you heard all the ruckus, given that your room is sound proofed and all, but there was quite a lot of excitement here today," he said, as though discussing some piece of neighborhood gossip. "Supergirl and another superhuman we're not familiar with burst in here, very much without an invitation. Just burst in and tore a bunch of holes in the place."

Hamilton didn't say anything, looking silently up at Chiron.

"Of course, the Commander ordered the Evangelions scrambled, but by the time we'd managed to get even a single pilot into an entry plug, well, they'd finished whatever they'd come here for and left," Chiron continued.

Hamilton still didn't say anything, though he did begin to tremble with obvious fear.

"Since you're a smart man, I'm sure you must realize how completely unacceptable this is to the Commander," Chiron went on. "NERV can hardly tolerate the presence of someone who has demonstrated the ability to barge in here whenever she pleases. Therefore, neutralizing Supergirl is more crucial now than ever."

He gestured to one of the nameless agents behind him, who handed him a sealed metal briefcase. Chiron set it on the floor and undid the clasps with his good hand, opening it.

Inside the case was a long syringe filled with a pale, yellow-green liquid, nestled in gray foam padding.

"In here," Chiron said, carefully lifting the needle and waving it in front of Hamilton's face, "is the most powerful truth serum in the world. I've been assured that no one who gets a dose can ever resist the urge to answer truly questions posed to them."

Finally, Hamilton spoke up, "Then why…?"

"Did I not use it before?" Chiron finished. "Well, this particular concoction is a very new invention, and I'm afraid all the bugs haven't been worked out yet. I'm told there can be some really awful side effects. Brain damage, death, that sort of thing. Also, the window of time in which the subject will answer questions can be very brief. It could be a few minutes, which would likely allow me to get all the information I want from you. Or it could be a few seconds, in which case I'll probably just get a name. Which is why I'd prefer it if you gave me the information I want without the drug."

Hamilton swallowed.

"So, Doctor, here's the deal," Chiron said. "You can answer all my questions, or I can pump this into you, and get as much as I can from you until the useful effects wear off. And then you probably die."

Silence rang in the tiny room for a long moment.

"So, what will it be, Doctor?" Chiron asked.

"You're bluffing," Hamilton whispered. "That's probably colored water."

Chiron sighed. "The hard way, then."

He gestured to the two agents behind them, who quickly moved to restrain the prisoner. Hamilton struggled for all he was worth, but he couldn't do anything to stop Chiron from plunging the needle into his arm and depressing the plunger on the syringe.

Hamilton gasped, his pupils dilating. He stopped fighting.

"Now, Doctor," Chiron said. "What is Supergirl's real name?"

Asuka Langley Soryu got up bright and early the next morning.

This wasn't because she was so eager to start the day, however. Instead, it was because she just couldn't sleep.

Not that she'd given it that much effort; she had spent the vast bulk of the night out in the city as Supergirl, only returning to her bed to attempt to get some rest until the early morning.

Still, the few hours she'd spent in bed had felt like an eternity. Every time she tried to sleep, she found herself thinking of Nagisa's final moments. The grateful, sad look in his red eyes, the feel of his neck snapping.

The redhead shuddered. For what felt like the thousandth time, she reminded herself that it had been a mercy, not murder. He was dying anyway. He was clearly suffering. He would've set off Third Impact if he'd been able. She shouldn't feel bad about what she'd done.

Yet she did, of course.

Asuka would've given a great deal, right then, to have Shinji next to her, but Shinji was laying in a bed in NERV Medical, as nonresponsive as ever.

It's a good thing I don't need much sleep, she thought as she headed to the bathroom. Otherwise, I'd be exhausted on top of everything else.

After taking a shower, she went to the kitchen and put a couple of slices of bread into the toaster. Misato emerged eventually, already dressed in her NERV uniform. Obviously, the Ops Director had an early shift.

"Morning," the German girl said.

"Good morning," Misato replied, opening the fridge and withdrawing a beer. "I got a message from headquarters this morning. The Commander wants to see you."

Asuka looked up, surprised. "See me? Why?"

Misato shrugged. "I don't know."

The redhead looked down at the table. If Commander Ikari was asking to see her, then most likely it was to finally make it official that she was no longer a pilot.

She hoped she wouldn't have to move out, that they wouldn't try to send her back to Germany.

Asuka briefly considered asking Misato if she could stay even if she wasn't a member of NERV even in name anymore, then decided against it. She didn't really feel up to having that conversation, and there was no need for it just yet.

"What time?" she asked instead.

"Too damn early," Misato replied. "You're coming in with me this morning. Think you can get yourself home afterwards? I have to work."

"Of course," she said.

"Let go, then," Misato replied.

Leaving the apartment, the two got into the purple haired woman's Renault Alpine and drove to headquarters. The Ops Director occasionally tried to make small talk, but Asuka's responses were half hearted, and a conversation never took shape.

The redhead hardly minded the lack of chit chat and allowed her guardian to assume that her glum mood was entirely caused by her boyfriend's incapacitated state.

After reaching headquarters, it soon came time for them to go their separate ways.

"Okay, Asuka, I'll see you later," Misato said.

"Right," the Second Child nodded, turning to go.

"And Asuka," Misato said.

The redhead turned back.

"You're a good kid, Asuka, and a brave warrior. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise," Misato said.

Not long ago, the German girl would've bristled at being called a kid. Now she just nodded. "Thanks."

The two women finally parted ways, and Asuka headed up for the Commander's office. After letting the Commander's ancient secretary know she was there, she was told to go inside.

"I'm here," she announced as she opened the door and strode into the Commander's cavernous office.

"Ah, Pilot Soryu, please come in," Commander Ikari said, sounding as friendly as he ever did.

He was seated behind his desk, which was hardly unusual, but she noted with some surprise that Captain Chiron was standing behind his chair. She had to suppress a little smirk at the sight of his left arm in a sling, no doubt an injury from when Supergirl had launched him across the Geofront lake for trying to kill Kaji, but she still wondered why he was there.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" she asked Ikari, bracing herself for the formal dismissal.

"Yes," Gendo said. "I have, of course, been aware of the various…unfulfilled expectations that have come about since the war began."

"Yes, sir," Asuka said, wondering why he was being so politic about all this. It was well known Gendo Ikari was a man who didn't go out of his way to avoid bruising other people's feelings.

Meanwhile, Captain Chiron just stood behind him, silent as a statue.

"However, none of that makes your years of service and devotion to NERV meaningless," the Commander continued. "Therefore, I felt a reward for that dedication was in order."

He produced a small metal box from his draw and put it on top of the desk, sliding it forward.

Now Asuka was really surprised. If Commander Ikari wasn't known for sparing people's feelings, then offering a consolation prize to someone was completely unheard of.

"Thank you, sir," she said suspiciously, walking up and picking up the box, feeling wary.

Then she gave a mental shrug. The Commander had no reason to try to harm her, and it wasn't like she anything to fear from him, anyway.

She opened the box.

Green light streamed out of it, shining upon the redhead's face. Asuka gasped as she felt her strength rapidly deserting her, nausea roiling her stomach.

"N-No," she gasped, moving to close the lid of the box and once more hide the shard of kryptonite with a suddenly shaking hand.

Chiron punched her in the face before she could, sending her staggering with a cry of pain. The box fell from her hands, clattering to the floor, and the kryptonite fell out of it.

Her mind spinning, Asuka tried frantically to order her thoughts. It didn't matter now how they knew she was Supergirl. It didn't matter how they'd known about her one weakness.

All that mattered was escape, getting away from that awful green crystal. She made her way for the door, walking like a drunk woman. Her vision swam.

"I don't think so," Chiron growled, picking up the piece of kryptonite in his good hand and then rounding on her.

Asuka tried to block, to dodge, but she felt so weak and slow all of a sudden. Chiron's large fist hit her in the side of the head, causing stars to burst forth in her field of vision. She tumbled to the floor, more dazed than ever.

"Payback's a bitch, isn't it?" Chiron sneered.

"Go to hell," she spat.

He responded by pressing the piece of kryptonite against her cheek, and Asuka screamed in pain, thrashing wildly as she tried to get away.

It felt like a burning coal against her skin. The pain of having her face pressed into a puddle of lava was nothing compared to this!

"No! No!" she moaned as her vision began to tunnel and darken.

"Night-night, bitch," Chiron smirked.

Asuka tried to get out one more insult, one more retort, but the world went black then, and she knew no more.

It was several hours later when the redhead woke, her head pounding.

"Oh, Gott," she moaned. "What happened?"

Her head had never hurt like this before. Not before her powers had surfaced, not after she'd taken enormous punishment at the hands of the inhuman and superhuman foes she'd encountered.

She wondered stupidly if she was hung over, not giving a thought to the impossibility of that happening. It would certainly explain the hole in her memory.

Even though she feared it would only bring more pain, she slowly opened her eyes.

She saw red.

After blinking several times, she realized this wasn't just her eyes playing tricks on her in some fashion. Rather, the entire room she was in was being doused with crimson light coming from some special light fixture directly above her.

"Weird," she muttered, taking in her surroundings a bit more, her fogged brain processing the information slowly.

The room was fairly small, probably about two thirds the size of her bedroom, but it was almost entirely empty with bare walls. A single, armored door was the only way in or out; there were no windows.

Asuka herself was seated in a simple wooden chair, the only stick of furniture in the room. Deciding she didn't like this place, she moved to get up.

Only to find that she couldn't. Looking down in surprise, she saw that her wrists and ankles were all in shackles, and that heavy chains connected those shackles to the floor and walls.

Suddenly it all came back to her. She remembered the Commander surprising her with a piece of kryptonite, and Chiron happily using it to attack her.

She cursed.

I have to get out of here! She thought, pulling on her chains.

The heavy links rattled but refused to break. Blinking in surprise, the redhead redoubled her efforts, looking down at her bonds incredulously as they held fast.

This shouldn't be happening; no chain in the world should be capable of resisting her awesome strength. They should've broken as easily as if they were made of paper.

Then she remember what Emil had told her about her people, and how they'd been weaker than she was on Earth because of the color of their sun, which had been red.

She looked up again at the lamp above her, casting its scarlet glow upon the room and swallowed. While she'd been unconscious, it had been effectively draining her powers, so that even without kryptonite in the vicinity, she was barely stronger than a regular human woman her size.

Asuka was trapped, and she had no way of escaping her prison.

Author's Notes: Rather grim, huh? Well, surely you didn't think Gendo would never do anything with that piece of kryptonite he's been hanging onto for all this time.

The idea of making poor Kaworu into Bizzaro was something I'd planned since almost the beginning. I may have mentioned this before, but I often don't quite know what to do with him. At least this allowed me to do something a bit different than just reenact canon events.

So, the Angels are done, and all the remains is the End of Evangelion. With Shinji out for the count and Asuka a prisoner, how can our heroes possibly hope to withstand the attack that's coming? Only one way to find out.

Anyway, thanks as always to my readers and reviewers, and thanks to my beta reader as well.