Shinji: Year One

Chapter One: Arrival

(Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion, which is owned by Gainax, or Batman, which is owned by DC.)

"No! Father! Please, don't leave me!" screamed four-year-old Shinji Ikari as his father, Gendo Ikari, walked to his car. "Father!" Gendo got into the car, and his chauffeur started the engine. He then put the car into gear and drove away.

For close to half an hour, Shinji stood on the platform crying. "Why are you crying, young one?" a voice said suddenly. Shinji turned his head and saw an elderly woman coming toward him.

"My father doesn't want me anymore," Shinji was able to force as a fresh wave of tears leaked through his eyes.

"Oh, come now. Don't cry, little one. I'll take you in," said the old woman.

"Really?" asked a confused Shinji.

"Yes. Would you like that?"

"Okay."

They walked down the street, when Shinji asked quietly, "What's your name?"

"Excuse me. I forgot my manners. I'm Cassandra Cain."

"I'm Shinji Ikari," Shinji replied softly.

(-V-)

Ten Years Later

"Damn it, where is she?" Shinji Ikari muttered to himself as he stood on a deserted sidewalk. Wearing a dark blue, plaid overcoat, a pair of blue jeans, and a white tee-shirt, he stood on a deserted street in the middle of Tokyo-3. Opening the letter he had received from his 'father' recently, Shinji gazed at the picture of a beautiful, lavender haired woman.

Suddenly, he caught the slightest movement in the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he saw a girl in a schoolgirl's attire, with blue hair and red eyes. Suddenly, she vanished, and Shinji felt the ground underneath him shudder. Looking behind him, he saw a huge monster slowly pursuing a small force of U.N. fighters. The monster suddenly raised it's arm, and shot a fighter down with a huge beam of light. The fighter came crashing down in a spectacular wreck in front of Shinji. The monster jumped, and landed on the ship, causing the ground to vibrate even more. Knowing he would probably be killed if he didn't move, Shinji jumped backwards in a graceful backflip, and landed quickly on his feat.

Suddenly, a blue Renault sped in his direction and screeched to a halt beside him. The door flew open, and the woman from his picture, Captain Misato Katsuragi, yelled, "Get in!" Shinji quickly complied.

As soon as he had shut the door, Misato floored the gas and quickly turned the car around. They sped away from the hulking thing, which was now being bombarded with missals from some oncoming U.N. jets.

Stopping on a hill overlooking the town, Misato leaned over Shinji to get a better look at the battle. Suddenly, all of the ships flew out of the area. "What the . . . " Misato started to say when a huge U.N. gunship flew towards the monster. "Oh, God! They're gonna use an N2 mine! Get Down!" she yelled as she pushed Shinji down just before the monster was covered by a huge explosion. The car, which was thrown from the ground by the force of the explosion, landed on it's side about thirty meters away.

Once the car stood still, it's two occupants stuck their heads out of the open window. They jumped out of the car as the shockwave from the explosion died down, and Misato asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Shinji growled out as he popped his sore neck.

"Come on, help me push," Misato said. The two of them leaned against the blue sports car and pushed with all of their might. Soon, the car fell back on it's side.

"Thanks, Shinji. You're pretty useful."

"Your welcome, Major Katsuragi," Shinji said with a small nod of his head and a smile.

"Ah, Misato's fine. So, Shinji Ikari we finally meet."

"Mm-hmm," Shinji said as he nodded.

(-V-)

"Misato," Shinji inquired.

The woman in question was staring at the road, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.

"Misato," Shinji said again.

"Hmm?"she said, turning to him and smiling.

"Did we have to steal the batteries? Isn't it illegal?"

"Eh. . ." she said as she turned to look at the multiple batteries they had taken. "Don't worry, I'm a government official, and we needed a running vehicle," she said nervously.

Shinji raised an eyebrow. "That's your excuse? I don't think anyone gonna believe that."

"You're no fun. You know, you're not as cute as I thought you would be," Misato said.

"You shouldn't be talking, Misato. I thought you would be more mature than this," Shinji said.

Misato's right eye started to twitch. The car suddenly started to swerve dangerously close to the wall of the tunnel they were entering. "Watch the damn road, Misato!" Shinji yelled.

(-V-)

"The gates are closed. Please stand clear of. . ."

As the giant steel doors behind them closed, Shinji looked and read with disgust, "Nerv. God is in heaven, and all is right with the world."

"Yup. It's a secret organization under the U.N.'s power."

"I would guess that 'Pops' is in charge."

"Mmm-hmm."

The car had started to move, and was continually going up. "Oh! That reminds me. Do you have the I.D. card your father sent you?" Misato asked.

"This?" Shinji asked as he pulled out a small I.D.

"Yup, thanks. Here," she said, handing him a small booklet, "start reading this."

Shinji took the book and glanced inside. He quickly threw the book into the backseet. "Piece of shit," he muttered. "So I was right. He, 'has a use for me'," he said in disgust.

He looked out of the window, and saw hundreds of buildings coming down from the ceiling. "My god," Shinji said, feigning ignorance as he stared at the beautifully lit GeoFront.

"That's right. This is our underground base. The key to rebuilding our world," Misato said with a smile.

(-V-)

'She's lost,' he thought to himself as they passed the same spot for the third time.

"Isn't this the right way?" Misato said, mostly to herself.

"Give me the map," Shinji said suddenly. When Misato gave the map to him, he took a glance at it. In reality, he didn't need it, as he had memorized a layout of the base the week before. "Where are we headed?"

"Elevator 55."

Shinji suddenly walked to the right, and down a few corridors, until he reached a large door with the number 55 above it. "Here we are."

Misato stared at Shinji, her surprise and shock evident in her eyes. She quickly shrugged it off as a coincidence. Pushing the up button on the door, Misato waited for the door to open. When the lift finally reached their level, the door opened to reveal a blond haired woman, who appeared to be more than a little annoyed.

"Uh, hiya Ritsuko," Misato said nervously.

"Well, Captain, it seems you're finally able to find the difference between left and right," she said with a small smirk on her face. Misato scowled at the remark. "So, is this the boy?" Ritsuko asked, getting back to the task at hand.

"Yes. According to the Marduk Report, he's the third child."

"Nice to meet you," Ritsuko said with a small, barely noticeable smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you to, Doctor," Shinji said with a small bow of his head.

"As you can see, he at least has more manners than his father," Misato said with a smile.

(-V-)

As the three of them rose on the open elevator, Shinji stared at the giant tank besides them, filled with bright magenta liquid. Behind him, Misato and Ritsuko were deep in conversation, when the P.A. system announced, "All personnel, assume battle stations, level one."

"Hear that?" Misato asked.

"This is bad," Ritsuko commented.

"So how's Unit-01 doing?" Misato asked.

"It's currently undergoing refrigeration using the B-type equipment," Ritsuko replied.

"Does it work? It hasn't before, has it?"

"The possibility of activation is 0.000000009. Around here, we just call it the 09 system," Ritsuko stated matter-of-factly.

"You mean it doesn't work?"

"Don't be insulting. It's-" Ritsuko started.

"Oni, as in a Japanese devil," Shinji said.

Ritsuko stared at him for a moment, before being pulled back into her conversation by Misato, who said, "Well, I guess it's too late to say, 'Sorry, it doesn't work,'."

(-V-)

Once the elevator reached the peak of it's ascension, it's three occupants hopped off. They soon got into a small motorboat. The boat streaked across the magenta liquid, and as they got closer to the far wall, Shinji thought he saw a giant, purple and green arm.

They got out of the boat and went into an open door. Once the three of them reached the center of the room, the doors shut behind them, leaving them in complete darkness. Shinji let out a quiet sigh of content.

Suddenly, the lights flashed on and Shinji found himself face-to-face with a giant purple mecha. "This is man's ultimate weapon, and last hope against the Angels. Evangelion."

Shinji stared at it before he looked just above it and growled with a scowl on his face, "So, this is why you left me alone at that station, huh, Father?"

Misato and Ritsuko followed Shinji's gaze up, and saw the face of Gendo Ikari, staring coldly at his son. "Correct," Gendo said. He glared at his son for a few moments before adding, "We're moving out."

"Moving out? Rei doesn't have anything to pilot! And even if she did, she's not in any condition to pilot that thing, is she?" Misato asked. Suddenly, realization hit her. "Wait a minute! You're gonna use Unit-01?!" She yelled, and, after quickly glancing at Shinji, continued, "We don't have a pilot!"

"We just recieved one," Ritsuko said emotionlessly.

". . . You're serious, aren't you," Misato said sadly, a pained expression on her face.

Turning to Shinji, Ritsuko said in the same flat tone, "Shinji Ikari, you will pilot it."

The boy in question turned his head to glare intensely at the blond scientist, causing her to involuntarily step back. "No," he growled out in a dangerous tone, "I will not pilot this contraption for you, Gendo."

"Shinji," Misato said desperately, "don't you care about this city?"

"Why should I?" Shinji asked icily. "This city contains one of my worst childhood memories." Glaring up at Gendo, he added, "And if that monster takes out the bastard up there, kudos to it."

"If you will not pilot the Eva, then leave!" Gendo said angrily.

Shinji turned on his heels and stalked towards the exit. Suddenly, he heard a door behind him open, and looked to see a group of medics pushing a small, rolling bed towards the center of the platform. On the bed was an injured girl, who was covered in bandages. "What are you doing?" Shinji snarled.

"She will be the one who will pilot if you do not," Gendo said coldly.

Suddenly the ground trembled violently. Almost everyone fell to the ground, other than those who had found something to hold onto. All of a sudden, a terrible tearing sound was heard from above as a large amount of florescent lights fell towards the platform. Shinji looked up, to see a group of them falling straight for the girl.

He suddenly launched himself towards her, moving at a blinding speed, and pushed her out of the way of the falling debris.

Then, the huge metal arm of Unit-01 broke free of it's restraints, and knocked the debris off it's trajectory towards Shinji.

"My, God!"

"The Eva moved!"

"How?!"

"It wrenched the restraints off of it's right arm!"

"That's impossible!" Ritsuko shouted. "The entry plug hasn't even been inserted yet!"

Misato stood up from the floor and gazed at the giant, purple monster. "It reacted without any interface . . . ?" Suddenly, she realized something. "Or was it protecting something?" She asked herself. "Was it protecting him?"

Shinji meanwhile, had hurried over to the girl, who was whimpering in pain, and cringing as she moved. Pulling out a small pressure injector, filled with a sedative and a pain reliever, from one of his coat pockets, he injected the girl, who slowly fell into a deep sleep.

Looking up at the command deck, glaring hatefully at the man who called himself his father, Shinji yelled, "Alright! I'll pilot it! Just don't let anyone else get injured!"

(-V-)

Shinji sat inside the cramped plug, his gaze directed aimlessly in front of him. Over the radio, he could here the workers transmitting commands and messages as they prepped the eva for battle.

Suddenly, the plug began to fill with a yellow liquid. Feigning ignorance, he screamed, "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Don't worry, when your lungs are filled with LCL, your blood will be oxygenated directly." Ritsuko said calmly.

Shinji relaxed slightly, and let himself be immersed in the liquid. It smelled of copper and blood. "Disgusting," he muttered to himself. All of a sudden, the plug around him morphed in a spectacular show of lights, until it opened up a huge window in front of him, allowing him to see.

Over the radio, Shinji could hear one of the lieutenants, Maya Ibuki, say, "Bidirectional circuits are open, synchronisation is at . . . Sempai! His Synch ratio is at 79.8!"

"What?! That's impossible!" Ritsuko exclaimed as she turned to look at the readings. "Incredible," she whispered.

Soon, the restraints were removed, and the Eva was moved to the launchpad. As soon as everything was in position, Misato turned to the Commander and asked, "Can we really do this?"

"Of course," he replied with conviction. "If we can't defeat the angel, we have no future."

"Hmm," Misato said, before she yelled, "Eva, launch!" 'Shinji,' she thought to herself, 'don't get killed out there.'

The Eva suddenly launched up the chute at an alarming rate. Shinji didn't make a sound, as the Gee-force pushed him down hard in his seat. Above him, a door opened, and the track on which he was following extended, allowing the Eva to rise up to ground level. In front of him stood the Angel, it's face like a skull, and it was waiting to attack.

"Are you ready, Shinji?" Misato asked over the comm.

"As ready as I'll ever be," He answered.

"Release final safety locks!" Misato yelled at the technicians. Back on the surface, the Eva lurched forward, and stood, hunched over and ready to move.

"Shinji," Ritsuko said, "just concentrate on walking right now."

Shinji responded by walking towards the Angel with a determined gait. Suddenly, the angel grabbed Shinji's arm and head, and pulled violently. The strain of the double-sided attack caused Shinji to moan in pain.

"Shinji, it's not your real arm! It's the Eva's!" Misato screamed through the comm.

"What's the difference?" Shinji strained out. "They both heart like hell!"

The angel suddenly picked up the Eva by it's head. It's elbow illuminated, and pulled back. It suddenly returned and began to bash the Eva's head case. The core suddenly illuminated, and the Eva was thrown back by a violent explosion. It landed with a sickening thud on one of the skyscrapers.

Over the radio, Shinji could hear the chatter of the technicians, as they tried to reactivate his Eva.

"The head case is damaged! Synch rate is dropping!"

"What are the reading on the pilot?!"

"We don't know! The monitors aren't responding! We can't tell if he's dead or alive!"

"Pull him back! He's just a kid!"

Shinji suddenly stiffened. He had heard those words before. Just after his guardian had been slain.

'What about the kid?'

'What about him? That's all he is. A lousy kid.'

"No," Shinji growled to himself as he pushed himself up, "I'm not a kid."

'Than what are you?' a small voice in the back of his mind asked.

Suddenly, the eyes of the Eva relit as the purple behemoth reactivated. "Eva's reactivating itself!" Lt. Ibuki yelled as she stared at her monitor.

"It's impossible," yelled another of the technicians, "It shouldn't be able to move!"

"How . . . ?" Misato asked herself.

Ritsuko, who was staring at the screen with a strange mixture of terror and awe, whispered, "Berserker."

The Eva opened it's mouth and unleashed an unearthly roar that sent shudders down the spines of everyone in the command center. The Eva leaped from it's spot in front of one of the buildings, and landed on the Angel. It's left pylon opened and revealed a small knife, which the Eva pulled out and began slicing viciously at the Angel.

Inside the entry plug, Shinji growled out as he attacked the angel as viciously as possible, "I am vengeance."

The Angel fired it's light cannon again, but Shinji was ready. He leaped off the Angel just before it fired the deadly weapon. The Eva flipped in the air, and threw the knife like a shuriken. It hit dead in the center, and made a giant crack in the center. Shinji ran to melee the monster again, when he hit a huge, orange field of light.

"It's an A.T. field!" Ritsuko yelled.

"He won't be able to touch that Angel!" Misato said in horror.

Shinji, meanwhile, activated his own A.T. field, and started to erode the Angel's.

"Unit-01's expanding his own A.T. field! It's neutralizing the phase space!" Ibuki yelled.

"No, he's corroding it!" Ritsuko yelled in realization.

Shinji plunged his hands into the center of the of the orange hexagon, and tore it apart.

"It ripped through that A.T. field like it was nothing!" Misato yelled in shock.

The Eva ran up and grabbed the Angel's arm. "I am the night," Shinji said as he tore the arm off of the Angel. The Angel suddenly wrapped itself around the upper half of the Eva, as it's core started to glow.

"It's gonna self destruct!" Misato yelled in horror. Just as predicted, the Angel and the Eva disappeared in a huge explosion. "Is the Eva . . . ?" she whispered, the fear evident in her voice.

Suddenly, a huge, dark silhouette appeared in through the fire and smoke. The Eva came into view, once again walking in the same determined gait as before the battle.

"I am Batman!" Shinji yelled with conviction as the Eva let out another unearthly roar.

In the command center, Gendo smirked from behind his interlocked hands.

(-V-)

(A/N: Well, here's the first chapter. I haven't decided a pairing yet, but I'm leaning towards Shinji/Maya. Love it? Hate it? I don't care. Just please leave comments! Also, you can give me some idea's for this, and other stories of mine. Another note, my first story, Frontier Wars Episode IV: A New Hope is up for adoption. Anyone who wants it just has to leave a review in it. Until the next chapter! Enterprise-A)