Disclaimer: All materials, characters, etc. is either owned my Gainex or Image comics.Prologue

The alleyways: A place often considered a diseased cesspool. It is the closest to a home for those have nowhere to go. It is here where things have a habit of going unnoticed. Within this dreary place, a lone figure stirred from slumber and took in his surroundings.

"What? What happened? Where am I?"

From the tone of his voice, the boy had to be no older than head ached trying to recall how he came to this area. He rubbed the side of his skull in attempt to soothe the pain, all the while making sure not to scratch himself with his claws.

'Claws?'

The boy glanced at his hand and sure enough, his fingers had claws. Even more surprising was the red gloved hand they were attached to. The boy quickly looked around for a mirror. He searched high and low but could not find one amongst the trash. He then eyed a large puddle a couple feet away and rushed to it, it wasn't what he wanted but it was an acceptable substitute. He dropped to his hands and knees and stared at the image in the water.

The boy wore a mask with two white shapes, each starting at the eye, curving back to the cheek, and then flowing down to the chin. The design then followed the length of the side of his face, stopping at the top of his head and flowing back to his eyes.

The rest of his body was covered in black besides the red patches on the sides of the lower abdomen, a spiked armband on his left arm and strap with multiple pockets at the top of his right thigh. A pair of white stripes in the form similar to an "M" going from his skull in the center of his metallic belt to his chest then arched down to the sides to his back. Spiked brass knuckles were wrapped around each hand. 4 chains made their way around his waist from the front attached to a symbolism of a skull. Two of the same 'skulls' held his cape to his neck. A pair of spiked bands rested just below the knee on the left shin. The cape itself seemed magical, it was a deep blood red, with tears and scorch marks located throughout the exterior, but it floated in the air without wind, and stretched on for a good 5 feet weaving about in the air and curling around its owner.

In a slight panic, he reached up and pulled off the mask. He sighed in relief when he saw he still had his face. Short brown hair and blue eyes, the face of Shinji Ikari. Shinji turned his attention to the mask in his hand.

"What is this? What happened to me?"

"Welcome back to the world of the living."

From out of the shadows came a man. He appeared to be in his late fifties to early sixties if his graying hair was any indication.

"Who are you?"

"Shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" the old man asked in perfect Japanese.

Shinji lowered his head in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry. My name is Shinji, Shinji Ikari."

"I am known by many names. The people hear call me the Man of Miracles; some call me M.O.M. for short. I'm an old friend of the person who wore the suit you're now wearing."

Shinji looked around again at the alley.

"How long was I out?"

"A few days."

"What is this place?"

"The people here call it Rat City. It's a large alley here in Old New York."

"New York? As in New York City?!" Shinji shouted.

"The very one," the man nodded.

"How did I get from Tokyo-3 to here?"

The old man laid his hand on the boy's shoulder in order to calm him down. The man gestured with his hand further down the alley.

"If you'll allow me, I'll help refresh your memory."

Shinji followed M.O.M. down the garbage filled path, passing a few homeless people here and there. A few waved and said hello even though Shinji couldn't understand them. Their walk took them to an abandoned church at the heart of the alleys.

"Come inside," the man said to his young charge as he stepped through the rotted doors.

They walked through the ramshackle cathedral and down the stairs towards the basement. The room was fairly large, lined with shelves filled with all kinds of medieval armor, trinkets, and assorted and sometimes broken weapons. Shinji's eye caught a full length mirror on one of the walls. Thanks to the light he was able to get a better view of his new apparel.

"This costume makes me look like a villain out of a comic book," Shinji said offhandedly.

"That 'costume,' as you call it, is a uniform. The uniform of a high ranking general in the devil's army."

"The devil's army!?"

"Oh you need not worry about that. That was taken care of a long time ago. Everything is at peace, now."

Shinji sighed in relief the second time today. The last thing he needed was to be drafted into another military organization. He then noted that his body was much more toned and muscular, in an athletic degree, than he remembered.

"Wait, I was never this buff."

The old man set down a wooden chair.

"That's because of the psychoplasm in your body."

"Psychoplasm?"

"Yes, you see normally only the undead could wear that uniform because they would be infused with necroplasm to animate them and give the suit its power. Angels and demons are composed of psychoplasm, which can be absorbed by the living like you. Being who you are, you no doubt must've been exposed to a great deal of psychoplasm. The suit is able to use both as a means of nourishment and energy that is how it came to be on you."

"What do you mean 'Being who I am?"

"You're Shinji Ikari, pilot of Evangelion unit 1."

"How do you know that?"

"I know lots of things."

"What happened to the man who had it before?"

"All shall be explained shortly. Please, have a seat."

Shinji sat down in the wooden chair while M.O.M. went to get another chair. He glanced at the red shroud that continued to billow despite there being no wind inside the room.

"It's like the cape is alive."

"It's not just the cape, the whole suit is alive."

"This thing is alive?"

"It's a symbiote. Think of it like a parasite that lives to protect you. In return, it uses the psychoplasm you have to feed off of and use for other things."

"What other things?"

"The psychoplasm in your body combined with the suit can give you a multitude of abilities."

"Like what?"

The old man gave a mischievous smirk.

"Would you care for anything, something to drink maybe?"

Shinji rubbed his throat gently, "I could use some water."

"Hold out your hand and visualize a bottle of water in your hand. Be sure to concentrate."

Shinji did as instructed. A few moments went by until a flash of green light momentarily blinded the boy. Sure enough when he cleared the spots out of his eyes, there was a clear plastic bottle now in his hand.

"Whoa" Shinji whispered in awe.

"Give it a try, it's just water."

Shinji unscrewed the cap and down the life-preserving liquid. He downed half the bottle before he stopped for air, his mind going a mile a minute.

"This is incredible."

M.O.M. chuckled at the young man's antics. He was acting like a kid finding presents under the Christmas tree.

"This is only the beginning. You still have much to learn, Spawn."

Shinji didn't seem to hear M.O.M. He was too engrossed in the possibilities of the powers he now possessed. It took a few moments before he registered what the old man had called him before he reached out and touched the confused boy on the forehead.

"Spawn?"

Pain then shot through his being before Shinji could get any kind of answer to the odd name.