"Wondergirl, what the Gott dammt ficken is wrong with you?"
"She's a clone Asuka," Shinji replied first. "And she's playing her part well."
"What?" Asuka asked in surprise.
"It's true," Rei III said, now sounding more like the Rei she knew. "Thanks to the gift Shinji gave Rei, she managed to survive the incident. None of the clones are ready for her full soul yet. She's become far to powerful for any of us to contain and survive."
"Incident?"
"Gendo had Rei killed," Shinji said with obvious anger in his voice. "Or rather, he tried to. Misato-san was attacked in NERV by a Shadow Dancer."
"Mein Gott! Is Misato okay?"
"She'll recover," Rei III replied. "But unfortunately the entire fight was caught on camera. Had the battle stayed in the break room, no one would have been the wiser. That camera doesn't work in there. But the battle spilled out into the main hall and Section-2 saw everything."
"Damn…" Asuka whispered. "So you're one of the Dummy Plug clones then?"
"Yes, I am Rei III."
"Three?"
"Our Rei," Shinji began to explain, "is actually Rei II. Her original incarnation was murdered by Ritsuko's Mother about 10 years ago. I thought you knew all this."
"That part I didn't know," she replied. "Must be nice having the ability to reincarnate yourself."
"Don't sound so smug," Rei III snapped as she leaned against the wall. "Dying is no picnic."