A Hundred Ways To Die - One Heck Of A Collection (snippets, one-offs from various NGE-fanfic-verses)

[Naughtilus]

Some background first. It had started with @Susano 's fic Neon Metathesis Evangelion (currently on hiatus, but I do hope it will live again one day) which introduced the minor but rather memorable character of Steven Heck. Much later on, there were talks of Heck's cameos in other fanfics, meeting untimely deaths. I think I was sleep-deprived (when am I not?) when I got this "brilliant" idea of putting together a compilation of snippets and one-offs by NGE fanfic authors, depicting many ways in which the aforementioned character dies.
So this is my little project, or perhaps a challenge - let's make this happen. As an afterthought, I figured it may be a good way for the authors to present their fics and the universes they had created.
The field is yours. Get loose. Get wild. There are no limitations to genre, mood, style.

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For my contribution, I had imagined an AU where there are no giant robots, no monstrous Angels, but SEELE and humanoid Adamites waging a secret war for decades. Who knows, I might turn it into a fully fledged world and write a proper fanfic, albeit different in tone from this snippet.
Without further ado, here it is:

The Heckler​

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The sun had already set when the man reached the door of his small, dinky SEELE-issue apartment. He fumbled with the keys, as his hands were shaking from barely contained excitement. After months of research and preparations, he had finally managed to get his hands on an artifact that could turn the tides of the Adamite War. Finally managing to unlock the door, he quickly slipped in and flicked the light switch. Nothing happened. The man flicked the switch twice more with the same result.
As if in response to his frustrated grunt light emerged, but instead of a yellowy glow of a lighbulb, two dim dots of of red light appeared in the darkness. The man smiled ruefully. He knew this would happen eventually, but he had hoped it wouldn't come so soon. Kaworu Nagisa, SEELE's pet Adamite, paid him a visit.
The room suddenly filled with a faint red glow coming seemingly from nowhere and everywhere, revealing a silver-haired boy whose eyes burned red, sitting comfortably on the sofa.
"Steven Heck, the Adamites' pet Lilim and a traitor," he uttered with a smile, mirroring the man's thoughts.
"Poetic, isn't it? One has to appreciate the fearful symmetry. Old Man Lorenz, that sentimental grandpa, actually wanted to spare me from having to do this, but I thought to myself, why the heck not?"
The man's left eye visibly twitched after the Angel's last few words, a reaction that had not gone unnoticed. The boy grinned and continued.
"Certain SEELE members kept heckling me about my rather passive approach to the conflict. It seems quite petty, even for Lilim."
With a roar, Heck let a silvery cylinder slide out of the sleeve of his suit and into his hand, unleashing a bright green beam towards the Adamite. It splashed harmlessly against a hexagonal field that appeared out of thin air.
"Steven, Steven. One of Akagi's standard-issue toys? The thing works against the foot soldiers of my brethren, but on me? That would require one heck of a power source."
The man responded with incoherent screams and began assaulting the field with his bare hands.
That only elicited another smug smile from Kaworu. "Truly, puns are the pinnacle of Lilim culture," he exclaimed. ¨ Heck fell to his knees, sobbing. "Just kill me already. I can't stand it!"
He heard a click, and to his utter surprise, he found himself staring into the barrel of a vanilla mortal handgun. Heck closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.
After what seemed like eternity, he opened his eyes. Kaworu was gone, and the gun lay in front of the broken man. The lights flickered on, revealing the engraving on the pistol, which identified it as Heckler&Koch USP-45.
An anguished scream pierced the night air, startling the small animals from their sleep.
A gunshot followed shortly after.