As he approached Mitras on his long flight back from Tinninvale, he could see a battle taking place over Somerset Park. What the fuck is going on now? In broad daylight no less! "Tch!" Guess I'd better go see if I can do something. He soon could make out The Commander, Codex, Static and Bloodhound fighting against about seven unknown hostiles in powered glider suits.
At first, he couldn't make out what the fight was about, but soon realized that there were a lot of innocent people still in the park. Shit! The Craftsman's Fair! But why attack that? Unless they wanted to use the citizens as hostages to get the heroes to hold back. Then he spotted the real reason. A tall, handsome, middle-aged woman surrounded by guards. Senator Kathryn Mays . . . she's the one pushing for that law reestablishing capital punishment in this country. One of the hostiles attempted dive in and grab her but was foiled by Codex.
Levi went straight for the hostile as they climbed back into the sky. He drew two of his daggers, one held blade out and the other held blade back. At the last second, he folded his wings back and went into a dizzying spin, daggers held out on either side of him, effectively creating a spinning saw blade. He struck the hostile, blades cutting through the fuel and air lines of the glider suit and destroying the engine. The hostile began to fall from the sky with a frightened yelp. Still can't tell if they're a male or a female. What ever they are, they shriek like a girl. He caught a hold of them before they hit the ground and dumped them in the large pond.
"BEHIND YOU!" he heard The Commander yell.
He'd already heard the hostile's approach and went into another death spin, slicing through the fasteners that held the glider suit together and the man fell out and into the pond with his cohort while the now unmanned glider suit went skipping across the water in a disastrous tumble. Two down, five to go. Make that four. Nice going, Codex.
A woman's scream pierced the air. Levi immediately thought that the senator had been grabbed, but what he saw was the young intern that had been with her. One of the hostiles was racing into the sky with the terrified girl in their grasp. The Commander was already headed for her, but he was too far away. Levi was closer. With a powerful thrust of his wings he went up after them. Unfortunately, the hostile was not paying attention to what was going on around them. They didn't see the incoming 737 airliner that was making its final approach to the airport.
Levi managed to get to them in time to knock them out of the flight path, but he himself was unable to get out of the way. The plane's left wing impacted the middle of his back, dislocating the right wing's shoulder joint. He was flipped up over the wing and then hit by the tail, which dislocated the right wing's elbow joint.
He didn't have time to recover from his daze as the girl again screamed. The hostile had dropped her when Levi had knocked them out of the plane's flight path. Ignoring the pain radiating out from his wing and the fuzziness clouding his mind and vision, Levi reflexively dove after her. She saw him coming and reached out her hand to him. He could feel her overwhelming relief when he caught her in his arms and opened his wings. He let out a grunt of pain as the right wing protested. He shifted his shoulder blades to lock the wings open. He saw The Commander approaching. "Commander! Grab her! My wing's broken."
Levi let go of the woman and The Commander caught her immediately. Levi, unable to flap his broken wing, had no other choice but to attempt a gliding landing on the pond. He could see Codex running along the shore yelling something to him. He ignored them as he brought his feet down. I'm coming in too fast. I can't slow down, and I can't get any altitude. This isn't going to end well. As soon as his feet touched the surface of the pond, he went into a frightening roll, skipping like an uneven stone tumbling across the pond's surface before finally coming to rest in a tangle of cattails at the edge of the water.
He groaned loudly and made a futile attempt to push himself up. He saw Codex running towards him, but he couldn't hear what they were saying. His vision blurred as they fell to their knees by his head. He was only vaguely aware of their hands checking him over, but soon felt nothing at all as darkness took him.
Levi ever so slowly became aware that someone was stroking his hair. It took him several minutes just to figure out what the strange sensation was. It took several minutes more for him to realize he was in a bed and in a fair amount of pain. A few minutes later, he became aware of someone speaking to him. "C'mon, sweetie. Wake up. You can do it." The last thing his foggy mind could remember was flying back to Mitras from Tinninvale after reuniting with his mother. Was that all just a dream? "C'mon my adorable little box-of-grumps, you can do it. Don't wanna sleep your life away, do you?" Wait . . . that sounds like Codex. What are they doing here? Wait a sec . . . where is here?
He slowly opened his eyes. The lighting was, mercifully, dim. He shifted his eyes to the left and saw Codex grinning down at him while they ran their fingers soothingly through his hair. "Hey there. Welcome back to the world of the living," they greeted.
"Wha . . ." His voice cracked, question cut off by his parched throat.
"Hold on a sec, hon. I'll get you some water."
While they were away, he took in his surroundings. He was in a regular bed, not a hospital one. The room was very large and looked like it was part of a warehouse or factory with brick walls, large windows with black, light blocking curtains and exposed ductwork. There were plain nightstands on either side of the king-sized bed, each with a lamp on them. He noticed an IV bag hanging from a sconce lamp above the bed that was attached to his arm. He also noted that there were oxygen tubes in his nose that were attached to a tank beside the bed.
Before he could take in anymore, Codex returned from the sink across the room with a glass of water and a straw. They helped him sit up and drink. "Thank you," he said now that he could finally talk. "What the hell happened and where am I?"
"Well, you were hit by a Boeing 737, saved a girl's life and then made a very bad landing on Somerset Lake," they explained. "That was one hell of a tumble you took! It's a wonder you didn't break your neck! Frankly, I'm impressed that all you have is a dislocated shoulder and elbow on the right wing and a sprained, bruised ankle. You look like shit, by the way; all purple and yellow and green. Yech!"
"Thanks a lot," Levi groaned sarcastically. "I seem to remember a fight over Somerset Park. Who were those bozos? Did you know what they wanted?"
Codex frowned. "They were lackeys of Enigma. Senator Mays was once a Federal Judge, and she was the one that sent Enigma away for life at Marshland Maximum Security Women's Prison. I'm guessing that they were out for revenge. You see, Enigma was murdered by a fellow inmate about a week ago. The inmate in question had lost their entire family to her, so they wanted revenge. The seven we faced two days ago likely blamed the senator for Enigma's death because she sent their boss to the prison where she was killed." Codex sighed. "One act of retribution breeds another, and another, and another. The cycle never seems to end."
Both were quiet for a moment. "Wait. I've been out for two days?"
"Yep! I reset your joints and wrapped your wing. You'll be able to fly in a few more days, considering how fast you heal. If I dislocate my joints, it'll be at least a month before I'm healed! Anyway, I guess we can take out the IV and take you off the oxygen now." As Codex leaned over to remove the oxygen tubes from under his nose, Levi noticed they weren't wearing their goggles.
"Where's your goggles?"
"Hm? Oh. Erwin thought that since we're seeing you without your mask that it's only fair that you should see us without ours," they explained. "It's a trust thing. By the way, my name is Hange Zoe. Erwin told me you know his name now and that you know Mike's as well."
"I'm Levi."
"No last name?"
Levi shook his head. "Legally speaking, I don't exist."
Hange's eyes widened. "Woooow! That's so cool!"
Levi rolled his eyes. "You would think that." He then yawned. "So where am I now?"
"Scout headquarters. Erwin sometimes uses this 'apartment' when he doesn't feel like going home or if he doesn't have time to before going to his day job." Their eyes widened as Levi yawned again. "I know you just woke up and all, but I think you should go back to sleep. I'll be downstairs if you need anything. Just take that cool looking freight elevator over there."
Levi only grunted in reply as he closed his eyes and fell almost immediately asleep.
Levi was alone the next time he awoke. He groaned as he sat up and looked around. He spotted a door in the far corner of the room and hoped it was a bathroom. He wrinkled his nose as he limped in, noting the mess it was in. The important parts looked somewhat clean – no where near up to his standards, of course – but there were towels tossed haphazardly on the counter, over the towel bars and even on the floor. There was dust in all of the corners, soap scum on the shower glass, steaks on the mirror and dusty cobwebs all around the ceiling. He was almost afraid to lift the toilet cover. To his relief, the toilet, at least, looked clean; no stains, drips or hairs visible.
He relieved himself quickly, washed his hands and dried them on the legs of the oversized pajama bottoms he was in. At this point, he shuddered, wondering if the borrowed pants were clean and whose they were. If the bathroom condition was any indication, he had serious doubts about the cleanliness of the clothing he was currently wearing.
He found his own clothes tossed over the back of a chair near the bed. He looked them over and gave a tentative sniff. Deeming them clean enough, seeing as someone had at least tried to wash them, he pulled them on, folding the borrowed clothes neatly before placing them on the same chair. He carefully made the bed. It was a slow process due to pain, but he was determined to make it perfect.
The sounds of people talking drifted up through the elevator shaft from the floor below. He went over and pushed the button to summon the elevator. It was an open car with an accordion gate protecting the open shaft, and a fancy grate lift gate on both the front and back of the elevator car. It was old, but sturdy. Once it reached the floor below, he discovered that he had to exit via the opposite side from where he'd entered.
He stepped out into a room that was as large as the one he'd just left. On the far end was a long counter and lots of shelves loaded with equipment, computers and chemistry supplies. A couple of tall stools for sitting were between the counter and a long table that held even more equipment and scattered piles of paper. Levi had no doubt that this area belonged to Hange.
To his left, in front of the wall of one-way windows overlooking the alley below and brick building across the way, was a large L shaped desk with one chair in front of a computer and two other chairs on the other side of the L. Papers were in neat stacks and all of the equipment was organized. Levi guessed this was Erwin's space. In the center of the room was a seating area with a couple of large sectional sofas, four lounge chairs and a huge coffee table.
Finally, directly in front of him was another long wood table with ten chairs around it where he found Erwin, Mike, Static and Hange sitting around one end talking, all without their masks. They all looked up as he limped over to the table. He flopped down in a chair next to Hange. Just his little bit of activity left him worn out. "I guess I owe you four some thanks."
Erwin smiled. "Not at all. It is you who deserves the thanks. We were having a really hard time with those men until you showed up. Thanks to you, no civilians were hurt."
"Oo-oo-oo!" Hange suddenly jumped up and ran to grab a laptop from their messy area. "You finally have a name!"
"Yeah. It's Levi. I've always had it."
"No, no, no! I mean a Super Hero name! And it's a really cool one too!"
"No."
"But you already have it."
"No."
"It's really cool!"
"No. Your names are always lame."
"Ah, but I didn't come up with this one. Have a look-see." They opened a file on their laptop and a news cast from two nights ago played. It showed the intern Levi had caught mid-air and saved after he'd been hit by the 737.
"I was terrified. I could see the jet coming straight for us, but the guy who'd grabbed me didn't see it and he wasn't listening to me. But this guy with big black wings knocks us out of the way at the last second and gets hit by the plane instead. I thought he was dead for sure. Next thing I know is that I'm falling. I thought sure I was gonna die! Then this same guy with the wings comes swooping down like some raven knight and catches me!"
The clip cut to the male reporter. "So, there you have it, folks. Senator Katlyn Mays' intern rescued by Mitras' newest Super Hero, Raven Knight. Back to you, Jen."
Levi groaned, and face palmed. "Great. Now the whole goddamned city is gonna be calling me that."
"Whaaat? I think it's wicked cool!" Hange protested.
"I'm not a hero, damn it!"
Mike looked confused. "How can you say that?"
Levi looked at the man like he had five heads. "What planet have you been living on, Sniffy?"
"Same one as you," he replied. "You've saved literally thousands of innocent lives. You may try to act like you don't care, but you're not fooling anyone. Okay, so you're an asshole; I'll agree with that, but that doesn't change the fact that you selflessly risk your life and your sanity every day to protect everyone else. I think that more than qualifies you as a hero." It was the longest speech either Levi or Hange had ever heard from Mike. The man rarely spoke unless he felt it important.
"He's right," Erwin agreed. "You do the unthinkable to spare others the suffering caused by it. You make the tough decisions and take the consequences of those decisions so no one else will have to. You try to shoulder the burden of protecting everyone all by yourself. You don't have to. You're not the only one who wants to protect others. Let other's help you shoulder those burdens. Let us help you shoulder the burden. Join the Scouting Regiment. You already work with us most of the time anyway. You'll have access to our resources and you'll always have backup."
"I'm not joining your little band of boy scouts," Levi instantly answered, eyes cold and voice dripping with venom. "I don't mind using you people when it suits my purposes to do so, but I have my own resources and I work alone. I answer to no one and no one answers to me. No attachment; no responsibility. I don't care what you or anyone else thinks. I am NOT a hero. Never have been; never will be."
Erwin regarded him sadly. "I'm sorry you feel that way. The invitation is always open. We could really use someone with your strength and skill on our team."
Levi snorted derisively. "Don't hold your breath."
"Well, you're welcome to stay here anyways until your healed enough to fly," Erwin said.
"Fine. I'll be out of your hair first thing in the morning." The man stood and limped back over to the elevator, worn out by the entire conversation.
The following morning, as the sun was cresting the horizon, Levi took the elevator down to the next floor, then found a door opposite the windows that led down a hallway. Halfway down the hall was a set of stairs leading to the ground floor. The stairs doubled back on themselves halfway down and came out across from a door to the outside. He inhaled a pained hiss through his teeth as he limped down the stairs. He strongly suspected that the solid, heavy steel door was alarmed, but he didn't care. He stepped out into the alley and walked away. He came out to a street and realized he was very near one of Kenny's apartments.
It still took him nearly an hour to limp the ten-block distance to the apartment, then to get in unseen without being able to fly to the roof. He snuck in a back entrance and hobbled up the stairs and slipped into the sixth-floor apartment. It was small, but clean and serviceable. He went straight to the kitchenette and filled a kettle with water to boil for tea. He took out his phone and sent a text to Kenny to let the man know he was using the apartment for a few days.
Once his tea was made, he sank down onto the sofa with an exhausted sigh. He woke up three hours later to a cup of cold tea. He growled softly, downed the tea in one go, then decided to shower and just go to bed.
As he left the bathroom after showering, dressed in black jersey pants and a black t-shirt and a towel around his neck, he heard footsteps approaching the apartment door. He wasn't alarmed. His sensitive ears recognized the long strides of his father-figure. "Hey," he greeted the man when he entered.
"Hey, Levi. How you feelin'? Saw what happened on the news. Where've you been? Been trying to locate you for the past three days!" Kenny had a lot of bags with him that he set on the small two seat table in the kitchenette.
"Sorry. The Scouts took me in. I'd say, 'any landing you can walk away from', but I clearly did not walk away from that one. Only dislocated a couple of wing joints and sprained an ankle. Nothing serious. Just can't fly for a few days."
Kenny sighed. He'd begun taking food and drink out of the bags and putting it away in the refrigerator and cupboards. "That's a relief. Brought you some food and stuff for while you're here. Anything else you need?"
"No. This is more than enough. Thanks."
"If you change your mind, just give me a call. Okay?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
"So, what'd The Prophet want with you?" Kenny asked as he sat down on the sofa, popping open a bottle of water to drink. "Or can't you tell me?"
"I think maybe it was nothing more than a meet and greet. She wasn't able to really tell my anything about Titan other than the fact that they are extremely dangerous and need to be stopped," Levi replied. Then after a few moments silence, "She told me my mother's name. It was Kuchel."
Kenny looked up in surprise. "That's kinda funny. My grandmother was named Kuchel. Not a common name, you know?"
"So, what do you know about Titan?" Levi asked him.
"The Prophet's right. They are dangerous. Based on multiple sources, they are a global criminal organization. They have their grubby little fingers in damn near everything; narcotics, weapons, extortion, laundering, human trafficking, assassination, black market. Thing is, those activities seem to be nothing more than a means to an end. There's rumors of Titan using those activities to fund some kind of biological and/or genetic research – on humans. A lot of scientists have disappeared without a trace over the past year or so, and there is a strong possibility that there are even more that are working willingly for Titan. Thing is, Titan is really good at covering their tracks. We don't know just how far their organization reached or even how many Super Villains and government agencies might be working for them. It's basically a case of not trusting anyone. I'm willing to bet I have Titan operatives in my own syndicate, but I have no way of knowing who. Damn scary group, Titan is."
Levi frowned. "Shit."
"Yeah."
"No wonder Commander is so anxious to recruit people for the Scouts. He's made it his mission to take down Titan. But if they're as big and widespread as you say they are, that may be impossible. I don't suppose you know who's leading them?"
"Sorry, kid. No clue. I'm not sure anyone does. Not even the majority of people in Titan. Whoever it is has an almost cult-like hold on people. I'm told that those who follow Titan willingly believe that what they are doing is for the good of humanity, but none of them will say what it is they are doing. So far, every Titan operative ever captured has either committed suicide or escaped without giving any useful information of any kind." Kenny shook his head. "Frustrating as hell."
Life returned to normal. Levi tried to avoid the Scouting Regiment like the plague, albeit Hange was not easy to ignore. They made a point of seeking him out and garnering either his help or just his company. One quiet night found them atop Levi's favorite skyscraper, engaged in an unusual conversation.
"So, what do you have against people knowing what sex or even gender you are?" Levi asked them out of the blue.
"Well, I've found over the years that people tend to judge each other based on perceived gender. Even now, in the 21st century, people are still less likely to take a gender female seriously. Gender males are expected to be aggressive and argumentative and stubborn. I don't like fitting into either of those molds, so I dropped the whole gender thing completely. I find it prevents people from making stereotype assumptions about me," they explained. "What about you? How do you view gender roles?"
"Couldn't care less. We're all human. That's all that matters," Levi replied. "Sex and gender have nothing to do with it."
"Hmm. I'm guessing you're pansexual, then."
Levi shrugged. "I guess so. Giving pleasure to another is not about gender. I don't care if my partner is male, female, trans, top, bottom or both. It's just sex, after all."
Hange absolutely loved how openly blunt the small raven was. "So, you've had sex with both men and women?"
"Yeah. What of it?"
"Nothing. I'm just curious is all. You don't really strike me as the sexual type."
Levi rolled his eyes. "Looks and attitude aside, I'm still a normal, healthy adult male with a normal, healthy adult male sex drive and a normal, healthy adult male appreciation for the human form. How'd we get on the topic of sex anyway?"
"You started it!"
"Fuck . . . I did."
"I'll bet you're smokin' hot under those loose jeans and t-shirt."
"Fuck you!"
"Well that's a fine response to my compliment," Hange laughingly retorted with mock indignance. "I'd still really love to play with that ass of yours someday."
Levi growled softly in response. "I'm done with this conversation." There were a few moments of silence. "But I'm not totally against the idea." He then flew away, not giving Hange a chance to answer back.
