Kidnapped
The next generation of Supers were hitting the streets. Most were heroes, thankfully. They were young and inexperienced, and some just refused to accept advice from the seasoned veterans, often resulting in injury or, worse still, death of either the younger or the veteran. Levi remembered a couple of months ago saving a hapless hero that had bitten off way more than he could handle when he took on a villain called Chaotic. The villain was not only powerful but had a lot of well-trained underlings. Levi was grateful that T-BAB and Faerie had been there to help. "Damn kids shouldn't be allowed to fight crime when they have no fucking clue what their doing," T-BAB complained.
"Babs," Faerie chided. "We were just like him a few years ago. Remember?"
"Tch! You two were never as bad as this dipshit. He's lucky Beringer can put him back together again," Levi argued. After a few minutes he continued. "Put any thought into The Commander's offer?"
T-BAB and Faerie exchanged glances. "We have," Faerie confirmed.
"Yeah. We decided that having backup and really good resources wouldn't be such a bad thing," T-BAB said. "Plus, dinner every night sounds really good too!"
"Babs!"
"What? I think with my gut!"
Faerie shook her head. "Anyway, we've decided that it would be a good idea to join the Scouting Regiment."
To his surprise, Levi didn't mind the extra activity around headquarters. Faerie, Krista Lenz, was quiet and kind; always ready to help in any way she could. Heaven help you, however, if you pissed her off. T-BAB, Ymir, was a kindred spirit to Levi. She came across as rude, cold and uncouth, but she cared far deeper than she let on. The two hit it off immediately, sharing crude jokes and puns and going out of their way to drive Erwin nuts.
Since the two girls were accustomed to working together, Erwin kept them as a team. Levi worked with Hange most of the time, and Mike with Nanaba. Erwin worked with each team as needed and on rare occasions, they would each work alone.
Levi and Hange were perched atop Mitras Tower with its commanding view of the entire city. Hange was yammering on ceaselessly about things going on at the university, as they often did on those rare, quiet nights in Mitras. They were especially excited since a new year was starting and they had a whole new group of students in their chemistry classes. "This semester's batch of students is especially interesting!" they gushed.
"You say that every year," Levi said dryly.
Hange ignored him. "There's this adorable blond coconut that is, at the very least, as smart as both me and Erwin combined! He was 16 when he started college! He's 20 now. And then there's his friend – eyes the light green of a tropical ocean. The kid is smart; and determined. If he decided he was going to pull down a mountain with his bare hands, let me tell you, he'd do it come hell or high water or die trying!"
"I call that stubborn; stupid-stubborn," Levi countered.
Hange again ignored him. "They're both going for a geology degree. Ocean Eyes is working on a master's in Volcanology. Coconut is studying Seismology. The two have plans to do research together when they have their master's and are going to go for PhDs. Then there's this scary ass girl that's always hanging around with them. Long, black hair, dark, grey eyes, constant resting bitch face . . . lot like you, actually. She always has this red scarf on – even when it's hotter 'n Hades out. Good thing I hang around you all the time, so I'm probably the only person on the planet not intimidated by her. She scares the crap out of anyone trying to give Coconut and Ocean Eyes a hard time. Don't know what she's studying, though. She's just always around, all dark and broody."
Levi, barely paying Hange any mind, watched a Super several blocks away jump between buildings. Huntress; Not much more than 20 years old. Only been in the Super hero business 8 months. At least she's got above average instincts. Phenomenal accuracy with that bow, too. No one's had to bail her out of trouble yet. In fact, as I recall, she's bailed out a few newbies.
As he continued to scan the city, he spotted another new hero flying over the university. There's that creepy bitch with the red scarf over her nose and mouth instead of a mask. Maybe I don't like her because she's too much like me. I mean, hell, I wouldn't like me! She has no moniker either. But all she's got going for her is super strength and spontaneous flight. Haven't seen any indication of real intelligence. She just blindly goes in and beats the shit out of everything assuming her strength is enough to get her through. Of course, she is just a kid. Can't be more than 20, if that. Only been working the streets 6 months.
Oh geez. I see Northwind's got himself in trouble again. You'd think that after a year working the streets he'd have picked up at least SOME smarts. Guess not. And there goes Huntress to bail him out . . . again. I mean, yeah, his power is over air . . . but it seems that it's only because air's all he's got between his ears! If the dipshit would listen to the veterans and had a little training, he might not be half bad . . . but I don't see that happening anytime soon.
Looks like Stretch is back on his feet after that debacle two weeks ago with that commuter train. At least he stopped it before it hit the missing rail section, but still, even he can only stretch so far. Good thing Aegis was there in front of the train helping to stop it. Hate to have seen what happens if he gets stretched to far. Gross. That armor coating Aegis has is unbreakable as far as I can tell. They've worked the south end together for just about a year now. Determined, strong and they work well together. Those two might be useful to the Scouts; but for one little thing . . .
And speak of the devil, the queen of ice herself, Whiteout. She brings cold hearted to a whole new level! T-BAB pretends to not give a shit; this dame really DOESN'T give a shit! Only reason she's out on the streets at all is because she's got an obvious thing for Stretch. She's been working with Stretch and Aegis for a couple of months now. Cold and calculating; this girl's had some serious training. Doubt she'd be a good fit with the Scouts, though. Not a lick of human compassion. She's scarier than the chick with the red scarf. She's the only reason I'd not recommend Stretch and Aegis for the Scouts.
"Are you even listening to me?" Hange challenged.
"Sort of. Coconut and Ocean Eyes are going to be a geology super team of Volcanology and Seismology and there's a scary-ass bitch hanging around them," Levi replied.
Hange laughed. "Oh my god! You really were listening!"
"Raven. Codex."
Levi brought his hand up to the device in his ear. "What do you want, Eyebrows?"
There was a soft chuckle at the nickname. "Just heard a report from our contact in the police department about a student being kidnapped over at the university this afternoon. Kid's name is Eren Jaeger, 22 years old, brown hair, green eyes, 5 feet 7 inches tall, roughly 145 pounds. He's a geology student, working on his master's. The person calling it in said the kidnappers were wearing masks like the ones worn by Titan. One of the masks described fits the one worn by Sadistic Grin."
"Shit," Levi muttered under his breath. "Is this kid any relation to Dr. Grisha Jaeger?"
"Seems very likely, though I can't be sure without talking to the boy," Erwin replied. "Which might explain why they grabbed Eren. Titan may think the boy knows something about Dr. Jaeger's gene therapy research. It sounds like something they'd be interested in, and since the Doctor vanished nearly ten years ago . . . either way, we need to find Eren. That and we've been trying to get our hands on Grin for questioning for months now."
"Got it. Codex and I are on it." Levi replied.
"Eren Jaeger; that's Ocean Eyes from my class!" Codex said in shock.
"Yeah, well, don't let Jaeger know that."
Hange remained silent, and even stilled their thoughts as Levi scanned the city for sights or sounds of a distressed kidnap victim. "Nothing. Guess we're doing this the hard way."
It took them until the next night to find the location Eren had been taken to. The abandoned community center looked like it was about to collapse at any moment. Following his hearing, Levi led Codex up to a hallway on the top floor. He turned up his nose at the plethora of dusty cobwebs along with pigeon and rat droppings all over the hallway floor, and rain dripping though holes in the roof. He stopped outside a heavy, locked set of double doors. He could hear people talking inside.
"Stop your whining, Egghead!"
"I'm not whining! But if Beast isn't sending someone to get the Jaeger kid until tomorrow, then why didn't we wait until tonight to grab him? Why'd we grab the obnoxious little shit yesterday? In broad daylight!"
"You know why," a third voice interjected. "That damned Super sister of his would have interfered. Between classes in the middle of the day was the only time we could grab him with minimal fuss and without that red scarved bitch getting in the way."
"Oh, please. It's not like we couldn't take her out easily. Grin could do it in one blow. You or I could too, using that special poison," the second voice countered.
"Egghead, shut the fuck up before I shut you up permanently!" the first voice snapped.
"Whatcha laughing at, Jaeger?" the third voice sneered. "Don't think we could kill your sister? She's not infallible, you know. We're specially equipped and trained to take out Supers, and your sister is far from being one of the best or the strongest." They laughed.
Levi glanced at Hange and they nodded. The door had a mechanical lock instead of electronic, so Codex's power would have no effect. A slight hop into the air and a powerful stroke of his wings created the Thunder Shock that blew both doors off their hinges and flying into the room beyond. One of the kidnappers was pinned beneath a door, unconscious. A couple of swift kicks from Levi took out the other two.
Codex flopped to sit down on the door that was on top of the kidnapper in a huff, arms folded over their chest and pouting. "No fair, Raven! You got all the fun! You could've left at least one for me."
Levi rolled his eyes as he cuffed the one wearing the mask with a grotesque smile on it. This one was Sadistic Grin. The mask and the wig and looked female, but the goateed face beneath was definitely male. "Can it, Codex. Why don't you make yourself useful and untie the kid on that disgusting bed over there?"
"Oh! Right! Forgot about him!" They jumped up and ran over to the bed in the far corner. Levi hadn't been kidding when he'd called it disgusting. It was probably white at one time but was now dingy and covered in rat and pigeon feces, feathers and even a desiccated rat carcass. The smell alone was nauseating. "Hi, sweetie! You're Eren Jaeger, right? The student kidnapped from the University yesterday afternoon? You poor thing! Those mean jerks put these cable ties on you way too tight! Look! Your wrists are bleeding and your toes are turning blue! And such a filthy place! OW!"
"Come up for air, Codex," Levi instructed after throwing an acorn from the floor at their head. "The kid's traumatized enough already."
Codex pouted as they removed the gag from the boy's mouth. Eren took in a deep breath. "OhmygodyouguysarecodexandravenknightfromthescoutingregimentYouguysareuberfamousIvealwayswantedtomeetyouIvelookeduptoyouguysallmylife!"
Levi deadpanned at the student. He could sense the younger's attraction to him even though he wasn't trying. Gotta nip this problem in the bud right now. "Hero worship much? You better not be expecting us to carry you out of here, brat. You're filthy, smelly and disgusting. Besides, Codex and I need to carry these three shit stains down to the car. They're what we really came for."
"Asshole much?" Eren retorted, sounding equally indignant and deflated at the same time.
"Always," Levi replied as he went to pick up Sadistic Smile. Something was wrong, however. "Shit! The fuckstick's dead!"
"So's this one," Codex confirmed as they checked the one of the others.
"I know I didn't kick them that hard!"
"No. You didn't. This one has a little blue foam at the corners of his mouth. Looks like some kind of fast acting poison. Damn it!" Codex snapped as they kicked a nearby chair.
Levi checked the Titan under the door. "This guy's alive."
Codex pulled on a pair of nitrile gloves over their costume gloves and checked in the man's mouth. "Good. He hasn't had a chance to swallow or bite it." They pulled a small, blue capsule from a pocket that had been created in the inside of the man's cheek and put it in a small vial. After sealing the vial, they continued, "Guess it's a good thing he got hit with the door. Knocked him out hard enough to prevent him from waking up and taking the poison." They checked the rest of his mouth for poisons and then stood up. "But the one The Commander really wanted was Grin."
"At least now you'll be able to find out what poison they're using to commit suicide and why it never shows up in a post mortem," Levi stated.
"Small consolation."
"True." Levi hefted the one living Titan over his shoulder and started walking out. "Let's get out of this filthy den of shit."
"Hey! What about me?"
Levi looked back to see Eren just standing by the bed looking lost. "What about you?"
Eren's mouth fell open. "I . . ."
"You're not tied up anymore, so do whatever the fuck you want."
"Raven Knight, that's beyond rude . . . even for you!" Codex scolded. "Poor Eren's been tied up for 36 hours on a repository of animal feces and is covered cuts and bruises that could really use a little T.L.C. Besides, do you really think it's safe to let him walk home alone at this hour? I mean, he probably lives near the university and that's on the other side of town and obviously Titan wants to get their hands on him."
Levi rolled his eyes. "Whatever. But, you will be the one cleaning the van tomorrow after that filthy kid's been in it! Disgusting!"
Codex walked triumphantly past him. "Deal! Gives me a chance to try out that new odor and germ neutralizer I've been working on!"
Levi hid his wings and followed Codex, calling over his shoulder, "Don't just stand there like a fucking bump, kid. If you don't wanna be walking home, get a move on!"
Scowling, Eren followed after the small hero. I can't believe he's such an asshole! I thought Mikasa was just exaggerating when she told me. Well . . . at least I'm getting a nice long look at his ass on the way down! Damn, he's even hotter up close. I mean . . . that ass!
Levi dumped the Titan none to gently in the back of the van. He wrinkled his nose in disgust when he got in to drive. He refrained from commenting on the odor and just put all the windows down. Codex put a blindfold on Eren. "Sorry, sweetie. Just protocol."
"I understand," Eren responded.
The Commander was waiting for them when they arrived at headquarters. He was understandably upset when he learned that Sadistic Grin and one other Titan were dead. "But, I suppose one live Titan is better than none at all. It's likely, though, that this one won't know who Beast is. Raven, take Eren to the locker room to clean up, then bring him up to the common room. I'd like to ask him a few questions. Codex, help me get this guy . . . settled in. Need to make sure he doesn't have any way to kill himself when he wakes up."
"Yeah. Sure. Stick me with babysitting duty," Levi grumbled audibly as he opened the van's sliding door. He guided an annoyed Eren, still blindfolded, out and led him to the locker room. He turned off most of the lights so as not to blind Eren when he removed the blindfold. Eren blinked a couple of times and looked around in awe. "Bathroom's in there," Levi told him, pointing out a door directly in front of them. "Towels are in the cupboard by the sink, and there's soap and shit in the shower. Leave those clothes outside the door when you've stripped so I can put them in the washer. There are some robes in the closet across from the toilet you can use when you're done."
"Thanks," Eren said quietly as he went to clean off.
"Go easy on those cuts on the wrists. I'll clean them out properly as soon as you come out," Levi added. "Don't take for fucking ever."
Eren rolled his eyes. Just when I thought the little fucker was actually being nice.
As he was putting Eren's soiled clothes into the washing machine, Levi couldn't stop thinking about those beautiful light bluish-green eyes and soft, though messy brown hair and smooth, sun-kissed skin. Oh my god, Levi! What is wrong with you?! You're thinking like some shitty hormonal teenager! He's just a kid, for fuck's sake! I mean, yes, he's got a really nice ass . . . goddamit! STOP!
Thoroughly disgusted with himself, Levi flopped down on the sectional sofa that was across from the bathroom and lockers. He laid his head against the back and closed his eyes. Moments later, his eyes flew open wide. There was no mistaking the soft sounds coming from the bathroom over the sound of falling water. Levi cursed his Super hearing.
Letting out a groan of pure dismay, he tried in vain to block out the soft sighs and moans and the unmistakable sound of slapping skin coming from the shower. What was worse was hearing his moniker whispered intermittently. Oh, my fucking gourd! Damn fucking hormonal teenagers! Always thinking with their dicks. If he wants to jack off, fine, but did he really have to use me in his fantasy? Ugh! I think I'm gonna be sick . . . Forget it. I am sick, cuz I'm sitting here sporting a semi because of a fucking hormonal teenager! What is wrong with me? It's not like I'm not getting laid enough, cuz between Hange and Erwin, my sex life is nothing short of phenomenal . . . so why is this kid affecting me like this?
A loud moaning of his moniker from the bathroom as Eren came had Levi running for the laundry room, hoping the noise of the washing machine would drown out the sounds of the horny young man in the shower. Goddamn, I wish I could unhear that! He unhid his wings and wrapped them around himself like a cloak to hide his growing hard-on. Seriously . . . what the actual fuck is wrong with me? He splashed some cold water on his face from the laundry room sink and walked back out into the locker room.
What he found almost made him laugh. There stood Eren, towel around his neck, wearing a pink, silk robe with cherry blossoms all over it. Eren had the decency to be bright red with embarrassment. "I . . . uh . . . well . . . one of the robes was so big I couldn't wrap it around me tight enough. Another was so long it would've dragged on the floor, two were too small, and another two were on the floor and I assumed they were dirty. This was all that was left that was clean and would fit me."
Levi, with great difficulty, maintained his lack of facial expression. He pointed to a round table with chairs around it between the sitting area and the lockers. "Sit."
Eren did as he was told, still blushing. Levi disappeared for a few moments and returned with some hydrogen peroxide, a basin, salve and bandages. "Hold your wrists over the basin," he instructed as he uncapped the peroxide. "This is gonna sting like hell, but at least it doesn't burn like alcohol does," he warned.
The student inhaled a hiss through his teeth as Levi poured the liquid over the injured wrists and watched it fizz for several seconds until Levi gently dabbed the wounds dry with a gauze pad. Eren was surprised with how gentle Levi was as he applied salve to the raw, open flesh then wrapped them with clean gauze. The Super went over to the sink by the lockers and washed his hands after putting the trash and medical supplies away.
"C'mon, brat. Commander wants to talk to you."
Eren frowned as he followed Levi from the locker room to the stairs up to the common room. How can he be so gentle one minute and such an asshole the next? "My name is Eren, not brat. It's not like you're any older than I am."
"And just how old are you?"
"22."
"…"
"I take that to mean I'm older?"
"I'm 28."
"Gee. A whole 6 years older than me!" Eren's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Aren't you just the totally ancient one."
Just as they were stepping into the common room, Levi retaliated with, "Perhaps if you hadn't been jacking off in the shower to some idiotic fantasy about me like a stupid teenager, I might not have assumed you were one."
Eren's face turned brilliant red as everyone in the room turned to look at him. "B-b-but . . . ha . . . how?"
"Super hearing. I hope you cleaned that shower very thoroughly after you were done making a mess in it."
The student hung his head. "I did," he said quietly.
"Tch! Probably not good enough."
"That's enough, Raven," The Commander said as he approached Eren and held out his hand. "Welcome to Scout headquarters, Eren."
Eren's ocean green eyes widened as he shook the hero's hand. "Wow! You're even bigger in person, Commander. It's a real honor to meet you!"
"The honor is mine," The Commander corrected. "Codex and Raven Knight you already know. This over here at the table is Bloodhound. Static, T-Bab and Faerie have already gone home, but I'm sure you'll meet them eventually. Come have a seat at the table. There's some questions I hope you may be able to answer for us if you're willing."
Phew! Glad The Commander isn't an asshole like Raven Knight! "Of course, sir. Anything to help," Eren agreed as he took a seat across from Bloodhound, then reached across to shake the lanky man's hand. "I'm Eren Jaeger. It's an honor to meet you, Bloodhound. I have a poster in my room at home with all you guys on it."
"Tch. Great. He's a fanboy," Levi groaned.
"Raven," The Commander warned.
Levi rolled his eyes but said nothing more.
Eren's eyes widened as Bloodhound got up from his seat and came around beside him and leaned in for a very obvious sniff. "Wh-wha?"
"Oh, for fuck's sake, Sniffy!" Levi groaned as he face-palmed.
Bloodhound simply nodded his approval and went back to his seat without a word, leaving Eren completely mystified.
"Eren, would you happen to be related to a Dr. Grisha Jaeger?" The Commander asked, breaking Eren from his daze.
"Well . . . I guess it's okay to tell you guys. But please, you can't tell anyone else. Yeah, Grisha Jaeger was my dad. He was a geneticist. He was working on gene therapy for cancer."
"Was? You mean he's dead?"
Eren looked down at the table sadly. "I don't know. He disappeared when my sister and I were about 8. Mom wouldn't tell us anything. I used to think he abandoned us for another woman. Mom moved us from Shiganshina to Mitras with a long-time family friend named Hannes and we left everything behind. She told us to never tell anyone who our father was. Mom died six years ago. Hannes told us it was a hit and run accident. Nothing was ever said about it in the papers or around the neighborhood. I had a devil of a time getting into the university because they couldn't find any records on me from before moving to Mitras. You see, the house we'd left behind in Shiganshina burned to the ground and took all the records with it. Doesn't explain why town and hospital records were wiped out too. Luckily, Hannes claimed me as his son, so I did finally get in . . . but . . . I guess you're all wondering why I never questioned any of this before, huh?"
"Why didn't you?" Codex asked gently.
"Guess I didn't really want to know," Eren replied. "I just wanted to get into college so bad and live my dream that I didn't want anything from the past to ruin my future. Guess I'm just a coward at heart."
"Says the kid who was kidnapped and held tied up, gagged and blindfolded on a bed of shit for 36 hours and still had the balls to laugh at his captors," Levi said dryly. "Yes, I heard that before we broke in," he responded to the disbelieving question on Eren's face.
"He really laughed at them?" Bloodhound asked.
"He did. They were talking shit about his sister, and I heard him laugh at them through his gag and the closed doors," Levi confirmed.
"Can I ask a question?" Eren asked.
"You just did," Levi replied. Codex whacked him on the arm.
"Go ahead, Eren," The Commander permitted.
"Just who were those guys and why did this Beast person want me? I'm just a geology student at the university. Did it have something to do with my real dad?"
The Commander thought about it a moment, debating how much to tell the young man. "You cannot tell anyone outside of the Scouts what you're about to hear."
"Agreed," Eren said seriously.
"Very well," The Commander conceded. "Titan is a very dangerous and worldwide criminal organization with currently unknown goals that would be very detrimental to humankind. What we do know is that they seem to be working on something that has to do with genetics. Several renowned geneticists, doctors and biologist have disappeared around the world. We don't know how many are with Titan willingly and how many are not. We also know that Titan's reach is very long. They have influence and operatives everywhere. They guard their secrets well. Their people will commit suicide, as those two this evening did, rather than answer questions. They also have police influence, so if a Titan is arrested, they are immediately released. Scary part of all of this is that most their people protect the organization out of loyalty more than fear, and the rest are so afraid of what Titan may do if betrayed, that they go along with them. As a result, it is hard to know who to trust and harder still to get reliable information on them."
"Soooo, you think that because my father was a geneticist that he may have had something to do with Titan, either willingly or unwillingly?" Eren concluded. "And they either need me to make him cooperate or because they think I have information on where he is or what he was doing."
"That is correct," The Commander confirmed. "Did your captors tell you or ask you anything?"
Eren shook his head. "No. All I know is that they were waiting for someone called Beast to send someone to pick me up. They mostly argued while I was there. Who was going to get food and drink; they didn't like the food that was brought; why did they kidnap me so early; who was the one who picked the hideout; crap like that. Let's see, the leader was called Grin. The one that got hit by the door and you have in custody is called Egghead, and the other guy . . . he was a really mean one . . . he was called Tubby." Then Eren chuckled. "It really pissed him off whenever Grin or Egghead called him Teletubby."
"Knowing that Titan wants this snot-nosed brat so bad gives us at least a little bit of an edge over them," Levi stated. "Be better if we could figure out just why they want him, though."
"Not a brat," Eren said quietly and evenly.
"The sooner we can find out what Titan wants with Eren, the better," The Commander agreed. "Tell me Eren, did they mention your sister at all? And who is your sister?"
"Her name's Mikasa, and no, they said nothing about wanting her. Probably because she's not my real sister. Mom and Dad adopted her when we were only five. Her parents were murdered right in front of her. We found them when Dad was making a house call. He did that a lot in Shiganshina, since so many people couldn't afford to go to a doctor. Anyway, we found Mikasa sitting in a corner in shock, so we took her home with us and kept her."
"One of the Titans called her a 'red scarved bitch'," Levi commented. "Sound like someone we know?"
"You mean that new Super with the red scarf over her nose and mouth instead of a mask?" Erwin asked.
"Rash and over-hasty to react? Yeah, that's her," Levi replied. "That she-wolf's your sister," he directed at Eren.
"Um, I really can't say," Eren said.
"It doesn't really matter. But if your sister is as protective of you as they indicated, she could still be in danger. Codex and I ran into her about an hour before dawn yesterday, and that hot-head was ready to take off the head of whomever was unlucky enough to be closest to her," Levi explained. "She doesn't guard her identity very well, because she flat out told us you were her brother."
Hour before sunrise the day prior:
"It was Sadistic Grin, alright. I'd recognize that mask anywhere!" Codex exclaimed as they went through security camera footage at the university. "Don't recognize the other two. Geez. Poor Eren. They just waltzed up behind him and beaned him in broad daylight on a crowded campus! Awww! Look at poor Coconut! He looks so scared! Oop! He's the one who called the kidnapping in to the cops."
"Don't need a play by play, Codex," Levi growled. "I can see the screen for myself.
Codex, switched to another camera to watch the Titan's drag Eren off. After four more cameras, they tossed the student carelessly into the back of a big black van and drove off. Codex's powers allowed them to access various cameras, both private and city owned, from the university computer they were currently hacked into. They followed the van until it reached the edge of the city. The Titans got out, still with their masks, and switched to another car. "Wait . . . where's Eren? Is he still in that van?"
"It's doubtful, but I'll go look. Keep tracking those three," Levi told them. It only took him five minutes to fly from the university to the abandoned van. He landed on a rooftop above where the van was parked. His gut told him this was a trap. He scanned the area for snipers. Finding none, he brought hand up to the earpiece communicator. "Hey, Commander."
"What's happening, Raven?"
"Nothing yet. I need Bloodhound at my location. We found the van the kidnappers used, but based on the video footage, Eren could be still in it. Smells like a trap to me, but Hound's nose is better than mine. I want to know if there's anything explosive in that van. Don't wanna blow the kid up trying to rescue him."
"Good idea. Bloodhound's on his way."
Levi sighed and sat on the edge of the roof to wait. Moments later, instead of Mike, a young Super flew down and landed at the back of the van. Her face, the lower half of which was covered by a red scarf, showed unbridled rage in stormy eyes. Levi dove down and barely grabbed her in time to stop her from opening the van doors. "Don't be stupid!" he snapped at her as he grabbed her wrists. "This is probably a trap set to blow if anyone tries to get in."
"My brother's in there!" she snarled. "Now get out of my way!" She threw Levi across the alley. Had he been a normal Super, he might have hit the dumpster on the far side of the alley, but he righted himself and with a stroke of his wings, lunged right back at her, slamming into her before she could open the doors.
"Are you fucking stupid?" he asked her as he pinned her to the ground. "I just told you the van may be rigged to blow up and you'd risk killing your brother just to open it up anyway? With family like you, who needs enemies?"
She glared up at him. "Get of me right now or I'll snap your neck!"
"As much as I'd love to see you try, generally speaking, heroes don't kill each other. Only villains do that. So, tell me, are you a hero, or a villain?" Levi challenged.
"Neither. I only do anything I have to in order to protect my brother."
"How very noble of you," Levi sneered. "Seems you didn't do a very good job though did you? What's the matter? Can't stay awake 24/7 to watch him every second? Or did you have to go take a long shit?"
She screeched in frustration and threw him off. "You goddamned evil little pipsqueak!" she seethed. "You're probably with the ones who kidnapped Eren, aren't you?"
"If I was, why would I be working so hard to prevent you from possibly blowing him up?" Levi countered as he landed on his feet after being thrown.
"I can shield him," the girl stated.
"I highly doubt he's in that van anyway. I've seen you fight before. Super strength or not, you aren't fast enough to shield anyone from a sudden explosion and you're not impact resistant, so you wouldn't survive an explosion anyway. You're too rash. You act without thinking. You let your emotions cloud your judgement. It's going to get you killed. Worse still, it could get your brother killed."
She growled openly at him. He was right, of course, but she wasn't going to admit that to him.
"I have a teammate on the way that'll be able to tell us if the van is rigged to explode. Just have a little patience." When she continued to glare silently at him, he continued with a bored tone. "Evil little pipsqueak, huh? Not bad. Most original name I've been called in a long while. Still doesn't beat 'Little box of grumps', but it's a close second. Shows a little imagination at least. Still, Asshole might be easier."
"You're beyond an asshole," she bit off.
"I try."
Finally, the Scouts' van pulled into the alley and Bloodhound stepped out. "It's rigged to blow alright," he said as he strode towards them. "Enough C4 in there to take out the entire block. No people, though."
"So, they must have left Eren somewhere else," Levi concluded. "I'll have Codex go through the footage again and see where all the gaps in coverage are. He'll likely be in one of those locations."
The girl immediately took to the air and flew back the way the van had come.
Levi growled softly. "That bitch is gonna be trouble. I'd better follow her. She damn near opened that van and blew up the entire block. Have Faerie come and disarm this thing." With that he flew off after her. She must have known at least one spot that was not covered by any security cameras at all, because she went straight to an old set of row houses that had been converted into businesses.
He was still too far away to stop her when he saw her go down the steps to a basement entrance, bend over and pick up a beanie she found – presumably Eren's – then kick the door down. It had been another trap. The explosion sent her slamming up into a parked delivery truck beside the road.
Levi landed beside her. The girl was out cold, blood running from a cut above her right eye and from both ears. "What did I just get done telling you about not thinking before you act?" he questioned. He gathered her in his arms and flew directly to Sina General and Dr. Beringer.
"Is she okay?" Eren asked in horror.
"She's fine. Dr. Beringer specializes in treating Supers, and he'll keep her identity secret better than she does," Levi answered. "That she-wolf is a ticking time bomb. Even I can't remember ever being that reckless."
"I don't think I've ever seen anyone that reckless," The Commander said.
"I think it's because she watched her parents killed. She had abandonment issues. She had no one but my parents and me after that, and then Dad disappeared, and Mom died . . . she's always been overprotective of me, but it's gotten worse each time a family member leaves. It's kind of smothering sometimes, to be honest," Eren explained. Then he yawned.
"You should get some sleep, Eren. You can use one of the sofas over there. The rest of us are going home, but Raven has the apartment upstairs, so you won't be alone. This place is secure, so you'll be safe here," The Commander told Eren.
Eren yawned again and nodded. "Thank you."
"By the way. Nice robe," Bloodhound commented as Eren got up from the table.
Eren whined in embarrassment. "It was the only clean one that fit," he mumbled as he shuffled over to the sofa.
"I'm going down to put his clothes into the dryer. I'll take the little shit home in the morning . . . or afternoon . . . whenever he wakes up," Levi said.
Mike followed Levi out of the room. "Geez. You're being an even bigger asshole than usual to the poor guy. You're gonna scare him away."
"That's the point, Sniffy," Levi replied. "Damn kid's horny as a teenager and I have the misfortune of being the current subject of his attraction, which is no doubt based on nothing more than his childish hero worship. The way I see it, the bigger an asshole I am to him, the less attractive I'll seem."
"So, he really jacked off in the shower to you?" Mike asked with obvious amusement.
"Don't remind me," Levi groaned. "Hormonal little shit. There are times when Super hearing is every bit as much a curse as Super smell can be. I can't unhear that. Why couldn't it have been the Commander he's attracted to? Seriously. There's absolutely nothing appealing about a short, dark, scary little asshole like me."
Mike chuckled. "Oh, I don't know. You've go more going for you in the looks department than I do."
"Pfft! Please. I've got nothing on that blonde mountain. Tall, muscular, perfectly coiffed hair and eyebrows, blue eyes and charm to melt solid rock – that big blond oaff is a much better subject for wet dreams than I am."
"Maybe Eren's just really into short, dark and scary. I mean, look at his sister."
Levi stopped dead in his tracks and looked Mike in the eye for a moment. "You just totally made everything worse," he said dully. "You're telling me he has a sister complex, so he fantasizes about me because I remind him of her? Gross."
Mike burst out laughing. "That's not quite what I meant, but when you put it that way . . ."
Eren woke up to find his clothes neatly folded on the coffee table by the sofa he was sleeping on. He also noticed his backpack on the floor by the sofa. Huh. They must have picked it up from where I dropped it at school and brought it here. Eren dug out his phone and turned it on. Good. Still half the battery left!
Levi, who'd fallen asleep in the chair behind Erwin's desk, jolted awake when Eren's distressed shriek pierced the air. The Super was on his feet, gun drawn in under a second. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" he shouted at Eren.
"I've already missed my first two classes!" Eren yelped as he dropped the robe he'd been wearing, seemingly oblivious to Levi's presence and the commanding view of his ass he'd just given the Super and began yanking on his clothes.
"You have classes on Sundays?" Hot damn, that ass . . . shut the fuck up, Levi!
Eren froze, one pant leg on. "Oh. Right. Sunday. Oops."
"Tch! Idiot." Levi headed into the kitchen to make coffee. Once he had the coffee maker going, he retreated to his apartment bathroom to take care of the problem he'd developed upon seeing Eren naked. What is wrong with me? I don't care how old he is – why am I so attracted to him? Brats are definitely NOT what I'm into! I'm certainly not sexually frustrated. My sex life is phenomenal. So why does this hormonal little shit turn me on so easily?
Levi showered and put on a pair of black jeans and a black t-shirt with his usual combat boots. Placing his mask back on, he went back downstairs to find Eren sitting on one of the sofas fidgeting. "Coffee?" Levi asked.
Eren was on his feet in an instant. "Please!"
In the kitchen, Levi handed Eren a to-go cup and pointed to the coffee maker. "Help yourself. Sugar's in the jar beside it and we have cream in the fridge."
"Thanks." Eren fixed his coffee the way he liked it. He took a couple of sips as he watched Levi fix his own coffee. "Um . . . I don't quite know how to ask this, but . . . um . . . could you bring me to the hospital instead of home?"
"To see your sister? Fine. Whatever. Let's get going." Levi put a cover on his coffee and led the way down to his car.
"Where's the van?" Eren asked.
"I refuse to use that thing until Codex cleans it to my standards," Levi stated. "If you spill that coffee in my car, you will die."
Eren swallowed visibly as he got into the grey Soul. The vehicle was as spotlessly clean as the day it rolled out of the factory – probably cleaner. It smelled of the lemon and lavender cleaners Levi used. Eren knocked his feet together to remove loose sand and gravel from the soles before he put his feet into the car. Though it looked normal on the outside, it was clear on the inside that the vehicle had been modified.
They rode in awkward silence to the hospital, Eren afraid to say anything and Levi just not caring to. He pulled up to the main entrance to let Eren out. The student seemed rather fidgety as he got out. Instead of closing the door and going inside, he turned around and looked back in while holding the door open. "Um . . . thanks for everything, but . . . um . . . could you maybe wait for me? I mean, Mikasa texted me that she's supposed to be released today, and I don't have any way to get her home."
Levi rolled his eyes. "Do I look like a taxi service to you?"
Eren looked like a kicked puppy. "No. But we really can't afford one and she can't fly for a while. Please?"
"Oh, for fuck's sake. Fine. Just hurry up."
He was madder than a hornet when Eren finally came out with an orderly pushing Mikasa in a wheelchair nearly two hours later. The girl was wearing a cast on her leg, had her right arm in a sling, had a bandage around her head and a neck-brace on. She glared at Levi with contempt as the orderly helped her into the front passenger seat. "What is HE doing here?" she asked Eren angrily.
"Mikasa!" Eren yelped. "He saved my life and he was kind enough to bring me here and then wait for us when I asked him to take us home."
"Forget it, brat. She won't listen to you. Listening isn't one of her strong suits," Levi said.
"Eren, get me out of here. We're taking a cab," Mikasa demanded.
Eren closed the door and got into the back seat behind her. "Nope. Can't afford it. Raven's an asshole, I get it, but he's still going out of his way to help us out, so show a little gratitude," he scolded.
"Let's get one thing straight right now, you mangy she-wolf; yes, I'm an asshole, but the fact is that if you'd listened to me and hadn't gone rushing head-long into that building without thinking first, you wouldn't be in this situation right now. I don't believe in sugar coating the truth to avoid hurt feelings, so suck it up, get over it and for fuck's sake, learn from it," Levi reprimanded.
Mikasa sat back with a huff but said nothing more.
The drive to their apartment was quiet but for Eren's occasional directions. When Eren got out and opened Mikasa's door, he turned and looked at the stairs up to their third-floor apartment, then to the ground and finally to look pleadingly at Levi.
Levi rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh and got out. Mikasa glared daggers at the small man as he effortlessly lifted her from the car and followed Eren up to the apartment. He could feel the contempt radiating off her. Per Eren's instructions, Levi gently set her in a large recliner chair. He turned to leave without a word but was nearly run over by a blond whirlwind exploding into the room and almost knocking Eren over.
"EREN! THANK GOD! WHAT HAPPENED? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"
Eren returned the crushing embrace. "I'm fine, Armin. The Scouts saved me. Mikasa's home too."
The blond turned to see Mikasa in the chair. "How are you feeling, Mika?"
"I'm okay."
"Liar. She has a broken leg, sprained shoulder, hairline fracture in her skull and a bad case of whiplash," Eren countered. "It's a good thing Raven Knight was there to take her to the hospital right away. She's gonna be out of commission for a few weeks."
"Well, at least the streets will be safer for a few weeks, then, with that hothead laid up," Levi stated.
Mikasa snarled at him and the blond, Armin, looked at him in awe. "Wow! You're really Raven Knight!" He grabbed Levi's hand and shook it vigorously. "It's really great to meet you. Thank you so much for saving my two best friends! I'm sorry about Mikasa. She's not very social outside of Eren and me. She'd kind of like a mother bear when it comes to Eren's safety, so please don't hold her rudeness against her."
"It's not her rudeness I have a problem with," Levi stated. "It's her recklessness and complete disregard for the safety of the citizens around her that bothers me. If she wants to get herself killed out there, I don't have a problem with that, but if she gets innocent civilians killed in the process like she nearly did the other night, I have a very big problem with it. Do it again, She-wolf, and I'll permanently disable you so that you can't do it again." With those harsh words, he turned and left. Hange's right. Armin does look like a blond coconut.
