With a Whimper - AU!Levi x Reader [Ch 5]

“Levi…” Erwin began, slowly turning to face the Corporal, “You brought an infected person into the Walls, do you have any idea what you’ve done? Hanji, you should let go of her at once, you could get the virus otherwise.” Despite his near-desperation to eliminate the threat, that threat being you, from the Walls, Erwin still had managed to keep a level-headed attitude. You almost wondered how he could do such a thing.

“I didn’t know she was bitten, most of the zombies we killed on the way here were taken down before they could get close! Shit, [First], why didn’t you tell me?! Were you trying to get me infected too? Are you working for the NCR?” Levi looked directly at your shock-stricken face as he interrogated you, trying to comprehend why you would keep such a dangerous secret to yourself.

“What? NCR? No-no, I’m not—I don’t even know what the NCR is!” you defended.

“Bullshit! What’re you planning? Trying to spy on the Walls? What’s Nero up to?”

“Nero?! Who—who the hell is Nero I don’t--” Your words became choked as you tried to work up a defense for yourself—so far things were not working out so well. You had heard the names “Nero” and “NCR” mentioned a few times by survivors in your travels, but you hadn’t a slick of knowledge on what either of them were. But there was no way you could tell them that and expect them to believe you, was there? You were infected. Nothing more than a disease to be purged, in their eyes.

Just as you saw Levi about to respond to your stammering Hanji raised a hand to silence both him and Erwin from speaking further. “Wait!” she urged. “This doesn’t look like an infection. Levi, when did you last face a zombie?”

“I don’t know, an hour ago, maybe.”

“What’s going on, Hanji?” asked Erwin, his interest piqued at her sudden protection over you. He’d known Hanji a long time, and he knew more than anyone that she wasn’t a fool. Reckless at times, maybe eccentric – but not a fool. Whatever she was thinking, it was big.

Hanji tugged at the skin of your face, forcing your mouth open and inspecting the inside before moving your eyelid upwards and observing the colour of your irises. You didn’t protest to this examination – if it was going to get you out of certain death then you were all for it.

She drew her lips into a thin line and scrunched up her face slightly before pulling away. “She has no signs of turning into a mutant, Erwin. An hour would be more than enough time to show some physical symptoms, but there is none! No hair loss, no blood-shot eyes, the skin around the area of the bite isn’t clammy, and she seems to be in complete control of her own mind. She’s not a thrall of Nero and she’s definitely no mutant. Perhaps she’s like Eren?”

Erwin stepped closer to the two of you but refused to get into arm’s reach on the off-chance that Hanji’s speculation was inaccurate. “You could be right.” He stated simply, “But as Commander I can’t afford to take chances. Mike?”

You looked over your shoulder at the giant who stepped into the room – gods he was tall. Was he a Titan? How long had he been standing there? The thought of him eavesdropping that entire time was unnerving to you.

“Take [First] into quarantine. I want two doctors examining her vitals regularly. If she shows no sign of mutation within a week, then I… will decide on what to do with her.”

Mike had simply nodded in Erwin’s direction before approaching you from behind, placing those large and toughened hands on your shoulders. You winced at the unintentional roughness and waited for him to guide you out, but this guy undoubtedly had other plans. He leaned down and sniffed you, your eyes widened in evident discomfort and downright bemusement.

He stood up straight after getting a good whiff of the back of your head and smirked, closing his eyes and nodding to himself before finally leading you into the quarantine. The people in these Walls are all fucking crazy, you decided.

Seven days had passed since you were locked away in this overly-hygienic hellhole that terrorised your nostrils with the thick scent of bleach and disinfectant. The strength of the aroma made you feel increasingly more light-headed the longer you were in there. Not only were you forced to stare at white walls for hours on end, but the only company you had were those doctors that’d poke and probe you, then force you to participate in tests you wanted nothing to do with. They never really said anything, mostly just some medical bullshit you couldn’t understand even if it was hammered into your brain. They weren’t really fun to have around.

At times Erwin and Hanji, or— if you were lucky – Levi would stop by and exchange a word or two before leaving again. The boredom you experienced was damn near painful. You’d go back through the tunnels if it meant not sitting in this damnable room for another minute.

As you had been stewing in your own madness, Hanji had been in the room located at the end of the hall questioning Levi yet again about the time you spent together.

“So she didn’t get bitten while you were travelling here?” she inquired for the umpteenth time that week.

Levi let out a groan, “I told you already, what difference will it make if I say it again?”

“Well, maybe if you word it differently it might make more sense.”

“Ugh. Okay, fine, let me explain this again, real slow. She had the bandages already on her hand when we met – I figured it was just an injury, a cut or some shit – I didn’t know she was bitten. And I know for damn sure no zombies in that tunnel got close enough to bite her. I don’t know when she was infected, but it was before we met. Does that make sense?”

“Somewhat.”

Levi resisted the urge to claw his own eyes out at how blatantly aggravating she was being.

“Did she bite her own hand? Did she show any sign of being a Titan-shifter?”

“Titan-shifter? You mean like that Eren brat? No. Everything she could do she did by herself, she wasn’t mindless while she was fighting and I didn’t see her hurt herself to achieve the strength she demonstrated.”

Hanji paced back and forth in front of the desk she sat Levi at. She was frantically jotting down notes on the sheets of paper attached to her clipboard. “Is it even possible..?” she murmured, not being able to believe the outcome of her own assumptions.

The Corporal sighed and rested an elbow on the cold surface of the table, leaning his cheek tiredly against the palm of his hand as he asked the question he knew he’d regret, “What is it, Shitty Glasses?”

“[First] got bitten before she met you nine days ago, anyone else would be turned already, but she hasn’t. When we experimented on Eren, his regenerative factor and strength only triggered when he harmed himself, but you claim she’s never done that. And the results of the tests the doctors ran on her would suggest that even without being harmed, she still has equal – if not greater – strength than Eren in his Titan form.”

“And?”

“What’s more, her brain activity is off the charts, she can still seemingly read in the dark with little to no difficulties, and she can hear over 60 000 hertz. The normal human can only hear around 20 000, and zombies 50 000! She has keener perception than a zombie, greater strength than a Titan, and a sharper mind than a Mutie!”

“Damn it will you stop fawning over her and get to the point?”

“I think… I think [First] is a successful result of Project HE.”

Those words the mad scientist spoke bounced around in his mind for a short while. A successful result? The gods must’ve truly taken pity on them for wanting to shit out something good from that accursed study. Levi placed his hands on the table and rose from his seat, exiting the room to relay the news to Erwin and Mike. This discovery, be it true or not, was too important to keep to themselves.

The news was reiterated to the Commander and Squad Leader, thus commenced over two hours of discussion and planning. By the end of it all Levi was left with a deep desire to fall asleep for a few decades.

“So, it’s been decided. Our new initiative is to send [First] and a small squad to the Maryland Wastes, where they will salvage the medical technology at the National Institutes of Health. The tech will be brought back here and Hanji and her team will do more research into [First]’s case of being responsive to Project HE’s vaccine.” Erwin dragged his finger along the trail of red, marking the locations on the map spread out on the table as he commentated. Lifting his eyes up, he searched the faces of the three Scouts before him for any sign of refusal.

Once he found none he continued speaking, “Levi, your leg is feeling better, yes?”

“Yeah, I just needed a fix of reme-gel,” answered Levi.

“Good. I want you to go with [First] to Maryland. You’ve fought with her before; she’ll trust you more than she trusts us.”

“Just the two of us trekking from Arizona to Maryland? Yeah, we’ll see how great that works out.”

“As I’ve stated before, we will be sending a squad. Bring Eren, Armin, and Mikasa along with you.”

“Oh, that’s much better.”

“We can’t afford to send too many people at once, Levi. NCR spies are everywhere. Your team may be small, but those three are the biggest assets in our youth. We’re betting a lot on this plan, don’t fail us.”

Erwin challenged Levi’s apathetic stare with his determinate one, and it had only been a few measly seconds before Levi caved and offered a salute. “Very well, Erwin. I’ll get it done.”

“Good. I knew I could count on you. Oh, but one more thing, Levi.”

“Hm?” he hummed lowly.

“Protect [First] at all costs. She’s the only hope we have for a cure right now.”

“Roger that, Erwin.”

Now with their new plan being set in motion, the four Scouts had a fleeting moment where they thought their damned existence was finally starting to look up. Little did they know, that an infiltrator to their society had walked away from that room with all the information they required.