Chapter Text
Levi sighed as he swiped his ID card. Another day, another dollar. He thought to himself, as he walked into the DNA lab he'd worked at for the last two years. The lab was supposedly known for tons of different technological breakthroughs, but he didn't get to see any of that. His job was simple: destroy and hide the mistakes.
It was a messy job, sure, but it paid well, and the benefits were great. He'd never had to do anything too crazy; throwing away dead rats and such were the worst parts of the job. Most of the time, he got paid to sit around and wait for someone to give him a task. He kept busy most of the time though; cleaning the stainless steel office until it sparkled.
He walked into the familiar room he'd spent every day in for the last two years. It was in exactly the same state he'd left it in the previous night. The shelves were shining, the trays were clean, and he knew today would be a day that would leave him gritting his teeth with a severe lack of something to do.
He set his backpack down on the floor next to the desk and pressed the 'power' button on the computer, knowing the older software would take at least ten minutes to start up.
Looking around, he grabbed a towel, and set to work cleaning, even though the little voice in the back of his head was telling him it wouldn't make a difference; the room was already spotless. Still, it occupied his time, and he'd be lying to himself if he said he didn't enjoy it.
He was about halfway done cleaning, when the phone on the wall rang. Great, looks like I won't be completely bored today. I wonder what messed up job they've got for me this time. He got up, wiping his hands with the towel, and, grabbing a tissue, picked up the phone, avoiding contact with the device.
"Hello?" He asked. It was the same greeting he always used, even though he knew the same person would be on the other line every time.
"Levi! How are you doing this morning?" A cheery, exuberant voice replied.
"Tch. Morning, shitty glasses. What can I do for you?"
"What, not even going to be pleasant with me this morning? I've got a nice surprise for you!"
"Great, more dead rats to throw out. I'll be there in a little bit."
"No, actually. This morning we had a uh...well...an incident. Something different than anything we've encountered thus far. It wasn't even supposed to be like this but...we need you to take care of it."
"Hanji" Levi began, "You're scaring me. I'm just going to head over. I'll be there in about ten minutes, and we can discuss this in person, okay?"
"Well, the thing is, we actually are bringing it to you. You can decide what to do. Any choice you make is yours but...be careful. We've never dealt with something like this before, and have no idea what the repercussions of what we've done here today will have. The only reason we're not keeping it here to study is because half of the staff thought it wrong, and an abomination, and decided it was best to get rid of."
"Hanji, what are you-" Levi began, but was cut off.
"Just...deal with it. Whatever you decision you make is yours to make. I have to go. Have a great day, Levi!"
"Wait! Don't you hang up on me, shitty glasses!" Levi said, but she was already gone."
He was about to redial the number until Hanji picked back up but, just as he was about to press the first button, there was a knock at the door. Shit, that was fast. Well, let's see what fresh hell they've brought me.
Somewhat nervously, Levi walked over to the door, and pushed it open. He froze.
Standing in front of him was a young man, who couldn't have been more than twenty. His hair was a dark brown mess, and his eyes...they were a color Levi hadn't ever seen before. He'd seen emerald green eyes but...these weren't human. At least, not ones he'd ever heard could exist. They actually shone like emeralds, and in the right light, seemed to change to different shades of green.
The boy looked down at the ground, shuffling his feet nervously.
"H-hello?" Levi asked, tentatively.
The boy looked up, and locked eyes with Levi. "H-hi. I was told to come here, and to give you this." He held out his hand, and handed Levi a small envelope. He tore it open, and a small piece of paper fell out. It only had a few words on it, but they still sent a cold shiver down Levi's spine.
"Test subject 221B, Eren Jaeger. Class: Synthetic Humanoid"