Random one-shots

For Chickenscratch

Forest Park, Queens, New York
December 24th, 10:45 P.M.

Levi was not having a very good day. He was on a field trip. In itself, that wouldn't have been so bad, but the field trip was in the middle of the woods. In winter. And Levi couldn't thermoregulate, an absolutely awful side affect of the torture and injections he received while with the Order of the Serpent, he quickly decided. It was Christmas time, and the trip was for everyone who didn't have a family to spend it with, so they wouldn't feel too alone. Levi liked the idea. What he didn't like, was the fact that he had forgotten to grab the clothes with heaters built in, and the fire was doing nothing to warm him.

"Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, of all the trees most lovely..." The sound brought Levi back to the present with a start. Oh right, he thought. Christmas carols. He was not amused by the off-key singing, the sound of it giving him a headache to add to the cold. He grumbled in annoyance as he shivered, pulling his coat tighter around him and shuffling closer to the fire. Asha looked up from her book.

"If you go any closer, you'll set yourself on fire. And it's your own fault you're cold, I told you before we left to grab the heated clothes."
Levi half glared at her. "I know. But I was rushing, and I forgot." One of their classmates was about to ask why Levi needed heated clothes, and why he was so cold, when the teacher interrupted.

"Levi, why are you so close to the fire? You'll get yourself burned." At this, all eyes turned to Levi. He shrunk a bit under their gazes, despite there only being a handful of people, and getting similar stares as Agent Obsidian every night.

Levi had started going out as Obsidian every night since he had escaped the Order, helping civilians with petty left, muggings, and the occasional bank robbery. Only a few months later, his now boss had approached him in a coffee shop. Now Levi had a steady income, a place to sleep, and a suit that actually fit his code name and didn't get in the way. Levi had even made his first friend there: Agent Darkfire, also known as Asha Keys. In Levi's eyes, the only downside to the job was that he still needed an education. Unfortunately for him, his new job in the Order of the Fox did not help him think of plausible excuses for his classmates and teachers in situations that called for it. Fortunately, Asha went to the same school, and was great at doing exactly that.

"Uh- you see, I'm really, really, really cold, because, uh-" before Levi could think of an excuse that no one would actually believe, Asha cut him off.

"Levi was born with an extremely rare condition that makes it really really hard for his body to retain heat. Usually he has heated clothes on during the winter, but he was an idiot and forgot." One last half glare was sent his way, before Asha retreated back into her book. The teacher was about to keep questioning Levi, when suddenly a phone went off. Everyone looked around, to see where it was coming from. Eventually, they all stared at Levi once again, who had paled and was frantically searching his bag and pockets.
Levi was panicking. He recognized that ringtone, and only one person had that ringtone. But why was his boss calling him? Why now? On Christmas Eve? He pulled out a phone, checked it, and discarded it. He rummaged through his bag once again, before pulling out a knife.

"Whoops. Forgot I had this," Levi mumbled, before turning to Asha. "Hey, could you give this back to Agent Zinovia, please?" Asha looked up, then took the knife.

"Yeah, sure."

"Thanks." Asha said nothing, only putting the knife in her bag and returning to her book once again. They both ignored the teacher and students who had witnessed the exchange. Finally, after going through the bag once more, Levi found the ringing phone. He pulled it out, and paled again. He had been right. It was him. And he would only call now for one thing. Or, to be more exact, one person. One, idiotic, murderous person that despite it all, Levi couldn't help but care for.