Caped Sitters (DC Comics AU)
Erwin promised Doctor Grisha Jaeger a favour years ago, and after half a decade, he finally decides to cash in.
A/n: Essentially, Eren is a slightly-less violent version of Damian Wayne. I had a lot of fun reading this and I hope you had just as much fun reading it. It isn't too shippy per se, but if you're a fan of Arumika, you might like it a bit. Enjoy! The rating is T and the word count is 2580.
10 years ago, Erwin Smith had put on his cowl for the first time. That night, he swung across the city like the guardian of the night he strived to be. His swinging form back then was shabby, but at least he managed to get around with ease.
On that night, Erwin scouted around Crime Alley, a place that put more memories into his mind than he would have preferred. As he stood on a rooftop, his eyes scouting the area for any trouble, Erwin’s ears heard a scream in the distance.
Swiftly, he followed the sound, his legs almost burning as he leapt and dashed. The second Erwin saw a couple getting held up by a punk with a gun, he shot his grappling gun, swung down, and sprung into action right away.
That night was the night Erwin had stopped a mugging for the first time. The people he saved were a married couple, and the husband of the duo thanked Erwin earnestly, despite the cowl and cape being just a bit terrifying. The man introduced himself as Grisha Jaeger, and claimed that his wife, Carla, was pregnant with their first child. Grisha claimed that had it not been for Erwin, the Jaeger bloodline would have been cut completely.
That night was also the night Erwin had met someone he didn’t think he would need in the future.
5 years later, Erwin fell from a building, 10 stories to be exact. On reflex, he shot his grappling gun towards the sky as his last saving grace. But for once, at the wrongest time it ever could, the hook couldn’t find anything. And thus, Erwin fell.
What broke his fall ended up being a trash bin, several of them, all made of metal. The armour on his suit lessened the impact as well, but that didn’t stop Erwin’s bones from shattering, or his skull from cracking. With the rest of his strength, Erwin pressed the communicator on his wrist. He didn’t have the talk, the tech would send an alarm to the Batcomputer, to Levi’s communicator, to anyone Erwin would consider enough of an alley to help him out.
Levi had rushed to him first, clad in his Robin suit and riding in the Batmobile. Immediately shocked, Levi got his mentor into the Batmobile and rushed him over to the only doctor Erwin could trust; Doctor Hanji Zoe.
Hanji was many things; brilliant, resourceful, gutsy, just a little manic, and of course, a genius. But the only thing Hanji wasn’t happened to be a neurosurgeon. Hanji had spent hours patching up Erwin’s cuts, mending his bones, and making sure that his vitals were monitored.
But there was one thing Hanji couldn’t fix, Erwin’s spine. While the damage wasn’t unrepairable, it was something Hanji couldn’t heal. It was damaged beyond Hanji’s repair, and there were only 2 more things to do at that moment; let Erwin live the rest of his life as a quadriplegic, or call in special help.
Erwin was in a vital coma, therefore, the one who would have to give permission for the special help to be called in would have to be none other than Hannes.
Hannes was thirdly a servant to Erwin, secondly a life long friend, and firstly, a father to the orphaned billionaire.
Calling in the special help, however, would call for the person to know Erwin’s secret, and the discover just who exactly hid behind the mask of the Bat. Hannes knew that he had to protect Erwin’s secret at all cost, but when he finally visited Hanji’s clinic and saw Erwin on the hospital cot, he spent the entire night by his ward’s side. And it was only in the morning, when Hanji saw Hannes still awake and still by his comatose son’s side did the butler finally give permission for special help to be called in.
The special help ended up being a neurosurgeon with a notoriously familiar name; Doctor Grisha Jaeger.
When Grisha was called, Hannes and Hanji told him everything. With the goal of saving Erwin’s life and making sure that the Batman title would live on, neither of them minded the costs.
Grisha was surprised to find out the news, but at the same time, overjoyed. Finally, he would have a chance to repay a man who had helped him so much in the past. The operation ended up being completely successful, and both Erwin and Batman emerged from the hospital room rightfully on the road to recovery.
When Erwin was informed that Grisha knew his secret, he was at first shocked, but soon, he grew thankful. Had it not been for Grisha, Erwin would have been nothing, and for everything, Erwin was eternally grateful.
When Erwin finally got to have a word with Grisha after the operation, Grisha claimed that they were now even; Erwin saved his family and Grisha saved his life. But Erwin denied that assumption. Instead, he told Grisha that they were now even, and if he required any favour from him in the future, Erwin would follow through on it.
Then, 5 years after Grisha Jaeger saved both Erwin Smith and the Dark Knight’s life, the doctor came to the Batman with the favour.
Erwin agreed and came into contact with Grisha with the promise of having the favour better explained to him. When he came to Jaeger’s loft in an affluent neighbourhood of Gotham, Grisha told him the favour full on.
Admittedly, Erwin at first believed that Grisha simply wanted someone protected; which to an extent, was true. However, he thought the protection would be a staking outside the loft every few nights, but what Grisha required was much much more. And who Erwin was assigned to protect was someone he did not even know existed until that very night.
But alas, Erwin stayed true to his terms and took his new responsibility into his hands.
This would be a bit interesting to explain to his other allies though.
---OOO---
During her last out-of-country mission, personally assigned to her by Petra, there was one thing that Mikasa would consider to be hell that she experienced. Oddly, it wasn’t the 24-hour shifts where she would spend so much time in her Batgirl costume that the entire thing smelled horrible when she took it off. Or the few cuts and scrapes she suffered whilst taking out a heroin smuggler or two.
It was the flight; a plane trip from Tokyo back to Gotham took 14 hours. Being covert was necessary for the sake of her mission, and Erwin bought Mikasa a seat for business class to avoid suspicion. But no matter what, Mikasa detested the 14 hours she had just spent crammed inside a metal tube with a bunch of strangers she couldn’t even speak to.
That was why she spent her current night at the manor with Armin. They sat together on the couch as a documentary about paper played on the television. Armin was sitting proper and upright, just as usual. And while Mikasa did want to stay awake to cherish the time she had with Armin, she couldn’t find it in herself to do so.
Instead, she laid her head on Armin’s lap, letting him stroke her hair as she kept her eyes closed. She wasn’t asleep yet, but she could feel herself drifting away with every moment passing.
Normally, Armin would be on patrol tonight as well, but Mikasa wasn’t surprised to see him agreeing to her proposition of staying in so quickly.
It had been 6 months ever since Annie died, her blood spilling on the hands of Nile Dawk; and only 4 ever since his grandfather lost a life long battle with cancer.
Armin had spent too much of his time either mourning, or drowning himself in detective work. His frustration came out with every punch he made. Erwin complimented him on getting stronger, but Armin didn’t seem to care.
He was a smart boy, the smartest she had ever known. And he was definitely smart enough to know that no amount of punches and kicks could bring anyone back.
It was killing him inside, Mikasa could tell. She wanted to comfort him, anything to make him feel something. He stopped locking himself away at his current state in the grieving process, and he came no where close to alienating any of his friends as well.
Armin was starting to feel better. But even now, there wasn’t much else Mikasa could do but hold and comfort him when he needed it. Because she knew he would do the same for him.
“Hey,” Mikasa said in her slightly sleepy state.
Armin looked down to her, “Yeah?”
“I tried reading today,” Mikasa announced.
Armin seemed impressed, “Really? What book?”
“It wasn’t a book per se,” she admitted, eyes opening just slightly. “Petra helped me put audiobooks onto my phone. I listened to Sense and Sensibility by… uh…”
“Jane Austen,” Armin answered easily. He grinned just slightly at Mikasa. By now, they were practically siblings. Siblings who wore tights together, kicked butt together, fought crime together, and solved mysteries together also discussed classic literature together as well. “That’s a good title. I haven’t read it before though. Did you pick that title yourself or did Petra pick it?”
“Actually, Annie did-“ Mikasa stopped talking right there. She couldn’t predict the outcome of her worlds, but she knew that talking about Annie with Armin was something difficult for him to do. He could outsmart criminal geniuses and nail unsolved mysteries from his bedroom, but when it came to grief, there was nothing more the Boy Wonder could do but keep his emotions inside of him.
But Mikasa knew Annie as well. Erwin had paired them up for stakeouts and investigations, and while Annie seemed just a bit too apathetic for Mikasa’s tastes, they were still friends. And Mikasa started liking her, a lot.
But now she was alone, Annie gone, and hoping if Armin would end up slipping away as well.
Armin’s lip seemed to quiver just slightly, but all in all, he seemed to have a better control over his actions and feelings. “It’s fine, you can talk about her if you want.”
“I don’t want to,” Mikasa decided then and there. She moved her head off of Armin’s lap and sat up.
“What do you want to do then?” Armin inquired.
Mikasa shrugged her shoulders, unsure on how to answer. But thankfully, it was right then and there did Hannes pop his head into the manor’s living room.
“Master Armin, Master Mikasa,” the butler acknowledged.
The two vigilantes looked up at him.
“Master Erwin has returned from patrol and he requires your presence in the batcave,” Hannes explained.
The two of them agreed and got off the couch. Armin and Mikasa made their way into the Batcave at a dutiful pace. They approached the Grandfather clock near the study, and when Armin set the hands to 10:48, the entire structure swung back and revealed the entrance to the cave.
They came down the stairs quickly, and sure enough, the Batmobile was present.
Erwin himself was sitting at the Batcomputer, which was never an odd place to see him. That didn’t surprise Armin and Mikasa as they came down the stairs.
However, what would was waiting just around the corner.
“Erwin,” Armin called as he and Mikasa came to the bottom of the steps. “What do you need us for?”
Erwin turned away from his computer and stood up straight, he was still in his cowl and cape. “I have an important task for you two.”
Mikasa seemed prepared for anything he could throw at her, even in a literal sense, “I’m ready.”
Erwin nodded his head, “There is someone I need you two to protect.”
“Who?” Armin asked.
And as if on response, an unfamiliar voice was heard through the cave.
“Me, because apparently, dad I need babysitters in capes and cowls to stay safe.”
It came from one of the cave levels, where Erwin stored all the spare Batman, Batgirl, and Robin costumes.
Both Mikasa and Armin glanced up, and standing in front of the costume storage room on the upper floors, was a boy.
He was no older than 10 years old, his hair brown and droopy, and his eyes a pale carribean blue. His face appeared to be trapped in a permanent scowl, and that face was becoming more and more evident as he walked down from the storage room and towards the cave’s main level.
The boy walked up to Armin and Mikasa. He was not frightened by them at all, even with their taller statures towering over his.
“Who are you?” Armin asked, glancing down at the little kid.
Erwin answered for his ward, “This is Eren; Grisha Jaeger’s kid.”
Armin raised an eyebrow, “Grisha Jaeger? The neurosurgeon?”
Nodding his head, Eren confirmed with ease, “Yes. That’s him.”
“Yeah, but… AH!” In seconds, Armin suddenly realized that there was someone in the Batcave; someone he didn’t know, and he currently wasn’t wearing his mask at the moment.
Hastily, he covered his face with his hands, but Erwin calmed him down. “Don’t fret, Armin. He knows.”
The blonde coconut head seemed to be just a bit calmer once the words were uttered, “Oh, okay. Does he know a lot?”
Erwin pulled down his mask to reveal his face, “A lot.”
Mikasa seemed fascinated, “Interesting.”
“Why is he here though?” Armin asked.
“I promised Grisha Jaeger a favour for saving my life 5 years ago,” Erwin explained to his protoges. “Tonight, he decided to use that favour. Grisha’s been pursued by Gotham’s major crime lords for the last few months. He needs to flee the country, and for now, I have to watch over his son.”
“For how long?” Mikasa wondered.
Eren answered this time, “Until my dad comes back. In the meantime, I’m here. With you guys.”
“So you’re essentially asking me and Mikasa to be babysitters?” Armin theorized, knowing that his prediction was possibly true.
Erwin had to nod, “Yes.”
Mikasa glanced down at Eren. He was short and scrawny, and appeared to be grumpy at the moment, but so far, he seemed okay. “I could try. Should we take him on patrol then?”
Eren seemed excited and intrigued, “Patrol?!”
Erwin was extremely quick to speak up and shoot down that answer, “No! Not at all!”
“I could go on patrol,” Eren admitted shamelessly.
“No, you are not to take Eren on patrol and that is final,” Erwin decided, pointing his finger down at his two proteges firmly.
“Good idea,” Armin admitted, looking over to Eren. “What would you even wear anyway?”
Eren smirked, “Well, that red and green acrobat suit seems rather fitting to a boy like me.”
Armin raised an eyebrow, more amused than threatened at the moment, “I’m sorry, Eren, but I still hold that title. The costumes you saw up there are mine.”
Eren shrugged his shoulders, but looking over in one corner of the main level, he pointed over to something that particularly interested him. It was another costume, but not one in storage like the ones he saw before.
This costume was on display, propped up behind glass as if it were a shrine towards someone or something.
“Is that one still yours?” Eren asked.
Armin shook his head, “No, it’s not.”
In response, all Eren could do was smirk, “Good to know…”