A/N: Hello! I watched Osmosis Jones back in August for the first time and absolutely fell in love with Thrax and Ozzy's characters. This fic will explore their relationship a little more, as I think the fact they only got about 4 minutes of screen time together is just criminal. This is my first serious fic, so reviews are welcome (if there is anyone out there who still reads OJ fanfics)! In my head, Thrax is exceptionally nice to the person he loves and vile to everyone else~
I posted this back in September, but took it down to rework it. It's finished now, hooray!
Ozzy gasped for air as he yanked the cold chain from around his neck. He wasn't quite sure how he had escaped the virus' hold- his vision had gone black from the lack of oxygen- but he sure was grateful to whatever had freed him from Thrax.
As his conscious mind came back in waves, he looked down at his hand to see the hypothalamus chain. He suddenly remembered what he had come out here to do and started to celebrate, before the lash he was on started to move.
What the...?
Confused, he pounded his fist against it and recognised that it was a false lash, but before he could make his next move, Thrax leapt from behind and pinned him to the floor, an evil grin spreading across his face.
Luckily, Ozzy was a quick thinker and had divided a hole in his abdomen just in time, making Thrax's claw miss him and go straight into the lash. Thrax was far too blinded by his own 'victory' to notice and started bragging obnoxiously about how he had broken his record.
Ozzy could feel the heat from Thrax's claw spreading below him in the lash, reaching almost unbearable levels. Thrax continued to gloat from above, his braids falling over his face and his yellow eyes burning with triumph.
He mentioned something about taking down Shane, which Ozzy took as his cue to respond "she ain't goin' down... you are!" It wasn't his finest comeback, but it was all he could come up with in such a precarious moment, and he painfully divided his top half to escape the man kneeling over him, leaving him stuck in the false lash.
Ozzy didn't have time to see Thrax's face, but he assumed it was plastered with a mix of confusion, defeat and rage. Ozzy started running as fast as he could towards Shane's eye, but something stopped him.
Despite every fibre of his nucleus screaming at him to keep running and get away from this virus as fast as possible, a tiny voice in his head was telling him otherwise.
He turned his head to see his foe trying to pry his hand out of the false lash to no avail, his movements becoming more erratic and desperate. For some reason, Ozzy felt a sting of sympathy in his chest and throat.
He clenched his teeth and hissed. Why did he feel like this? Thrax had made the last 48 hours a misery for him, sending him on a wild goose chase all around Frank's body, causing him to lose his position on the police force and, more importantly, attempting to kill Frank along with all the trillions of cells that inhabit him.
However, at the same time, Ozzy had never felt as alive as he had done during the last 2 days, never more proud of himself and his abilities, and certainly never more seen.
Without fully understanding why, he spun on his heels and darted back over to the other man, who was still struggling and had visibly started to panic. Ozzy kneeled down next to Thrax, startling him, and roughly placed his hand over the other man's thick wrist.
Thrax glared daggers at Ozzy, his eyes filled with a mix of hatred and despair, and barked, "what are you doin', boy? Get the fuck off me!", as he jerked his shoulder trying to shake Ozzy's hand off of him.
Ozzy looked him in the eyes and tried to convey that he didn't mean him any harm. "I'm tryna help you, you stupid, ugly virus. Now I need you to calm down and stop strugglin'. Heat up your claw thing as much as possible and I can try to wiggle you out."
Both men pulled as hard as they could and managed to free Thrax's hand from the lash. They both fell backwards and Ozzy suddenly realised what he'd done.
What the fuck was I thinking? What possessed me to save this piece of shit?!
Thrax stared at his newly freed hand for a second, as Ozzy scrambled to his feet and tried to run away with the hypothalamus chain.
He didn't get far before he felt Thrax grab him by his collar and slam him down onto the lash again, regaining his control over the situation.
"Going so soon, baby?" Thrax grinned over him and lit up his claw, hovering it over Ozzy's face.
Ozzy gritted his teeth and wrapped the hypothalamus chain around Thrax's wrist, using all his strength to yank the killer claw away from his neck before he could slice it.
They were nose to nose, screaming vicious insults and trying to knee each other in the abdomen all the while.
"Why don't you just hurry up and coagulate already, you stupid piece of shit!?", snarled Thrax.
"Eat shit and die, you viral motherfucker!", retorted Ozzy, mature as always.
They carried on like this for a few moments, all too consumed in their struggle to notice that a tear had formed behind them from Shane's eye as she was standing over her dying father.
Before they could prepare themselves, the tear had engulfed them both and was falling down towards Frank's mouth. Thrax and Ozzy were too stunned to act and they continued to cling onto one another, grateful for the purchase, as they sloshed around ungracefully inside the tear.
They crashed onto Frank's uvula where Drix had fired Ozzy from only minutes before.
They were both dazed and confused and neither of them realised that Thrax was still holding Ozzy tightly in his arms.
The first thing Ozzy heard when he regained his hearing was a shocked gasp, and he opened his eyes to see Drix pointing his gun at him. Ozzy opened his mouth and shook his head instinctively, not understanding why he was being aimed at.
He felt something move behind him and jerked his head around to see what it was. It was Thrax, groaning and wincing. Ozzy realised that Drix was aiming at Thrax instead, and tried to wriggle out of his grasp.
Suddenly, Thrax's eyes flew open and he made an attempt to grab the chain that was still in Ozzy's possession. Ozzy flung it at Leah and yelled at her to get it up to the hypothalamus. Leah nodded and went to run out of the room, when Thrax pushed past Ozzy and lunged at her to try and grab the chain.
Ozzy grabbed Thrax from behind and slammed him to the ground, forcing his face into the floor.
"Piss off", Thrax hissed, kicking Ozzy off him.
He jumped to his feet and yanked Ozzy up by his collar, lifting him in the air and pinning him to the wall. "You're a real annoying piece of shit, Jones, you know that?!"
Ozzy grabbed onto his wrist and dug his nails into his skin. He looked Thrax in the eye and smirked, attempting not to show the fear running through him. "Yeah, and you'd be dead if it weren't for this annoying piece of shit."
Thrax growled and lit up his claw, but Drix shot it from behind, freezing it again. Thrax yelled out and released his grip on Ozzy, dropping him to the floor. The coldness spread from his hand and extended over his chest, followed by a shooting pain running all the way down his arm.
He glared down at Ozzy, only to be met with a set of perfect, white teeth grinning up at him. Despite being bruised, battered, dishevelled and cornered, Jones still had that triumphant look smeared over his face, and it made Thrax's blood boil.
He leant down and lightly put his hand around his throat, leaning in until they were face to face. "Now Big Daddy Thrax is really gonna let you have it, Jones", he whispered.
"Is that a threat or a promise?", Ozzy whispered back, narrowing his eyes and raising his head to lean in closer. They both stilled and stared at each other, and, for a moment, it was as if they were the only two in the room.
"C'mon then, Big Daddy, show me what you're made of", Ozzy taunted. "I dare ya." Thrax smirked and opened his mouth to reply with another comeback, when he suddenly felt Drix grab him by the shoulder, along with both his and the police chief's guns against his back. He groaned and turned his head to glare at them.
He narrowed his eyes as he pondered over whether he was more annoyed about the fact that he was now being held up at gunpoint, or that they had interrupted his exchange with...?
Nah, no way.
He slowly turned his head to look at Ozzy again, only to be met with that same, smug grin.
"Give it up, Thrax, you're busted."
Thrax was placed in the highest security cell that the FPD had, with metal restraints placed on both his hands and over his claws.
Ozzy and the Chief were in the office upstairs, wondering what would be the best course of action to protect the city of Frank. The Chief had wasted no time in reinstating Ozzy to the force and returning his gun and badge to him after having saved the city.
"I don't know why you decided to save this virus, Jones" huffed the Chief. "He has caused nothing but trouble for us, and especially for you. Why didn't you just leave him out there?"
Ozzy looked up at him with a confused expression on his face, not quite knowing how to respond. Why had he saved Thrax? He didn't owe him anything, and after all the deaths he'd caused, he should have just left him on that lash to rot.
Ozzy looked down and sighed. "That's besides the point, Chiefy-Weefy", he muttered, making the Chief wince at his nickname. "What do we do with him now? He's too dangerous to be left in a cell like any old germ…", he hesitated, before continuing, "I think I should be the one responsible for him. After all, I do know his way of thinking and fighting better than anyone. Let me keep him at my place, at least until we figure out what to do with him."
The Chief raised an eyebrow and brought his hand up to his face, pinching his brow with his fingers. "I don't know, Jones… you're not the most responsible cell around… and he's extremely dangerous, not to mention pissed off…"
"How much harm can he do with his hands covered?", Ozzy snapped back.
Their meeting was interrupted by shouting and crashing from the cell block below, and Ozzy darted downstairs, gun in hand. He burst through the door to see Thrax towering over one of the prison guards, with the other guards strewn across the floor.
"Damn…", Ozzy said, provoking Thrax to jerk his head round and glare at him. Ozzy drew his gun and pointed it at him, a big smile spreading across his face.
"Okay, mister Thrax, you know how this goes. You make a feeble attempt at something and I intercept you. Leave that poor guard alone and come with me", he stated cockily.
Thrax hesitated before raising his arms as best he could with his restraints, letting a grin crawl across his face. "Jones, you always have to ruin my fun", he growled, in a low, husky voice. Ozzy gestured with his head to get Thrax to start walking in front of him, while still aiming his gun at him.
Surprisingly enough, Thrax simply rolled his eyes and did as he was told: he'd had a long and very disappointing day, and he lacked the energy to keep fighting right now. This damned white blood cell had, quite literally, ruined his life in the space of a few hours.
He had no idea where Jones was going to take him, and at this point, he didn't give a shit.
He trundled ahead of Ozzy, expecting a whack around the back of his head or a hard shove for good measure, but he was shocked when the other man simply placed his hand on one of his broad shoulders.
Ozzy guided him up the stairs and out the precinct, getting a nod of approval from the Chief to take him away.
Thrax's shoulder relaxed under Ozzy's hand as they stepped out into the street, and his eyes landed on the car in front of him. He judged it to be a poor man's version of a sports car and felt genuinely sorry for the poor cell to whom it belonged. It was purple with bright blue flames painted on the front and down the sides, had obnoxiously big headlights and a hood blower that looked like it could snap off any second.
He scoffed and raised an eyebrow. What the hell is that? It looks like a kid's toy. Only a massive dickhead would choose to own this.
Ozzy grinned from ear to ear. "Ahh, I see you're admirin' my ride. Ain't she a beaut?"
"This is your car?" Thrax's eyes widened as he held back a sneer. Ozzy nodded and patted the roof, a proud smile on his face. "Yeah, she's my baby."
He opened the door and gestured for Thrax to get inside. "Right, get in, but you better take extra special care not to scratch the paintwork with your spiky face, you got that?"
Thrax rolled his eyes and squeezed into the car. It was way too small for him, and he had to stoop in order to fit. Ozzy jumped into the driver's seat and started the car.
"Okay, rule one. If you're gonna be stayin' with me, no messin' with my radio, ya hear?" He turned the radio on and chose one of his favourite rap songs. "Oh what a tune!"
Thrax groaned and crossed one leg over the other. This is literally hell.
Ozzy slammed his foot down on the accelerator and started tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat, trying his best to ignore the fact that Thrax was glaring daggers at him. Jeez, this is gonna be hell.
Then an R&B song came on, and Ozzy couldn't stop himself from bobbing his head side to side and humming along to the tune. Thrax narrowed his eyes and hunched over further, staring straight ahead to try and ignore how irritating the man to his left was being. God, this is insufferable.
By the time the third song had reached the chorus, Ozzy was practically screeching all the lyrics and attempting to sing both the male and female parts simultaneously. He was now using his knees to turn the steering wheel, so that he could freely gyrate with his top half and jerk his shoulders around.
When he shredded a particularly high note, Thrax winced and turned to face him with a sneer. "Wow, I didn't know you had a voice like that, Jones, I'm jealous."
"Well, you'll come to learn that I'm amazing at everything, Thraxy, so get used to it", Ozzy replied, shooting him a pearly white smile.
"Pfft, please…" could his ego be any bigger? It might even rival my own. "Ugh, change the music at least! This is shit!"
Ozzy slammed his hands on the steering wheel to swerve around a car and frowned over what Thrax had said. "You think you get to call the shots around here? Nah nah nah, if you're gonna be in my house, you'll do what I say and listen to whatever music I feel like puttin' on, capeesh?"
Thrax inhaled sharply and threw his head back to rest it against the seat. This is my life now? Being told what to do by an immunity cell? God, I've sunk so low.
Ozzy's expression softened as he felt a sting of guilt over having snapped at him. Uy, I should at least try to get along. He has had a pretty rough day, and we are gonna be living together. He turned the radio off and cleared his throat, turning to face Thrax. "Um, so what kind of music do you listen to then?"
Thrax didn't respond.
"C'mon man, I'm just dying to hear you sing!"
Thrax turned his head slightly and shot him a mocking glance. "Why? Are you recruiting members for a boy band? Heh, lemme guess, you're gonna call it Osmosis-Zone or something equally idiotic."
"I was thinkin' of callin' it The Thraxstreet Boys, actually."
Thrax let a small smile cross his face, laughing internally. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, subconsciously tapping his claws within his restraints and humming the tune of the song Ozzy had put on before.
After what felt like hours of continual tapping, Ozzy frowned and scrunched up his nose. "Man, are you gonna be this annoying all the time?"
Thrax stopped what he was doing and snapped his eyes open. Did Jones just call me annoying? Oh, the irony. He's got a nerve.
He smirked and narrowed his eyes. "Whatever, baby, you're stuck with me now, how does it feel to be nothing but a glorified babysitter?"
Ozzy frowned and tightened his grip on the steering wheel, childishly mumbling under his breath, "I dunno, how does it feel to be an overgrown virus with an ego problem and no friends?"
They were silent for a moment before Ozzy cleared his throat and stated, "okay, just so we're clear, I ain't your babysitter and this ain't no slumber party. My house is gonna be like a prison, so let's go through some of the ground rules."
He took his hands off the steering wheel to start listing off his demands, "rule number one, don't touch my radio, but you already knew that. Rule number two, no funny business. I don't wanna wake up with you stranglin' me, ya pervert. Rule number three… uhh…"
Crap, I should have thought about this beforehand.
Thrax laughed deep in his throat, sending shivers down Ozzy's spine, and leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Jones, don't worry your mushy little head about it, everything is gonna be just fine. I'm sure we'll be the best of friends after this." He sat back and stared at Ozzy, a malicious grin spreading across his face.
Ozzy gulped and put his hands back on the steering wheel. Sweet mother of Frank, what have I done?