A/N I finally decided to write a story on Thrax's childhood. I'll also continue through "Almira's Story", showing his POV on meeting Almira. I don't own Thrax; he belongs to Warner Bros. I DO own his surname, his family, and other characters you don't recognize from Osmosis Jones.
DNAngelFangirl: He won't be able to today, but someday ;)
LaMuerteRoja: I see. Well, when you do, and you post your story, send me a link; I'd love to see how you write Thrax and Almira :D
Princess LaLaBlue: Oh, don't worry ;)
Thank you :) I'm glad I did good on that part. I suppose it is.
Chapter 10
As soon as he got to school, Thrax immediately scanned the crowds for Ed. He intended to give the Ebola virus a piece of his mind, and then some. "Ed!" He yelled, ignoring the glares he got from the other students. "Ed! Ed, where the hell are you?"
"Thrax!" Riley exclaimed, grabbing his arm. "You're embarrassing me."
"I don't give a damn." He answered grumpily, and then shouted, "Ed! Come out an' show yer sorry face, ya coward!"
"Why are you screaming for Ed?"
"I'll tell ya why," Thrax scowled. "That miserable bastard snuck into my house an' killed my family! My mom, my little sister, an' my step-dad, though I don't care about the latter. Ed! Get out here!"
"How do you know it was him?" Riley asked skeptically.
"The message he wrote in Red Death blood was in his writing. That's how I know." Before he could shout for Ed again, the school bell rang.
"Come on," Riley tugged on his arm. "You can look for Ed after class."
Scowling darkly, Thrax relented and walked down the halls for class. Riley snuggled up to his side, glaring at any girls who eyed Thrax with lust or Riley with jealousy. Thrax rolled his eyes and asked, "Can ya let up on the glarin' a little?"
"Those girls need to know you're my boyfriend."
"We're together already; ain't that enough?"
Riley just gave him an odd look.
In their first class, the teacher had an announcement. "I've been informed that our Ebola student, Edmund Übel," Thrax glared at Ed's empty seat, wishing it would set on fire purely by that glare. "Has left school early."
Thrax blinked in surprise. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means, Mr. Muerja, that Mr. Übel has left school, and the rat, to start his killing career already."
This shocked Thrax to the core. He remained still in class until Riley jostled his arm. He stood up and stormed out of class. "That coward!" He snarled, storming down the halls. He ignored the incredulous looks other students gave him. "That goddamn coward! I shoulda known!"
"Thrax!" Riley ran down the halls after him. "You're embarrassing me! What's going on?"
"What's goin' on? What the hell do ya think? That bastard ran away like a coward!" He didn't dare mention that his family had been killed while he was in school; he decided to keep that a secret.
Unfortunately, trouble came; in the form of a large, green germ. "Aw, who's upset that his best fwiend left?" Herman taunted.
"Scram, Herman, I'm not in the mood." Thrax growled. "An' he ain't my best friend; not anymore. Especially not now."
"Why, because he left and now you don't have anyone to beat in killing tests?" Herman grinned. "Face it, Muerja, Red Death will never surpass Ebola. It's not even in the medical books; and it's too rare. Ebola will always be the top virus."
That made Thrax snap. He grabbed Herman around the neck and heaved him up off of the ground. "I'd shut up," He held his burner claw to the germ's throat. "If I were you."
Herman's beady eyes widened with fear. "Th-Thrax, c'mon, man, I was just kiddin'. I-I was just foolin' around. R-Riley," He turned to the Rabies virus. "You know I was kiddin' right?"
Riley was examining her retractable claws when he asked that. "Hmm?" She poked her head up. "Did you say something, Herman?"
"You've been a pain in my ass fer too long." Thrax said, still glaring. "Way too long."
"B-but you can't fight b-b-because I have to throw the first punch. Y-y-you always preached that."
A wide, crooked grin spread on Thrax's face. This wasn't a friendly one though; far from it. "Not anymore." He said lowly. Before anyone could scream, Thrax sliced across Herman's body and dropped him to the floor. He smiled cruelly as he watched the life dim in the bully's eyes. He flicked the goo from his claw and sighed satisfied. Riley leaned on his side, smiling. He didn't acknowledge this; he was deep in thought.
As much as he hated to admit it, Herman was right; Red Death was rare, and wasn't in the medical books. Therefore, no one knew how dangerous and deadly it was, or that it might be more dangerous than Ebola. Someone had to fix that.
Another grin spread on Thrax's face. Humming, he began sauntering down the halls. Riley watched him in confusion before running after him. "Thrax? Thrax, what are you doing? Class is back there." She pointed behind her.
"I'm not goin' to class."
"What?"
"Herman's right, as much as I hate to admit it; Red Death isn't in the medical books, an' no one knows how dangerous an' deadly it is. It's too rare. But I can change that."
"How?" Riley asked skeptically.
"I'll create killing records, an' break 'em as I go. Dear ol' Dad always said the best way to set killing records is to make them long; weeks long, at most. Then slowly break 'em as you go until you get the ultimate record. That's what I'm gonna do."
"What about Ed?"
"If I run into him during my job, I'll do what he did to my family: I'll kill him."
"What does this have to do with you not going to class?"
"'Cause I'm startin' early." Thrax answered simply. "I'm leavin' this rat an' jumpin' on the first human I see. I'm gonna put Red Death in the medical books yet!"
Riley couldn't believe her ears. "You can't go! What about school?"
"I'll learn as I go. I think I got a good enough education; Ed certainly did."
"I'm going with you."
Thrax stopped and blinked in surprise. "No, you're not; you'll slow me down, or show me up."
"No, I won't."
"Riley, yer not goin' with me. I'm flyin' solo."
"Then stay. I don't want you to leave. I love you."
Thrax only scoffed. "You only love me 'cause it makes ya look good that you have me as a boyfriend. You act so possessive of me, it ain't even funny."
"I just want to make sure no one steals you from me." Riley answered stubbornly. "I want to make sure girls know you belong to me."
"I belong to you? Oh, that's rich!" He laughed bitterly. "I belong to no one! In fact, you should belong to me! But I don't think I want that."
"Are you breaking up with me?"
"I was gonna when I leave, but now's a good time." Thrax stepped of the school house, swinging his chain around his wrist.
"Get back here, you bâtard!" Riley screamed. "If you walk away right now, we're through! You hear me? Through!"
"I'm still walkin' away." Thrax yelled back in a singsong voice. "'Sides, I broke up with you first." He laughed again when Riley screamed out curse words at him. He never turned back; he continued down the street, humming.
As soon as he got to the rat's mouth, he waited until the rat started eating a piece of trashy food. When it opened its mouth, he jumped and glided out into the breeze. He continued to glide until he found a human. Grinning, he aimed for it and landed on a fresh cut on his hand. He stepped inside, hiding in the shadows; even if he wasn't recognizable as a virus, he'd still be classified as dangerous. So he thought it would be best to lie low for the moment.
Thrax relaxed for several days before finding information and a map of the body he was in. His name was Jason, and he was in decent shape, although he had a tendency to pig out on the weekends and drink at least once a week, although he wasn't alcoholic. Thrax wanted a map because he had never been in a human body, and didn't know his way around one. He knew humans had a different body plan than rats and mice, and were much bigger to boot.
"This is probably gonna be a chore," Thrax sighed, brushing his dreadlocks back. "But it'll be worth it." Staying in the shadows, he made his way up in the direction of the throat. There were dozens of white blood cells, most in the Immunity, patrolling across Jason, so that made his job more difficult.
Soon enough, though, he made it to the throat. Picking a good spot to start, he lit up his burner claw, and as he walked along, he scraped his claw on the fleshy wall of the throat. He left a softly glowing trail. After several minutes, it lit up, turning the throat bright red and raw-looking. Satisfied, Thrax left for the chest before he got caught.
He waited several more days to do the next job: stuffy nose. News had already spread of the sore throat, but it had been taken care of with plenty of water. Thrax didn't care about that though.
When he got to the nose, he found a building where the pressure valves were. When the pressure got high enough, it cracked the nose dam, releasing the mucus, and thus causing a stuffed nose. After thinking for a few minutes, Thrax climbed to the top of the dam and sliced through the ceiling. Then he jumped in and swiftly killed the cells in charge. He then found the pressure valves. When he went to turn one, he found it was very difficult to do. He gripped the wheel in his claws, planted his feet on the ground, and pushed as hard as he could. "C'mon, baby," He muttered, groaning. Finally, it turned, upping a bit of the pressure. Sighing, Thrax went to do the next one.
In the end, Thrax got what he wanted. With sore arms, he left the nose in his gliding coat and collapsed in his hideout. "Whooh," He sighed, rubbing his arms. "I gotta get in shape." He had a thin waist and not much muscle. He made a note to visit a gym after his arms were healed.
That night, in his hideout, Thrax removed his sweater and stared at himself in the mirror. He turned to either side, pursing his lips thoughtfully. He hadn't truly ever worked out; he only got his exercise walking around in the rat and running through mice during the killing tests. "If I'm gonna put Red Death in the medical books, I'd better get into shape." He said to himself. He turned his back on the mirror and picked up his sweater. Before he pulled it back on, he happened to glance at himself in the mirror. He saw the ugly whip scars crisscrossing across his back. The newest were still healing from several days ago; the oldest had faded away some, but were still a little visible.
Thrax shook his head and pulled on his sweater. He decided he was going to forget the pain and suffering his step-father had caused him. It would only slow him down.
Several days later, Thrax found himself at the gym on one of the biceps. He only removed his coat and boots, not wanting anyone to see his scars.
He stared at the punching bag, wondering how to start. He then remembered when he was little; he was fond of martial arts movies. Even though cells—in human bodies—watched movies, which were recordings of what the human saw, there were also movies for cells in any body. Thrax liked martial arts movies, and often tried to do the moves himself. This only resulted in him breaking something, or him hurting himself. Either way, he got in trouble for it. Maybe he could try now?
Taking a deep breath, Thrax moved to the left and kicked at the bag with his right foot as high as he could go. He misjudged the strength used in his leg, and he slipped and fell on the hard mat. He groaned as he pushed himself up. "Ow, my ass." He grumbled. When he finally stood up, he saw several cells and germs staring at him, looking like they were trying not to laugh. "What're you all smirkin' at?" He snapped.
They all turned away and got back to what they were doing. One particular bacterium still stared at him; he had been the only one who wasn't smiling in amusement at Thrax's stumble. He was short, but looked fast and agile. He was light brown in color, with slanted black eyes, and two whiskers on his top lip.
When Thrax raised an eyebrow at him, the germ stepped towards him. "That was a good effort, though you put too much strength into it." He said in a slow, deep voice. "And you need to be more flexible. If you'd like, I can teach you to use martial arts."
Thrax only scoffed, "In case ya haven't noticed, baby, I'm a virus. This'll be the first body I take down."
To his surprise, the elderly man only laughed. "I know, son. I may be old, but I am not blind. Though you are rather young to start out your killing career, I see you have potential. Under my wing, I can teach you moves that may very well save your life. And as for Jason, I've lived my life long enough. I hardly care for when Jason will drop dead, so it is no matter to me when you kill him."
Thrax stroked his long, pointed chin in consideration. He admitted he was sloppy, but he blamed the fact that he had never been taught any martial arts moves; he was only going by what he saw. Plus, they may come in handy in a pinch during the next several years.
Finally, he grinned, "Show me the moves."
A/N Of course, Ed (the coward X() runs off, knowing Thrax would kill him. Guess he's not stupid, huh?
I tried to show how possessive of Thrax Riley is. She's one of those people who get what they want, when they want, and do NOT want to give them up. But Thrax doesn't care; he's got work to do :D
This is also why I figured he's breaking records and wanting to get in the medical books. The breaking records slowly thing...yeah, probably not my best idea, now that I think about it ^^; But I think I did good on the getting into the medical books. I'd imagine Red Death is a very rare disease, and no one probably knows how deadly it truly is. I mean, come on! A monstrous fever, thought to be the common cold? The creators of OJ did GOOD on Thrax's disease :D
So Thrax wants to prove Red Death can be deadlier than all the viruses; especially Ebola. So he's gonna prove it.
I also decided to try and think about how he learned those (awesome) karate moves in the movie; especially during the fight between him and Ozzy on Shane's eye. I don't think it came natural, so I decided to give him a temporary mentor. He kinda reminds me of Shifu from Kung Fu Panda.