Chapter Text
EIGHT WEEKS AGO:
Merit Bridge Highway
It was a Tuesday the night Kimi Antonelli died. A pretty average Tuesday at that, at least by most standards. He had gone to school that day, taken a math exam, and had dinner with his family before heading out to the local track to race with his friends. His mom had picked him up about an hour after sunset, and they’d started the half hour drive back home on the empty roads.
It was a pretty average Tuesday, right up until a bullet ripped through the front windshield of his car and hit his mother in the neck. Then everything became a blur.
He remembers the car spinning as glass shards flew.
His mother quickly losing consciousness.
Him trying to help regain control of the car by lunging across the center console to grab the wheel.
But it was too late. The car drove straight off of Merit Bridge and into the water below.
The car started flooding before Kimi could figure out how to escape. His seatbelt wouldn’t unlock, and he was too disoriented to think of a way to cut it.
He knew he was going to die.
He managed to unbuckle his mother, but she wasn’t moving. The sight of blood on his hands made him want to vomit.
“Mom, please,” he begged, craning his neck in an attempt to stay above the surface.
His mother said nothing.
“Mom,” he sobbed as he struggled against his restraints, taking one last gulp of air before the water swallowed them completely.
Wake up.
Please come back.
Come back.
They were completely underwater now, and he couldn't see much in the dark harbor.
I need her to live even if I don’t. I need to bring her back.
Kimi couldn't tell if the burning in his lungs was from panic or lack of air. Probably both.
Let me bring her back.
Mom, please come back. Wake up and swim up.
Please.
He screamed the words in his mind until he felt his brain would implode, until the water stole his breath and his thoughts– and even then they still echoed in his head. His final pleas following him down into the dark waters.
Please come back.
Please come.
Please.
Pl–
Nico Rosberg had been in another late-night-top-secret meeting in one of Merit’s more discreet corners of town when he heard Lando gasp from across the room. He broke away from his mild disagreement with Lewis and glanced towards the younger agent who stood by the window staring out towards the harbor.
“I think there’s a car in the water.”
“What?” Nico asked.
“It must have driven off the bridge. There are probably people in danger.”
Nico and Lewis both rushed from the conference table to watch as two headlights steadily sank below the murky surface of the water.
Nico was out of the building and headed towards the harbor before Lewis had opened his mouth to urge him to go help.
After what felt like an hour to Nico but couldn’t have been any longer than a few seconds in real time, he arrived at the busted metal barrier on Merit Bridge Highway. The bars had been completely severed, leaving a gaping hole where he could peer down to the catastrophe below.
The car has already sunk well below the surface, and if the passengers hadn’t already escaped and started to swim up, then they wouldn’t survive much longer in the freezing water.
Nico reverted back to normal time, took a deep breath, and dove off the bridge.
He tapped into his abilities again just before he hit the water, everything slowing once more to cushion his landing as he swam towards the sinking vehicle. The front windshield already had a gaping hole, making his job relatively easy. Not needing to breathe while navigating the space and reality between seconds was also a bonus.
Quickly assessing the scene, one thing stood out to Nico in particular: the woman driving had been shot. And her chances of survival were slim, if she wasn’t already dead. Judging by the placement of the bullet, he hated to admit that she probably was. He turned his attention to her passenger –presumably her son– who had to still be in high school. He looked relatively unharmed apart from the cuts and scrapes scattered across his skin– and well, the water. Nico struggled to get his seatbelt undone, and when he finally did he pulled the unconscious kid over one shoulder. The woman had already started to float out of the windshield, and he dragged her up as well.
A while later he hauled the two up onto shore, reverting back to real time once more. Nico heaved from exertion, immediately moving to help the victims and check their state of life. Neither of them had a pulse. But he didn’t have the energy to use his abilities to go back and grab Lewis and Lando to bring them here. So, he checked the airways of the kid and started CPR.
His phone started to ring as he worked, Lewis’ contact lighting up the screen. He answered it as he tried to force the teen’s lungs to breathe and his heart to beat.
“What’s the situation,” came Lewis’ voice.
“Two victims, both without a pulse. Appears to be a mother and son. Mother has been shot, a PNI. Son’s COD seems to be drowning. Performing CPR now.”
“We’re on our way. Want me to call local emergency services?”
“No. I think the woman is dead. And if I successfully resuscitate the boy and he ends up being one of us, we can’t risk EON finding out. Especially with their soldier being on the hunt.”
“Okay. We’ll be there soon. Stay put.”
Nico held back a snarky retort about “staying put” as the call disconnected. He continued trying to coax the kid back to life.
But it wasn’t working.
The boy lay there limp and lifeless, and Nico’s hope began to die.
But then, between one compression and the next, his chest gave a horrible lurch– and the kid suddenly spluttered and coughed as his heart stuttered back to life.
FOUR WEEKS AGO:
Halloway
“I’m not going to ask you again,” said Agent 81 as the mechanic scrambled backwards across the garage floor, as if a few feet would make a difference to a bullet. He was retreating into a corner– which really did not help him in this situation. 81 watched with a steady gaze, slowly stalking towards him.
Jenson Button was forty-five, with a five-o’ clock shadow, grease under his nails, and the ability to manipulate metal.
“I already told you,” said a nervous Button as his back hit a half-built engine. “I don’t know who–”
“Don’t lie to me,” warned 81, lowering his chin mockingly. He flexed his fingers around the gun, raising it to point at Button, who screeched in return.
“I’m not!” he yelled. “I don’t know who the guy was, or where he came from. He just said that there was an organization hunting down our kind, and that their best assassin had been killing people left and right. He said that he could offer protection, but I told him to piss off because I’ve been doing this a long time with no help from anyone.”
Funnily enough, 81 believed him. He closed his eyes and inhaled.
“I swear,” said Button softly. “I would help you if I could.”
However, Oscar heard him shift, heard the sound of metal scraping, tools knocking. Smelt something like melted steel.
“Please, just believe me,” Button pleaded.
“I do,” replied 81, his eyes flying open right as Button swung at him with a metal pipe. But the assassin was quicker, his hand flying up to point at Button’s forehead before he was even halfway to 81’s ribs.
He pulled the trigger, the sound echoing off of concrete and car parts as the mechanic dropped like a sack of nuts and bolts. Pivoting on his heel and holstering his gun, 81 marched out of the garage as praise blabbered through his earpiece.
THIRTEEN YEARS AGO:
ExtraOrdinary Observation and Neutralization (EON)
Lando drew a steady black line through the word desperate.
The paper the text was printed on was thick enough to keep the sharpie from bleeding through, as long as he didn’t press too hard. He capped the pen and shifted the book in his lap, holding it out a bit to admire his work. Twirling the marker between his fingers, he marveled at the sheer size of the book. It was the latest in Drs. Norris’ self-help collection, the fourth giant tomb to grace the shelves and minds of people who tried to stimulate self empowerment by means of his parents’ empty words. He ran a finger along the page, reading the ‘corrected’ version of their advice on how to raise children.
You’ve lost. Give up. Don’t start. In the end, it would be better to surrender before you begin. Forget them and then you will not care if they’re ever found.
Lando honestly had to strike through entire pages just to make that last sentence perfect. But it had totally been worth it. The black masses that stretched between if they’re and ever and found were deeply satisfying and extremely poetic in how they filled the reader with the perfect feelings of neglect and abandonment.
Lando felt someone approaching. He didn’t need to look up to know who it was. He uncapped the pen and flipped to a new chapter towards the back of the book, eyes skimming to find the perfect starter word.
“Vandalizing library books again?”
Lando looked up and gave Oscar a smirk. It wasn’t his fault that EON never failed to have the new Norris releases. He wonders if they do it just to spite him. Oscar plucked the book from his lap and flipped through the pages.
“Perhaps… we should… stare… until… we… we… are aware.”
Lando shrugged. He wasn’t quite sure where that one was going yet.
“Well. You’ve certainly got a special way with words, mate. And I believe that’s an extra we before are aware ,” Oscar said as he tossed the book back.
Lando caught it and frowned down at the open page, tracing his finger over the lines until he caught his mistake, blacking out the word.
“You’ve got to figure out something else to do with your free time, Lan.”
“You must spend time on what matters to you . Have passion, for that is what defines our progress. Passion is your pen. Pick it up, and write your story,” Lando recited.
Oscar stared at him blankly for a moment, and then his nose crinkled. “Now that’s plain horrendous.”
“It’s from the introduction,” stated Lando. “Don’t worry, I blotted the entire section out. They’re god-awful at attempting to be heartfelt.”
Oscar huffed a laugh and shrugged. “Well, don’t take it to heart then. All I know for sure is that book is a sniffer’s dream.”
Lando laughed, but Oscar was right. He had gone through two sharpies already and wasn’t even halfway through the damn thing. The ink had given the pages an incredibly strong odor, and if Lando put his nose too close for too long he started to feel a bit lightheaded.
Oscar leaned back against the wall, the skylight casting a gleaming beam down on him. His hair caught the sun, making him glow as certain strands shimmered golden. Even in a place like this, he was still full of color and life.
Kind of a funny thought considering the fact that they had died together once.
Oscar was still watching him vandalize the book.
“Does the marker not ruin the text on the other side?”
“You would think so– but they used this hefty ass paper. It’s like they’re trying to get the weight of what they’re writing to actually sink in.”
Oscar’s responding laugh was drowned out by the intercomms announcing dinner, and groups of gray uniforms started to head out the doors of the recreation room. Oscar sighed and helped pull Lando to his feet, not wanting to receive a punishment for being late.
And even if they were, it was unlikely any of the officers would actually do anything. The two of them were used to getting their way by now.
All Lando had to do was smile. All Oscar had to do was lie. Both proved frighteningly effective.
TWO NIGHTS AGO:
Merit Cemetery
Lando weaved along the tiny dirt path as he stepped over a relatively fresh grave and adjusted the shovel on his shoulder. A breeze softly billowed through his hair and rustled the trees, filling the empty graveyard with a sort of white noise. Kimi shivered beside him in his too-big hoodie, nervously humming a little tune. He reminded Lando so much of his younger self. The two could’ve perhaps even passed for siblings with their dark curly hair and athletic build, especially in their dimly lit surroundings. They weren’t related, but the resemblance certainly came in handy since Lando couldn’t very well tell people that he’d picked the kid up a month ago in the harbor. EORP was on the hunt for a specific assassin who was killing EOs. Kimi had just become an EO. A crossing of fates, or so it seemed.
Lando stopped at a grave, scanning the dark as he nudged the fresh dirt with his shoe. He was scanning not with his eyes so much as his skin, with the thing that lay underneath it, engrained in his pulse and senses. Kimi may have stopped humming but Lando never did, the electrical current running through him a constant buzzing sensation. A buzzing sensation that would alert him when someone else was near.
Kimi watched him with a slight frown.
“Is anyone else here?” he asked.
“Just us and the dead,” Lando replied as he set the lantern down. Kimi replied with a small noise of discomfort.
“Buck up, Kimi,” he said smoothly. “This’ll be fun.”
To be entirely honest, Lando didn’t particularly care for cemeteries either. He didn’t like dead people– simply because he had absolutely no effect on them. Kimi, however, didn’t like dead people because he had such a profound effect on them.
Lando hauled the shovel from his shoulder and sunk it into the ground. Kimi sighed and followed suit, grimacing as he did so. Dirt flew up and splattered his face.
“You’re kidding me,” the teenager deadpanned.
“The faster we dig, the faster we can go home.”
Home wasn’t the apartment in Merit that he owned (yet never resided in)–or Kimi’s home for that matter– so much as EORP’s remote compound. Not the point. At this rate, home could’ve been any location that wasn’t Merit Cemetery. Kimi was still eyeing the grave, his hands tightening on the wooden handle of his shovel. Lando had already begun digging.
“What if–,” Kimi started, swallowing hard. “What if I accidentally wake the other people up?”
“You won’t,” reassured Lando. “Just focus on this grave. Besides, since when are you afraid of corpses?”
“I’m not,” he snapped.
“Just look on the bright side. Even if they do wake up, it’s not like they can go anywhere. Just dig.”
Kimi sighed and leaned forward as he lifted the shovel and sank it into the earth once more. They worked in the dim light of the lantern, the only sounds being the wind, their breathing, and the thud of the shovels.
Thud. Thud.
Thud. Thud.
Thud.
Notes:
Alright!
I know there's a lot going on here. I'm sort of putting this chapter out as a feeler. If people seem to enjoy it, I'll get to work on editing the next few chapters I have written :)
My 'Exfiltrate' draft is honestly the most I have ever written for a single piece-- I've tried to write full fics before but this is the first time where I genuinely feel like the story has momentum and direction!
lmk what you think!!
Chapter 2: II
Notes:
Chapter two!!
Still mostly exposition and plot set up, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
FOUR WEEKS AGO:
Halloway
Detective Chief Inspector Fernando Alonso ducked under the yellow tape as he stepped into the garage. He didn’t flash a badge. He didn’t need to. Everyone on scene worked for him.
DI Stroll was on scene already. “Alonso,” he said in greeting.
“Who called it in?”
“Good samaritan. One of Button’s regulars.”
“Same COD?”
“Yep. Gunshot, straight to the head.”
Alonso grimaced. The EON badge in his pocket felt heavy, like it was collecting the souls of each ExtraOrdinary killed. Everybody here worked for him, but nobody here knew that he worked with EON, and had been working with EON for the better part of a decade (although he was much less involved now). It was also unlikely that any of them knew of the existence of EOs at all.
“Need a moment?” Stroll asked.
“Yeah, thanks,” he replied as his officer escorted everyone out.
In truth, Alonso had no idea what to do about the killings. Nearly thirty victims in the last six months, located throughout the country but especially populated around the capital. Victims of varying ages, identities, backgrounds. But one thing in common: they were all EOs. His dual employment made figuring that one out easy, as each of the victims had a file under potentials or past activity in the EON database.
There was no denying they were all EON’s work, or more specifically their beloved top agent's work. And there wasn’t anything he could do, except help cover it up. He knew that it was wrong. Alonso didn’t want anyone to die, ExtraOrdinary or not. EON was supposed to be about observation, and monitoring potential threats. Not unleashing a killing machine and executing anyone and everyone who fits a profile.
And it was getting harder to feign confusion and ignorance around his team, as well as justify not making the recurring cause of death public knowledge. The entire department knew that he worked for a “higher agency”, but that leverage only took him so far. They were in perfectly good reason to be worried about a serial murderer who appeared to have no visible or consistent victimology.
Alonso sighed. He needed to go to the facility– at least to discuss making these killings more discreet, or less clinically consistent, or at bare minimum deploying a clean up team after-action so random civilians stopped finding EON’s deceased targets. It was plain sloppy at this point. They were so blinded by assassination and taking down one EO in particular that they didn’t care who found out about how many dead ones they’d left in their wake.
He adjusted his coat collar and stood up straighter.
Time to take a trip to EON.
EIGHT WEEKS AGO:
Merit Harbor
Kimi Antonelli remembered what his last thoughts were as he’d sunk towards the bottom of the harbor, clawing and kicking. It hadn’t been of any use. He had kept sinking, and kept struggling, and all he could think as he sank further away from the surface of the water was that he wanted his mother to come back. But deep down he’d known she was gone– and the small part of him that hadn’t been desperately longing for comfort as death crashed upon him was grateful that she didn’t have to watch him die with her. He’d felt his breath vanish and the water fill his lungs, stabbing his chest. By then, he’d been completely alone with just the world around him. And when that vanished too, he was left with pure darkness.
Someone had saved them.
That was the first thought in Kimi’s head as he lurched back to life, water expelling from his lungs while he twisted and coughed on the rocky shore.
Barely breathing, he looked up as his savior, who was knelt in front of him staring back with wide blue eyes. He turned his gaze to his mother, who lay completely still on the rocks.
“I’m sorry kid. She’s gone.”
Everything that followed that moment was wild . Two more people joined them on shore, colleagues of his savior. They assured him that he would be safe, so long as he faked his death. Or more accurately– pretended that he never came back to life. The three men were a part of some organization that helped people like Kimi, who had seen death. They were like Kimi too– each with their own “Near Death Experience”. His savior–Nico– explained how oftentimes people gained abilities from their NDE. They would look after and monitor Kimi, in the event that he gained one of these talents.
Kimi knew what they were talking about. EOs. Like the fucking conspiracy theories. He hadn’t ever heard of the NDE correlation, but the term was used to label people believed to have “extraordinary abilities”. Kimi wanted to tell them that they were all insane and that he was going to call the police and then go home to his dad and sister and mourn his mother, but there was something so earnest about these three men. And Kimi felt different . Not just in the sense that he had died and came back to life. Something inside of him was changed, and it scared him. He needed to figure out what it was, especially if it could be a danger to himself or others. And Nico had said that there was someone out there hunting down EOs. As in murdering them. If Kimi discovered that he had some sort of ExtraOrdinary abilities, he’d probably be killed off before he could figure out how to use them.
It was undoubtedly the most insane decision he’d made in his life thus far, but he agreed to go with Nico and his friends.
Once at their compound (that looked to be something straight out of a spy film), a full medical analysis was run on him. They discovered one problem. Although it was less of a problem, and more of an oddity .
Kimi wouldn’t warm up. He didn’t feel particularly cold, but his body temperature was way too low, his pulse way too slow. Nico claimed that these stats were indicative of someone in a coma, or someone on their way to death. But Kimi knew he wasn’t dying anymore.
After two days in the hospital wing, he was getting antsy. They wouldn’t let him watch the news in case it showed coverage of the accident, claiming it was to protect his fragile state of mind.
Nothing was wrong with him, at least not in the most basic of physical attributes. He hadn’t even broken a limb in the crash. Lewis had been in and out chatting with him, and he was quite a nice guy despite the fact that Kimi hated feeling like he was getting therapized in most of their conversations. Although Nico claimed he needed therapy to help cope with both the trauma of his own death and his mother’s- so they’d introduced him to a man named Carlos, who was a psychiatrist with empathic abilities. Figures.
Lewis had also brought a boy about Kimi’s age, Ollie, to his hospital room to keep him company for a couple hours on the second day, and he’d been pleasant to talk to. They’d spent most of their time together stifling their laughter and trying not to get in trouble as Ollie had snuck in a couple IPads under his hoodie to play Roblox on.
Lando went out each day to investigate the incident and would bring Kimi what he called “mission reports”, although neither Nico or Lewis seemed happy about letting him do either of those things. But Lando seemed determined to find the culprit.
Yet as of right now, Kimi was bored, and kind of disappointed that he wasn’t able to burst flames from his fingertips or read minds yet. He'd tried the second one when talking with Lewis earlier, who’d given him an amused look before telling him that any sort of abilities would come naturally, and that he would honestly be considered lucky if he didn't gain anything from the incident.
Kimi thought that if he was going to endure this much trauma, he might as well get some kickass powers from it. But he didn’t say that aloud.
Someone down the hall shouted, and Kimi was pulled from his own thoughts as he heard frantic voices and saw multiple nurses rushing into a patient’s room. Curious and alarmed, he crawled out of his crisp white sheets and padded into the hallway to see what all the fuss was about, pausing where a gurney had been abandoned just outside the patient’s now-closed door. He tried to peer in through the small window but a curtain was drawn across the room, obscuring his view. He leaned on the gurney– just a bit, and his whole body shivered.
The sheet he was currently touching had been put there to cover something solid.
That something solid was a body.
And when Kimi accidentally brushed his hand against it, the body twitched under the sheet. He jumped back immediately, and bit the insides of his cheeks to keep from yelping in surprise. He took a shaky inhale. The body twitched again. Kimi wrung his hands. He felt entirely frozen once more– but not because of icy water, like a couple nights ago– because of fear.
“What are you doing over here?” asked Nico from behind him. Kimi whipped around, eyes wide with shock.
“Look,” he said, pointing at the gurney.
Nico furrowed his eyebrows and glanced at the sheet. It twitched for a third time.
“What the fuck–”
A loud flatlining sound came from inside the room in front of them. Nico immediately grabbed his arm and hauled him inside, shuffling past the nurses and doctors to place Kimi’s hand on the man in the bed.
Something innate overcame Kimi, his eyes snapping shut. In the darkness, he felt a thread, and he tugged on it without really knowing what he was doing. A moment later the static line of the man’s pulse stuttered before beeping to life again.
The hypothesis was confirmed.
Kimi Antonelli had the ability to raise the dead.
SIX YEARS AGO:
EON Laboratories
After Oscar was abducted by EON for the second time in his life, reality became a blur.
First, it was chaos. Being restrained and shoved into a seat. Cuffs so tight that he could feel blood trickle from where they cut into him. Losing sight of Lando’s unconscious form on the ground. A bag thrown over his head. Shouting voices, hot tears on his cheeks, helicopter blades chopping the air above him.
His own breath, his pounding heart, his raging thoughts.
Let them be okay. Let him be okay. I’ll be fine. I’m fine. They can’t break me.
Please just let him be okay.
I’m fine. They can’t kill me.
He wondered if it would be better if they could.
They won’t break me. I survived them once. I’ll do it again. I’ll make it out.
Just let him be okay.
Then came the cell, which was essentially a box of concrete. Not even really a box– a tomb. Nothing like the cells he remembered from his teen years. Oscar slammed his now uncuffed fists into the wall over, and over, and over again. Until his fingers broke, then healed, then broke, then healed again– the only evidence of his meltdown being the blood smeared across the walls and his clothes.
After that, was the lab.
Hands forcing Oscar down onto the cold table. Limbs pinned and straps pulled so tight they had to be cutting off his circulation. Not that it really mattered.
Sterile white walls, too bright lights, and an overwhelming amount of disinfectant.
In the middle of this horror scene was a man in a white lab coat, leaning over Oscar with beady eyes encased behind safety glasses and the deceptive smile of someone who viewed cruelty as fun. He pulled on a pair of gloves, the snapping of latex echoing throughout the room.
“Hello, Oscar,” the man greeted. “My name– is Dr. Marko.”
He picked up a gleaming scalpel.
“Welcome to my lab.”
He leaned in close, his face swimming in Oscar’s vision. If he hadn’t been restrained by a strap across his forehead, he would’ve broken Dr. Marko’s nose.
“You and I are going to be colleagues, of a sort. You will understand me, and I will understand you. Down to your last atom.”
And then he began to cut into Oscar.
Not cut– dissect. Wait, that was the word for it when the subject’s dead. Vivisect– that’s the word he was looking for, when the subject is still alive.
But what if the subject couldn’t die? Or what if they had, and were revived? What if they weren’t sure whether the subject had ever fully returned to life?
Was there a word for that?
Reality worked in funny ways in the lab, at least on the terms of Oscar’s perception. He wondered if Nico ever felt this disoriented when slipping into the space between milliseconds of time.
It had been a long while since Oscar had felt true pain. The last time may have been the day he had his NDE. Pain had become a fleeting thing for him, a red flag that triggered his body’s instant healing.
But in Dr. Marko’s gloved hands, pain became a constant sensation.
“Your regenerative abilities are truly remarkable. Extraordinary, might I add,” said Marko with a cruel laugh. He retrieved his scalpel once more. “Shall we try to find its limits?”
They don’t care about us, Lando had once said, long before they escaped. They never will, Osc. We’re either extreme hazards or fascinating anomalies. To them, you’re a science experiment. Same as me.
Those words came back to Oscar in his torture. He felt like a science experiment. He was one now.
Each night Oscar would collapse into the cot in his concrete room, shaky and nauseous from hours of being pinned and cracked open. Most days, the exhaustion was more mental than physical.
And each morning, it would happen all over again.
Oscar’s ability had a singular flaw– one that only a few people knew of. Marko eventually discovered it. Oscar’s body, with all of its healing and regenerative abilities, couldn’t reject or dispel foreign objects. If the objects were small, he healed around them. And if they were large– he didn’t heal at all.
So, the first time that Marko cut out Oscar’s heart, he thought he might finally die. Marko pulled the organ from his chest, holding it up for Oscar to see before severing it entirely. Then, for half a second Oscar’s even pulse stuttered and stopped. The machines around them screamed in a tonal symphony. But by the time Marko had dropped the heart into a tray and turned back to Oscar, a new heart was steadily beating in his clamped-open chest.
Marko reacted with a single breathless word.
“Extraordinary.”
Notes:
Thanks for making it to the end!
Next chapter I assure you there will be more landoscar lore, and you'll also be introduced to lestappen ;)
Chapter 3: III
Notes:
thank you so much for the comments and kudos on the first couple chapters!!
hope you enjoy :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
TWO NIGHTS AGO:
Merit Cemetery
Thud.
Thud. Thud.
Thud.
“So, how long were you in EON for?” asked Kimi. The quiet of the night paired with the thudding sounds of them digging up a dead girl freshly buried wasn’t doing a whole lot to ease his nerves.
Thud. Thud.
“Too long,” responded Lando.
Thud.
Kimi paused to roll his tired wrists. “And that’s where you met… Oscar?”
Oscar – Agent 81– was a subject that Lando currently did not want to breach while on a mission. He couldn’t afford to let his feelings get involved in their hunt to track Oscar Agent 81 down. He had to keep a clear mind, think about it like any other objective. Besides, Oscar probably wouldn’t even be the Oscar he once knew when they did eventually find him. Lando knew that. He had to prioritize ensuring the safety of EOs– and if he secretly put Oscar’s safety on top of that list, then that was his own secret. Although he decided not to be a dismissive dickhead and at least entertain the teen’s questioning a little.
“Nah,” he said, feigning casualty. “We used to race each other, long before then. We both did karting as kids.”
Kimi lit up. “No way! I race too– or well I did, before all this.”
Lando looked at him with pity. He knew all about Kimi’s achievements, as he’d needed to look into the entire Antonelli family when investigating his NDE. He really hoped that after all of this–after EON was burned to the ground– Kimi could return to his life and continue his passions and education.
“I know. Oscar and I never got up as far as you did, though. We had a horrendous accident when we were twelve and thirteen– our NDEs. Both of our hearts stopped, and then we were both resuscitated on the way to the hospital.”
Kimi turned to him with sad eyes, leaning on his shovel. “That’s awful. I can’t imagine dealing with all of this that young.”
“It was much different back then. EON wasn’t as focused on eliminating EOs as much as institutionalizing them. They paid my parents a wealthy sum to just hand me over and carry on with their lives.” He paused. “Although, it didn’t take much convincing. They weren’t exactly sure what to do with me after I gained all of this.” Lando looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers to emphasize his point. “And as for Osc’s parents– well, I genuinely think that they thought they were helping him by sending him to EON. But I’ll never know for sure.”
Silence filled the air once more. Lando continued digging.
Thud.
Thud.
“Do you think there was ever a point where EON genuinely thought that they were helping people?”
Thud.
“Personally, I doubt it. But I guess it’s all a matter of perspective.”
Kimi rolled those words around in his brain, contemplating for a moment. Then he started digging again.
Thud. Thud.
Thud. Thud.
“I’m glad you and Oscar got out, even if it indirectly led to us being here,” Kimi said.
Thud.
Lando stopped and looked at him, a faint smile on his face.
“Me too, kid,” he replied. “Me too.”
SIXTEEN YEARS AGO:
Where They Used To Call Home
The agents came in the middle of the night.
Oscar saw it coming. He had heard about children in similar situations. If they were “troubled” and their parents sent them off somewhere, the people would always come in the middle of the night to catch the kids off guard while they’re sleepy and disoriented. Least resistance possible.
Oscar had known that he was likely going to be taken away, had heard his parents discussing it downstairs with hushed voices. So he wasn’t surprised in that regard. All he could do was try to look at it with a positive attitude. He was an EO. EOs had the potential to hurt people. And Oscar didn’t want to hurt people. So it was best if he was sent away, where he couldn’t be a threat. And maybe this EON place could truly help him.
He didn’t freak out when he heard unfamiliar steps coming up the stairs, or when two agents dragged him from his bed on either side. He’d at least been able to hug his parents goodbye before he was hauled into a van. He wished he could’ve seen his sisters one last time, even if they weren’t awake. He almost requested to do so, but then the van door slid shut with a loud slam.
He sat next to an agent, who was fiddling with a little medicine kit. She turned towards him with a needle in hand.
“This might pinch a little, alright? It’s no harm, you just need to count backwards from ten once I inject it.”
Thankfully, Oscar had never been afraid of needles. The agent injected the contents of the syringe, and Oscar counted backwards from ten.
Nothing. He felt the same.
“Count again,” the agent ordered.
Oscar did. Still no effect from the drug. The van was moving now, and by the time she had administered another dose without any effect, the vehicle rolled to a stop. The agents crawled from the van, preparing to extract their next abductee. One of them pulled out a pair of metal handcuffs and hooked Oscar to a metal bar on the headrest in front of him.
“Stay put.”
Kinda have to, was the response he bit back.
Five minutes passed before the doors slid open once more and another kid was thrown into the van, the tears streaming down his face glistening in the moonlight.
“Lando?” Oscar blurted.
The boy lifted his chin as his colorful eyes widened in shock.
“Oscar? Oh my god I–”
Lando suddenly slumped over, limp as a cooked noodle. The agent with the needles from earlier stood behind his unconscious friend, syringe in hand.
“Thank God that worked. He was a hassle.”
Oscar fell silent as another agent buckled Lando into a seat to make sure he was secure. They uncuffed him from the headrest at least, and Oscar tried to get some sleep as the van trudged along graveled roads to the unknown location of EON.
TWO WEEKS AGO:
EON, Neutralization Sector
A pressure seal sounded, and then the other three walls of Charles’ cell flickered from white to transparent as footsteps sounded down the hallway. He tore his gaze away from the mirrored ceiling and glanced at Max in the cell beside him, rolling his eyes before standing and padding barefoot to the door. A man with salt-and-pepper hair stood on the opposite side, carrying a file in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other.
“What can I do for you, Director?” Charles asked, already knowing the answer.
“There’s a new case. We need you to send Agent 81 out.”
Charles quirked an eyebrow at the word “case”. Target, or even better, victim was the more accurate description.
Director Horner slid the file and coffee into Charles’ fiberglass cubby. He took both offerings and flipped open the file. The picture staring back at him was of a college-aged girl, with light hair and bright eyes. He indulged in a long, slow sip before responding.
“I’m sick of this, Horner,” he started. “This girl can’t be older than 20.”
“Ah, don’t act like you have any choice or leverage here, 16. We may grant you simple luxuries for all that you do for us, but don’t forget how easily those can be snatched away.” He gave Charles a shark-like smile. “We could start by separating you and ‘Mad Max’ here. I honestly don’t even know if you or 33 could survive a day without your incessant squabbling.”
Charles gritted his teeth, ignoring the comment. “It’s still not right. Nothing in here says that she’s caused any harm,” he said, waving the folder.
“But she very well could, especially if 04 and those other rats get to her first and snatch her up. Now, come on,” Horner commanded, fishing a pair of high-tech cuffs from his coat pockets. “I don’t need to persuade you by threatening Max again, now do I?”
Charles said nothing, downing the rest of the coffee and swallowing hard. He set the file and mug back down, sticking his wrists through a slot as Horner linked them together. The door then opened and Charles followed the director down to Communications and Interrogations, Max giving him an apologetic look through the glass as they exited the sector.
The cuffs were never comfortable, and always left his wrists throbbing. They were made from the same ability-suppressing technology as the cells in the Neutralization Sector, yet somehow still allowed Charles’ abilities to work through the comms.
Once seated in the usual interrogation room he used for these missions , Horner pushed a headset, microphone, and console towards him.
“You may start.”
Charles shifted the cuffs on his wrists, cleared his throat, and pressed an orange button, swallowing down his dread.
“Agent 81, please rise. You must do exactly as I say.”
SEVEN WEEKS AGO:
ExtraOrdinary Rehabilitation and Protection (EORP)
A week after his NDE, Kimi’s body temperature still hadn’t risen, but since he was otherwise stable Nico and Lewis had decided that he could be released from the medical wing the day after the discovering-he-could-raise-the-dead incident. Needless to say, he was banned from touching any more gurneys. If Kimi’s own revival had been a miracle, then he didn’t know what the nurses could say about the body under the sheet or the man who had flatlined.
Lando had left early the morning after said incident and returned to the compound later that week, looking a bit sad and like he wanted nothing more than to sleep– but he still pulled Lewis and Nico into a conference room nonetheless. Kimi was leaning against the counter of the documentation floor’s breakroom making tea with Ollie, who had since become his suitemate.
“You look worried about whatever Lando’s discovered. How bad do you think it could be?”
“Ollie, my mother was shot and killed, which caused our car to drive off a bridge and subsequently led to my death by drowning. Which then gave me the power of resurrecting people. I’d say it’s already pretty bad.”
Ollie winced. “Right, I’m sorry mate. I just meant– do you think that it was targeted? Like someone was out to get her, or you?”
Those were thoughts that Kimi was trying to avoid, and questions that Carlos– who was now officially his therapist– had brought up in their session earlier that morning.
Kimi couldn’t bear the thought that the shooter had been aiming for him, and the bullet hit his mother instead. He shrugged at Ollie, staring into his tea.
“Don’t know,” he said flatly. “Guess it doesn’t matter now.”
Ollie wrapped Kimi in a half-hug and patted his shoulder, looking as if he wasn’t sure how to comfort him but was making an effort anyway.
The door to the conference room suddenly opened, and the three agents Kimi had anxiously been waiting on filed out, each with a solemn look on their face. Ollie took that as his cue to head back to their rooms, sending Kimi one last sympathetic look.
“What?” Kimi prompted, looking at each of the men standing before him.
“Why don’t we go to a balcony and get some air,” Lando suggested.
The balcony that he took them to had a lovely view of the valley, different towns nestled on the floor of it and in the mountainside. Merit twinkled far below them, and Kimi couldn’t help but wonder what it might have been like to grow up outside of the city.
The four of them leaned against the railing for a moment before Nico turned away and led them to a small table illuminated by the warm glow of fairy lights.
“Kimi,” Nico started. “Lando’s been doing research on you and your family, as well as people you regularly interact with and anyone else who might’ve had motive to kill your mother.”
“I know.”
Lewis took over. “We know who’s responsible for the incident, as well as why your mother was murdered.”
The air escaped Kimi’s chest. He knew it was a logical assumption, but he hadn’t fully believed that anyone had actually wanted to kill his mother.
“Tell me,” he breathed.
“She was an EO,” Lando stated.
Kimi’s brain short circuited. “What? No, I would’ve known–”
“She kept it hidden– very well, might I add,” continued Lando. “She wasn’t even in our database. There was no reason for you to know. She was protecting you.”
Kimi slumped back in his chair, running a hand over his blurry eyes.
“I– What?” He repeated. “Do you– do you know what her abilities were?”
“Dimensional phasing. Slipping through solid objects. Changing states of matter too, I think.”
“Why would someone kill her for that?”
“Not someone,” Nico said. “EON.”
“I know we haven't told you much, but they have one of their agents– an EO– tracking down ExtraOrdinaries and executing them. We think that they’re on our trail, trying to eliminate them before we can help them,” Lewis explained.
“Well, why can’t you guys just leave EOs alone?” Kimi seethed.
“It’s not that simple,” Nico said. “We have a system, a formula for tracking down potential EOs. It’s how this program really gained momentum, how we discover the right people to aid. EOs don’t just come out and say ‘I just died and now I have superpowers! Someone get me professional help!' " He paused, scrubbing a hand over his face. “We think that EON has developed a similar formula, but they’re using it to kill, or sometimes imprison EOs. If we stop tracking EOs now, we’d just be handing them over to EON.”
Kimi took a deep breath, shaking his head. “So they murdered an EO, just to create another one from the same incident. How poetic.”
Lando sighed. “We’ve been trying to locate Agent 81 for months, to see if we can convert him back to our side.”
“Or eliminate him, at this point,” Nico argued.
Lando stiffened, his eyes narrowing. “That should be our last resort. His abilities alone aren’t hazardous.”
“And what are his abilities?” Kimi asked.
“Regeneration. His body heals any injury instantly, essentially making him immortal,” Nico explained.
“Sounds a bit hazardous to me.”
“Oscar isn’t dangerous,” Lando snapped. “And Nico, how could you even say that? You knew him, he trusted you. He–”
Lando stopped suddenly, shaking his head and rubbing his temples. “Sorry, I’m just tired– not in the best mindset currently.” He took a deep inhale and refocused his eyes on Kimi. “We’re going to take EON down, Kimi, and get justice for your mother. Too many people have died at the hands of this organization. We can’t let it be any more.”
Kimi felt something like resolution settle in his chest. He nodded, jaw set, mind focused.
“Great. How can I help?”
Notes:
I know that their agent/subject numbers don't make sense with when they each arrived to EON chronologically, but we're just going to roll with it since I wanted them to have their racing numbers😭
Chapter Text
SIXTEEN YEARS AGO:
Merit City Limits Circuit
Lando Norris didn’t remember much from the crash.
Just the spinning, then the flipping, and then nothing.
And thinking, please make the pain stop.
Make the pain stop.
Make it stop.
Stop.
Oscar Piastri didn’t remember much from the crash, either.
Just the skidding, then the rolling, and then nothing.
And thinking, please help me survive this.
Help me survive.
Help me.
Help.
Both boys were hauled onto stretchers and rushed into ambulances, a horrified crowd lining the track. Tires screeched and sirens blared as the paramedics worked against the unmoving solid lines of the cardiac monitors, trying to coax life back into the two kids.
It didn’t work.
Until it did.
By some miracle, the small line on the screen monitoring little Lando jumped, and then beeped.
And in the ambulance behind, young Oscar took his first breath of air for the second time in his life.
TWO NIGHTS AGO:
Merit Cemetery
Thud. Thud.
Thud.
THUD.
Lando’s shovel hit wood, and stuck.
Him and Kimi cleared the earth from around the coffin, hopping down into the grave. Lando knelt to brush the excess dirt from the lid, before he pried it open and chucked his shovel back up onto the grass. Kimi followed suit.
The body inside was uber-fresh–- a well preserved girl in her late teens/early twenties. Blonde curled hair, small nose, long lashes.
“Why hello, Cecily,” said Lando to the corpse.
Kimi couldn’t tear his eyes from the girl, who was a bit more… dead… than he would’ve liked. There was a moment of tense silence, and Kimi had half the thought to wonder what color her eyes would be when they opened.
“Well then?” Lando prompted, gesturing to the body– Cecily. “Do your thing.”
- - -
The corpse jolted, opened her eyes, and sat up.
“What… the fuck?” said Cecily, green eyes darting around where she currently sat in the coffin that she’d been buried in that very morning.
“Hi, Cecily,” Lando greeted, crouched down outside the casket to meet her eye level. “Are you well acquainted with EON? I believe their sharpest soldier shot you point blank a couple of weeks ago.”
Cecily was clearly still in shock. Ironic, considering the fact that she had been revived once before. She was basically a pro by now. The girl glanced at the dirt walls surrounding them, and then up to Kimi where he sat on the edge of the grave, nervously swinging his legs in his dirty jeans and beat-up sneakers.
“I don’t know any soldiers,” she said. “The guy who shot me,” she shuffled in her coffin uncomfortably, tucking her legs beneath her. “I met him at my uni.”
Lando moved to sit across from Cecily in her death bed, leaning forward to stare at her with eyes similar to the shade of her own.
“Tell me everything. ”
NINE YEARS AGO:
Lockland University
Charles was fixing his curls in the bathroom mirror when his younger brother’s best friend crowded the door frame, panting as blond hair fell across his forehead.
“I’m not doing shots tonight,” he said before Logan even opened his mouth.
“No– Charles. I tried telling them it was dumb. That they should just listen to you,” Logan said breathlessly.
“What?”
“The guys brought the freshmen up to the roof. Arthur’s up there. I think the upperclassmen are trying to make him play a game, like a fucked up version of chicken or walk the plank. The freshies can hardly stand straight. I don’t know what they were thinking.”
Charles’ blood ran cold. “How do I get up there?”
“Third floor, master bedroom balcony. There’s a ladder, or a fire escape, or something.”
Charles shoved past him, headed straight for the stairs. He was freaking out, and his legs felt like they weren’t moving quick enough for how athletic he was. It was like one of those dreams where you’re running for your life but you can’t speed up or get a grip and you keep tripping over your own feet. After opening four doors he found the master bedroom, racing out to the polished balcony and clambering up the ladder. He could hear loud cackles, the house music muffled due to being outside and up high.
“Keep it moving! Take another step boys, don’t be a chicken.”
Putain, Charles thought.
His eyes focused in the dark to see the freshmen wobbling towards the opposite edge of the roof, with the upperclassmen joking around as they watched. It was a sick scene, to say the least. The group was facing the opposite way, so he hadn’t been spotted yet. While the roof wasn’t as steep as he’d expected, a slanted surface was not exactly optimal walking ground while you’re sober, let alone drunk off your ass. This was insanely dangerous. Charles wasn’t sure what the best course of action was here. He needed to get their full attention, but startling anyone could result in total disaster. All he wanted was for everybody to get down as quickly and safely as possible. He also wanted to throttle the living daylights out of some of his classmates, but that was likely the stupidest thing he could do on this roof. Thankfully, no one seems to be right on the edge. Although one kid was getting frighteningly close. Charles couldn’t make out who it was in the dark.
“Alright Bortoleto, you can come back now. The rest of you are a bunch of fuckin’ sissies.”
Charles was getting more anxious by the second.
“Okay guys, that’s enough!”
Several of the boys in the group whipped around to find the source of the voice. “Everyone back inside, game’s over!” Charles continued.
He was relieved to see some of the freshmen head back towards the ladder.
“What in the everloving fuck do you think you’re doing?” demanded a guy in his year, Malakai. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Logan starting to help people down the ladder. One of the boys tripped so hard he fell and had to crawl back towards the balcony, making Charles' heart nearly leap from his chest.
“It’s part of my responsibility to keep people safe, especially when full-on adults are being so stupid . I told you not to do the hazing shit. How dare you risk the lives of these boys when they can hardly walk! They’re absolutely plastered!” he spat.
Malakai’s face contorted, hands down the ugliest Charles had ever seen it. He looked away, scanning the roof for Arthur. He spotted his brother right as Logan helped him down back onto the safety of the balcony.
Charles breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to Malakai, who shoved his chest hard. He gasped and stumbled, immediately trying to push back or at least stabilize his balance, but he was tumbling backwards fast.
One moment, the slanted roof was skidding underneath his feet.
The next, he was free falling off the third story of some trust fund kid’s family home.
Why couldn’t they have just listened to me, is all Charles thought as he hit the concrete.
FIVE YEARS AGO:
EON Laboratories
Alonso rapped his knuckles on the front desk.
“Detective Chief Inspector Alonso,” he announced. “I’m here to speak with a subject. Oscar Piastri.”
“Apologies, sir. I’m afraid he’s in testing.”
Alonso frowned at the woman, staring right through her tortoiseshell glasses.
“Again?”
This was his third visit to EON to speak with Piastri, and the third time he had been blown off.
If something happens once it’s an incident.
Twice, and it’s a coincidence.
Three occurrences– now that’s a pattern. And this was a pattern of lies.
He hadn’t pulled rank until now, as he often considered it a headache. Granted, he didn’t show his face in EON much, despite having worked for the organization for four years now. Piastri was also partly his responsibility (as Alonso had been the one to track him down), and his gut was telling him that something was wrong. Unease pinched at his nerves.
“That’s the same answer that I was given last time. And the time prior.”
The woman pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow. “This is a research lab, sir. Testing is a regular component–”
“Then surely you won’t mind interrupting the session, if they’re so regular.”
The woman’s frown deepened. “With a patient like Mr. Piastri, testing requires preparation. Ending his exams early would be an immense waste of EON resources.”
“Well this,” Alonso countered, “Is an immense waste of my time.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’ll observe Piastri’s session until it is finished.”
Her eyes darkened. “It’d really be best if you wait here–”
Alonso’s stomach felt like a pit of rocks. He swallowed his dread, decision firm as he pulled out his Vice Director badge.
“Take me to him. Now. ”
Alonso entered the observation room just in time to watch an old man in a white lab coat crack open Oscar Piastri’s chest. The patient in question was tightly strapped to a metal table, no comfort whatsoever. The doctor– surgeon? – was using an awfully large blade on the young man, sawing him right down the sternum before clamping his chest cavity open.
And Piastri wasn’t just alive. He was awake.
Alonso felt nauseous. A ventilation mask was over the lower half of Piastri’s face, but whatever the surgeon was administering didn't seem to be helping with his discomfort. Sweat beaded on Piastri’s forehead, his eyes screwed shut. His body tensed against the restraints as his limbs twitched every few seconds, pain evident in every muscle.
The Detective Chief Inspector’s jaw hung open as the surgeon widened the cut in his patient’s chest even further. He wasn’t sure what he had expected to find in ‘testing’, but it certainly hadn’t been this.
Piastri’s groans filled the room, blood steadily dripping from his surgical wound onto the laminate floor below.
Alonso was going to vomit.
The surgeon spotted him through the windows, and took the clamps out of Piastri. He placed his tools in the tray and organized his table, and by the time he turned back to the patient to pull off the mask, Piastri’s chest had closed up, leaving him bare-chested, blood-soaked, and gasping for breath. The surgeon snapped off his gloves, disposing of them in a nearby biohazard bin before entering the observation room.
“Remarkable, isn’t he?” The doctor greeted.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“Observing. Researching. Learning.”
“You’re torturing him.”
“I’m studying him. In the name of scientific progress.”
“He is fully conscious .”
“Yes, naturally. Mr. Piastri’s abilities render him immune to any sort of anesthetics.”
“Then what are you doing with the mask?”
“Ah, that’s just to dampen his natural capabilities. Otherwise, he heals too quickly. But, create a deprivation mask that reduces his oxygen levels to ten percent, and voila . Now we’ve bought ourselves a bit more time.”
Alonso watched Piastri’s chest rise and fall.
“This facility has never seen another EO with Mr. Piastri’s ability. If we figure out how to harness it– we could revolutionize modern medicine.”
“ExtraOrdinary abilities can’t be harnessed,” said Alonso. “EO capabilities aren’t transferred, they’re forged.”
“Yes, to our knowledge. But if we could understand–”
“That’s enough. What’s your name?”
“Doctor Helmut Marko.”
“Well, Dr. Marko. I’m Detective Chief Inspector Alonso. Also Vice Director Alonso. Of EON. And I am officially discontinuing your experiments on Oscar Piastri. Stop them permanently, or lose your medical license."
The joy slid right off of Marko’s face. He clicked a button on the wall and spoke into an intercom.
“This session is terminated. You may unfasten Mr. Piastri and see to it that he is disinfected and returned back to his cell,” Marko spoke as nurses filed into the lab.
“Happy now?” he sneered towards Alonso.
“Honestly, I’m a long way from being happy,” Alonso replied as he stormed out of the observation room. “And you, Dr. Marko? You’re fired.”
“Put your forehead against the wall, and insert your hands through the gap.”
Oscar did as he was instructed, feeling around for a slot in the glass. He couldn’t see it– due to his world being a black vacuum from the moment the EON soldiers accompanying him had thrown the itchy hood over his head and dragged him away from the confused assistants in the lab.
He found the gap and set his wrists on the lip of it, fingers curled inwards towards his palms. A rough hand yanked them further forwards, but then a moment later the cuffs were released.
“Retract your hands and take three steps back.”
Oscar did. He expected to hit a concrete wall, but was instead met with empty air.
“You may remove the hood.”
Oscar reached up and pulled it off, the unfamiliar brightness assaulting his retinas. The light here was different from the lab– less sterile, more crisp and pure. He was facing a cell door, which was a floor-to-ceiling fiberglass wall. Along it was a small cubby, and the narrow slot where he had just been uncuffed. On the other side of the glass stood three soldiers dressed entirely in riot gear, helmets hiding their faces as they gripped tasing batons. Oscar stared at them blankly.
“Why am I here?”
They didn’t respond to Oscar’s question. The soldiers simply turned and retreated down the hall, footsteps echoing against the polished floor as they went. He heard the sound of a pressurized door, and as it shut the transparency of his walls disappeared, replaced by white opaqueness.
Oscar turned in his place, taking in the new cell.
It was basically a glorified cube, but after endless months of being strapped to a metal table and then sent to a damp concrete box, he was grateful for space to move . He counted his steps as he paced the perimeter of the room, dragging his finger nail along the walls as he did so.
After his legs felt stretched enough, he flopped onto the cot in the corner of the room. Oscar stared up at the ceiling, which was a massive mirror with cameras positioned in each corner. He stared at his reflection for a moment, taking in his baby face. Due to his condition , he aged rather slowly. Twenty-three years old– or was he twenty-four now? – yet he could probably still pass for a teenager. He turned his attention back to his surroundings. There were no windows or doors now that his walls were solid. A table with a singular chair was against one wall, and there was a corner situated with a toilet, sink, and shower. A shelf was at the foot of his bed, containing his extremely versatile wardrobe of gray cotton. He ran a hand over the blanket on his cot, which was an alarming orange color. It made him think of Lando, who’d had a similar one when they shared a cell in EON as kids.
Well, this definitely beats being bolted down and sawed open, Oscar thought, although he mused that the bar was pretty low. He rose from the cot and headed to the shower, peeling off his clothes and relishing in the feeling of having control over turning the water on and off. He watched the steam rise, scrubbing away the mixed scent of disinfectant and blood. He’d half expected the water pooling at his feet to be filthy, full of the grime and blood from a year of torture. But the water remained clear, because Marko had always been meticulous. They had hosed Oscar down before and after every session, used rubbing alcohol to wipe the crimson away.
And because of Oscar’s ability, the only scars he ever retained were the ones that would never show.
Notes:
First off, I'd like to acknowledge how absolutely insane Zandvoort was-- I mean say what you want but at least it wasn't boring‼️
Fic-wise: as always I hope you enjoyed the chapter, feel free to spill any/all of your thoughts! I cannot thank you guys enough for the love on this story thus far.
Also, if you haven't caught on by now-- an EO's ability is reflective of their final thoughts/the circumstances of their death :)
Chapter Text
TWO WEEKS AGO:
University of Merit
It was a rare occurrence that Cecily Meadowes was late. Today was one of those occurrences. Which was far from ideal, considering the fact that she had an 8am OChem lecture to attend.
She rushed through the doors at 8:02, and was eternally grateful that her professor was just getting situated. As she made her way down the steps of the lecture hall, a water bottle nearly dropped on her foot.
She caught the metal monstrosity just in time, setting it back on the person’s workspace. A boy she’d never seen who looked to be about her age stared back at her, a charming swoop to his hair and a calmness in his eyes.
“Thank you,” he said, his eyes darting from the bottle on the table to Cecily. Once. Twice.
Cecily was about to respond, but the words died on her tongue as she looked back at the bottle. Which was not made of metal anymore. It was glass.
“I– uh, sorry–”
“No worries,” he chuckled, his lips curling up into a knowing smile.
Cecily immediately turned away from the guy and bolted to her usual seat. She tried not to stress too much about the incident, because what was there to do? It would be even more suspicious to change the bottle back. He didn’t seem alarmed, or horrified at least. Which was a bit odd. She just hoped no one else had noticed and that the guy wouldn’t tell anyone. Well, if he openly accused her of what she did in fact do, she could just call him crazy.
But she couldn’t shake the feeling of him watching her.
At the end of the lecture, 81 waited for Cecily Meadowes just outside the doorway. She emerged last, with her head down and books clutched to her chest.
“Hey,” he greeted as he approached her.
Cecily’s head whipped up, eyeing him with a wary glance.
“Don’t worry,” 81 reassured her. “I’m not going to tell anyone about your… talents.” He leaned forward conspiratorily and lowered his voice. “Besides, I have an ability too.”
Her green eyes widened comically. “You do?”
“Yeah,” he said casually, extending his hand. “My name’s Jack, by the way. Where you headed?”
She shook it. “Cecily. And I’m just going to the parking lot by the labs.”
“Cool, same. Mind if I walk with you?”
“Go ahead,” she replied with a smile.
They made standard small talk along the way, the girl filling most of the silence. Once the pair reached her car they stopped, Cecily leaning back against the driver’s door. 81 looked around, ensuring that they were alone.
“It was lovely to meet you, Jack,” she said.
“Likewise,” he replied with a forced grin.
Then came the voices in his ear. The first one, soft yet commanding.
“Eliminate the target, 81. Now.”
He couldn’t resist the orders. Withdrawing his gun from concealment, he raised it to Cecily’s head and fired, the shot perfectly aimed and near-silent. She didn’t even have the time to shriek before she dropped to the pavement of the parking lot.
“Well, done my boy,” praised Director Horner. “Clean work, that.”
81 gritted his teeth as the first voice spoke again, although he sounded a bit shakier now.
“Now collect her and her things and put her in the car.”
The agent did as he was told, and that was that.
EON, Cell Zero
Back in his cell, Oscar hyperventilated. Then he threw up. Repeatedly.
He hated this part. Well, he hated all of it, but this was by far the worst. When the haze around his mind cleared and he had to face what he’d done with full clarity. Paired with the feeling that his thoughts and actions had been violated, and he'd had no defense against it.
Knowing that he had just killed a young girl with a bright future, who’d done nothing wrong.
Six years of being back in EON.
One year of torture, four and a half of losing his mind, and six months of being forced to be an assassin, trying to track EOs down. Trying to track him down.
Oscar was terrified. Not just of EON, or Horner, but of himself.
“Take a deep breath, Osc. You haven’t found me yet.”
Ah, and there was that. Oscar couldn’t remember when he'd started seeing Lando, but it’d been years by now. At first, he’d thought that Lando was truly there, back at EON with him. Then, he thought that Lando had died and his phantom was keeping him company. By now, Oscar realized that he was actually going clinically insane.
He turned from where he knelt in front of the toilet, slumping back against the white wall. Lando sat on the cot, smoothing out the orange blanket.
“Not yet. But I don’t know what will happen when I do– when they do.”
Lando was smart. Lando was skilled. And trained. And powerful, even though he hated admitting just how much.
Oscar did know what would happen when they inevitably met again. He would be ordered to kill him. The one person in the world he was truly terrified of hurting. But he really, really hoped that Lando would be able to defend himself against EON. Even if it meant Oscar dying at the hands of him.
He just couldn’t bear to be responsible for Lando’s death for a second time.
TWO NIGHTS AGO:
Merit Cemetery
Cecily told the two of them about her second death, and launched into the tale of her first when Kimi asked how she'd gained her abilities. Her family had lived in Merit her whole life, but they didn’t come from wealth. For most of her childhood she’d lived in a small apartment on top of a research lab. One day there was a mishap downstairs, and a gas tank and piping line that connected to her apartment exploded when she was home alone. It was safe to say that the company gave Cecily and her family a lovely new house in the suburbs and a fully funded college education so long as they didn’t sue.
“So, you can manipulate matter?” Kimi asked.
“Eh, I guess. But it’s not really phase-based. I don’t know how to explain it, I just change things. Sometimes by accident, when I’m upset or surprised– like with Jack. It’s why I’m a chem major, so I can understand it better.”
Lando nodded, standing from the coffin. He stuck out his hand, which Cecily gratefully took as he helped her up. She brushed herself off, scrutinizing her outfit.
“God, what did they even put me in? These ruffles are hideous.”
Both boys snickered, and the three of them buried her coffin once more, heading out of Merit Cemetery’s gates in the wee hours of the morning.
EORP
Kimi thought that Nico might just throttle him and Lando when they arrived back at EORP at half past three in the morning with a girl who was supposed to be dead.
They were currently inside a conference room with the furious blond, a very sleepy Lewis standing beside him.
“What in the everloving fuck, were you guys thinking?”
Lando looked between the two agency directors. “The plan is to bait EON, which we can do with–”
“You’re using a university student as bait? That’s insane! She was dead as of two weeks ago, and you guys decided to dig her up the day of her burial?”
“But she’s alive now, I brought her back,” Kimi stated simply.
“Kimi,” Lewis said calmly. “You’ve only been at this, what– six weeks?”
“Five, technically.”
“That’s even worse!” Nico exclaimed, exasperated. “Have you ever met, or heard of anyone else with your ability, kid?”
“No…” Kimi said, looking towards the ground.
Nico slumped into a chair. “It usually works fine, on regular people. Someone dies, and then an EO who can raise the dead miraculously brings them back. But it’s different when an EO dies, because they’ve already conquered death once. During their NDE– the universe, God, their mind– whoever– gives them a second chance, and they usually gain an ability to help them counteract whatever’s killed them in the first place. But when they die and come back a second time, they usually come back wrong. Rising from death not just once but twice is highly unnatural, and the body doesn’t know how to function correctly. Not to mention it usually fucks with their abilities.”
Kimi took a shaky inhale, and Lando cursed under his breath.
“Was that man– the one you had me revive when I first discovered my abilities– was he an EO?”
“No. Neither was the person you accidentally resuscitated. You weren’t staying in an ExtraOrdinary wing, in case something like this occurred. They were relatives of EOs and associates of our program.”
“But you’re saying that I– that bringing Cecily back means something could be wrong with her, or her abilities?”
“We can’t know for sure,” Lewis said. “We’ll just have to wait and see. But you can’t just go around trying to revive people, Kimi.” He sighed. “We have to develop plans, think these things through,” he emphasized with a piercing side glance towards Lando.
Kimi nodded. “Is this why you wouldn’t let me see my mother?”
His family had done a memorial service for him and his mom, even though they obviously couldn’t find Kimi’s body. He had listened to all of the details from Lando, and talked about it with Carlos. It all made him feel incredibly guilty– his family and friends were out there, mourning him, while Kimi was up in a compound that was practically a five-star resort.
“Partially, yes,” Nico said. “We couldn’t risk you bringing her back, when it could cause more damage than repair. But you’ve also had a lot to process, and we feared it might make it worse. I’m sorry, Kimi.”
Kimi suddenly felt not just emotional, but awful, sniffling and shaking his head.
“It’s fine, I understand. And I won’t do it again.”
Nico stared at him a moment, and then nodded.
“Also Lando, please do inform us next time you decide to take a rookie on a mission.”
“Sorry, Nico. He’s more than capable of handling it, though.”
“We know,” said Lewis, looking at the teenager with a small smile. “You’re free to go, Kimi. Get some rest.”
He bid them all goodnight and took the elevator up to the dorms as they continued the conversation without him. Quietly entering the little commonspace that he and Ollie shared, Kimi snuck towards his bedroom. He failed to notice the tall figure stirring on the couch.
The lights suddenly flicked on. Well, snapped on, with the motion of Ollie’s fingers.
“Kimi? Oh my God, I was so worried,” came a groggy voice.
“Ollie? Did you wait up for me? It’s nearly 4am.”
Ollie twisted around to look at the digital clock on the small table beside him.
“Er, I tried to. Think I fell asleep about two hours ago, though. I thought about asking Rosberg or Hamilton where you were when I couldn’t find Lando, but then I decided not to in case you were doing something that could get you in trouble. Which– judging by the look on your face, you definitely got caught anyways.”
Kimi made his way over to the couch and sat next to Ollie, rubbing his temples.
“Yeah. Lando and I dug this girl up from the cemetery, EON’s most recent victim.”
Ollie laughed in disbelief. “What? Did you bring her back?”
Kimi wasn’t sure if he meant back to life, or back to the compound. But the answer was the same either way.
“Mhm. Her name’s Cecily, she’s in the medical wing right now. Although, turns out, bringing back EOs from the grave doesn’t have a very good track record.”
Ollie shifted his legs to sit cross-legged, leaning forward. “Why, what happens?”
“I’m not entirely sure. They didn’t go into much detail. But I’m going to feel awful if she’s sick, or injured, or well… dies again.”
“Sheesh, that’s brutal,” Ollie replied. “You said EON killed her?”
“Yeah. Agent 81– or, Lando calls him Oscar.”
“That’s his real name. Has Lando spoken much about him?”
“Not really, beyond the standard stuff. I’ve tried to ask about him, but he gets kinda closed off,” Kimi replied.
“Ah, gotcha. Makes sense– if my boyfriend went missing for six years and then suddenly started murdering the people we’d been trying to save, I wouldn’t want to talk about it either.”
Kimi’s eyebrows shot up. “His boyfriend?”
“Actually, I’m not sure if they were ever official. I don’t hear much of the gossip since I’m technically not an agent. My parents just put me here to ensure my safety and wellbeing– and I think they’d murder Nico if he ever sent me out on a mission. But I’m sure Carlos or Lewis would know. There’s enough rumours for it to be common knowledge, at least.”
Kimi tried to imagine Lando dating the guy who had shot his mother. It made sense– at least their story. Knowing each other as kids, becoming EOs together, getting locked up in EON, escaping to help start EORP. This whole situation must be torture for Lando.
“How’d Oscar end back up at EON?”
“He was taken. There was some pyrokinetic going wild, and both EON and EORP showed up. We have no idea how EON knew our agents would be there, but apparently a local officer recognized Oscar in public, and knew he was an EO. He tracked him for weeks, and then ratted him out to EON. There was this huge fight, and the pyro girl ended up burning down her house during it. Lando and the other agents tried so hard to convince her to come here where she could be safe and learn to control her abilities, but EON killed her on site. Then everything went crazy. I know that Lando got injured pretty badly, and was unconscious when EON kidnapped Oscar.”
“That’s horrible,” Kimi breathed.
“Yeah. They tried for weeks to locate the EON facility to break Oscar out. We’ve had secret access to their subject files for years, and they keep them live in the system. It’s how we know that Oscar is being mind controlled by another EO now.”
“I thought you said you didn’t get any of the gossip,” laughed Kimi.
“This is just surface level, lovely Kimi. When you’ve been here long enough, you know people. And people talk. Anyway– after his abduction, Oscar’s file went dead, declaring him deceased. Everyone was devastated, especially Lando. I don’t think I saw him for ages. Flash forward to about half a year ago, and the EOs we’re trying to aid are being wiped out one by one. It’s like a race to who’s going to get to them first. And then Lewis looks through every second of stolen security footage from various murders, and who does he find every time? Oscar fucking Piastri.”
“Oscar fucking Piastri,” Kimi repeated.
“Yep. And now they’re trying so hard to get him back. He could be the key to taking down EON once and for all. We just need to get him out of that place.”
“This is insane– wait– if Lando and Oscar escaped EON once already, how do they not know where to find him?”
“EON rebuilt their facility during the time that EORP started to gain traction. New management, new compound. New techniques.”
Kimi grimaced. “I don’t know what to do with all of this. We’re supposed to bait out Oscar tomorrow,” he groaned, sinking his head into his hands.
“Yikes. Might wanna get some sleep then. Rest up, Kimi,” Ollie said, snapping his fingers once more as they stood and walked to their respective rooms.
“Night, Ollie,” Kimi replied in the dark, shutting his door behind him as he slid down it and sank to the floor.
What the hell had his life come to?
Notes:
As always, I hope you enjoyed and feel free to leave any commentary or questions <3
Chapter Text
TEN YEARS AGO:
EON
Their plan was actually working.
Lando was currently sat inside an interrogation room, across from one of his favorite officers, Marlene.
It was a shame he had to do this. He didn’t enjoy the feeling of betraying her.
“Lando, seriously. What was all that about?”
By all that, she meant absolutely decking Oscar and giving him a broken nose momentarily in the middle of dinner.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “I wasn’t thinking. Osc was just pissing me off.”
Marlene sighed. “You know, we have to put you in solitary overnight for that. Next time, try to use your words instead of your fists.”
“It won’t happen again, I promise.”
At least that was true.
Marlene led him towards the solitary wing, not bothering to cuff him because Lando had never been any harm. It made him feel so incredibly guilty.
The solitary wing was newer with much more modern technology than the areas that Lando was used to. That meant there were more electrical currents, which was exactly what he and Oscar had planned for. One of the other guys in their sector, George, had told him exactly where to find the main power unit for EON. And Lando was coming up on it now.
He paused, grabbing the handle of a metal door that read, CAUTION: EMPLOYEES ONLY.
Marlene turned around farther up along the hall, noticing his absence.
“Lando? What are you– oh– no don’t!”
“Sorry!” he squeaked, focusing on Marlene, and the current running through her. He felt her nerves, and imagined the dial he pictured in his mind when he used his abilities. The dial regulated a person’s nerves, and their pain levels. Turn it down, and he could stop people’s pain entirely without even touching them. Crank it all the way up, and he could likely kill somebody if he held it long enough. Right now, he turned it just enough to where Marlene dropped to the polished floors, a yelp escaping her as she fainted. Lando had to look away.
He turned his attention back to the door, and pushed his way inside.
It was a relatively small space, but there were machines and wires everywhere. He didn’t even know where to start. He’d really been hoping that he wouldn’t have to full send and start bashing things. They didn’t have that kind of time. But he’d never used his abilities on something that wasn’t a living being.
Well, there was no time like the present. How different could it be? A current was a current, right?
Lando tried to tap into the energy all around him, letting his own nerves amplify it as he traced his fingers along various machines. He then strode to the one in the very center, closed his eyes, counted to three, and killed EON’s power entirely.
A gasp escaped his lips and his eyes shot open. Turning, he sprinted back towards his cell as the alarms started blaring.
By the time he arrived Oscar was already there, unscrewing their vent panel in the dark.
“Think we’re gonna fit?” asked Lando.
Oscar looked up at him. “We’re gonna have to. Unless you want to fight dozens of officers out of here.”
Lando very much did not want to do that. EON must’ve turned on the emergency generator at that moment, because multiple dim lights flashed on. The alarms hadn’t quit, and officers were going around, investigating each cell. Someone came to lock their door, shutting it with a slam. Oscar quickly slid the vent cover under his cot and stood in front of the gaping hole. Lando feigned casualty by leaning against the wall.
“81, 04. See anything suspicious?”
“No Officer,” they said in unison.
“Hmm. Alright.” He started to walk away, before pausing. The officer slowly turned, eyeing Lando with a once-over. “04, aren’t you supposed to be in solitary for the evening?”
Lando’s blood ran cold. “Uh, I was. But when the power shut down and the sirens went off, Marlene told me to come back here and stay put for headcount.”
He scrutinized Lando for a second longer, but seemed to be satisfied with his answer. “Alright. Try not to punch your cellmate again,” he said as he continued down the row.
Lando exhaled in relief, glancing over to Oscar who tore his eyes from the officer to look at Lando. His face remained impassive for a moment, and then he broke out into a wide grin.
“That was close, Lan,” He said quietly, shaking his head.
“I know,” he replied. “Nearly wet myself.”
Oscar laughed, dropping to the floor once again.
“It’s now or never, then. You ready?”
“Oh Osc, I’ve been ready.”
The air vents led them to the main lobby, which was completely empty due to the hour and Lando’s distraction. Oscar kicked the grate out, helping Lando stand as he emerged.
Lando didn’t know if his heart could beat any faster.
“Freedom, baby,” he whispered victoriously.
“Not quite yet,” replied Oscar. “Let’s run.”
Lando had never been so grateful that he had spent a decent chunk of his free time in the last few years working out. Him and Oscar had been running like hell for what felt like forever, occasionally stopping to lean over and heave.
Periodically, Lando had been tapping into his abilities to try and locate a town or city, but it’d been no luck thus far.
Oscar reached out and grabbed his shoulder, wordlessly slowing them to a stop. Lando panted, clutching his friend’s elbow.
“Still nothing?”
“Haven’t tried in a while. Lemme check.”
Lando closed his eyes and scanned the area, the world silent apart from his and Oscar’s breathing.
“Still noth– oh, wait. I think I feel someone. Maybe. It’s something larger than a groundhog and living, at least,” Lando said, eyes fluttering open.
“Lead the way, my little circuit breaker.”
Lando rolled his eyes, but led them through the rocky terrain nonetheless.
After a while they reached a gas station, which was so run-down that it nearly looked abandoned in the dark of the night. But Lando’s senses told him that someone was here, so they stepped inside. The attendant who’d been sleeping on his shift was not pleased in the slightest to be woken up, but he was still kind enough to grumble directions to the nearest town to them.
Seated in the booth of a 24 hour diner, Oscar watched Lando suck down a chocolate milkshake as if he were afraid that someone was gonna snatch it right out of his hands. They’d paid for their desserts with cash from the tip jar on the sleeping gas attendant’s register.
“So, what now?” Lando asked.
“Now, we lay low,” Oscar replied. “And make sure that EON isn’t on our tail. Then we start over, I guess. Become normal people.”
“Or we could try to find other EOs,” Lando suggested.
“It’s too risky. We need to blend in, try to lead normal lives.”
They both knew that nothing about their lives was normal. Lando pouted, slumping back in his seat.
“I just wish there was someplace for EOs that wasn’t EON. Somewhere that could genuinely help us and keep us safe, and see us as actual people instead of specimens.”
All of a sudden, a blond head sitting in the booth behind Lando whipped around.
He fixed them both with the stare of a disapproving father. “Alright, kids. First rule of lying low– don’t discuss secrets or burying your pasts in public places.”
Oscar and Lando startled as the guy slid out of the booth, approaching their table. Another man followed close behind him.
“However, you’re in luck. I believe that Lewis and I might be able to help.”
The blond–Nico, they learned– and Lewis drove them to a warehouse on the industrial side of the town. It was hidden, and it was discreet. Makeshift beds and cots were arranged in rows, and there were tables and chairs placed throughout the space.
Lewis gestured to the facility. “Welcome to EORP.”
“It isn’t much right now,” Nico said. “But it’s a start.”
Lando and Oscar were just eternally grateful to be anywhere that wasn’t a prison. The two older men provided them with new clothes, and gave them a place to sleep. They were introduced to a few other EOs– like Carlos, who could manipulate emotions, and Yuki, who had telekinetic abilities. But overall they were too exhausted to socialize, and decided to retire for the night after Lewis had reassured them that they’d be safe from EON. Oscar crashed immediately, but Lando stayed up with a book he’d found on a shelf and a marker he’d swiped from a table.
He struck out line after line, letting the repeated action soothe his anxieties. After a while, he felt a presence behind him.
“Not a big fan of the Norris psychology gurus?” Nico asked as Lando turned around.
“Nah,” he replied. “I only read my parent’s bullshit so I know exactly how to counterargue it.”
“Smart, I like it. Can’t say that I’ve particularly enjoyed what they have to say either.”
“I think their target audience is largely rich snobs.”
Nico laughed quietly. “So, you turn their findings into… art?”
“It’s poetry, in a sense,” Lando explained. “It helps me think and process things. It’s just an added bonus that I get to vandalize their work.”
Nico patted his shoulder. “Keep at it, kid,” he encouraged before walking away.
Lando did, for another half hour or so. When it got to the point where his eyelids wouldn’t stay open, he flipped through the blotted pages to read his latest piece.
A… place
Hidden… not heard of… but we… were there
Dreadful… and long
Feeling less
Human… than before.
A remarkable
Escape. A…
New start.
Hope… and… drive… is all
I…
Have now.
Lando closed the book, sliding it under his cot. He peered over at Oscar, watching his chest rise and fall with slow, even breaths. Something inside Lando thrummed, and it had nothing to do with his abilities.
His poem was slightly untrue. Hope and determination were all that they’d had for a very long time. But this place was the start of something new. It felt like fate. Lando couldn’t conceptualize it yet, but he knew he wanted to be a part of it.
For the first time since Lando had become ExtraOrdinary, he felt that his future held something extraordinary.
Notes:
Hey y'all! I'm so sorry it's been two months-- being a STEM major is not for the weak I fear. Good news is that I'm finally done with all my midterms. Bad news is that I have finals starting in two weeks.
Anyways, I've also realized that this fic has over 100 kudos now, which is absolutely insane to me. Thank you so much for reading, liking, and commenting on this work. It seriously means the world to me.
As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I promise to post the next update in less than two months😭
Chapter Text
YESTERDAY MORNING:
EORP
Cecily lifted her eyes from her mug of tea to glance at the four sets of eyes staring at her. The doctors in the medical wing hadn’t deemed her physically ill or gravely injured, so she’d been cleared to meet with the guys to discuss whatever they had planned.
“Feeling alright?” Kimi had asked, as he and Lando accompanied her to the meeting room.
“Yeah, just tired,” She’d replied. Which was very true. After being dead for two weeks, Cecily wasn’t sure how being this exhausted was even possible. What she didn’t tell them, however, was that something felt wrong. Like she wasn’t actually here, or that she was still halfway deceased. She figured that they knew to an extent. That morning as they were picking her up she’d overheard a nurse talking to Lando about the little mishap she’d had upon arriving.
Last night–or rather, early this morning–, the doctors had wanted to test her abilities, to make sure that they were still functioning correctly. Cecily had been presented with a glass of juice, and was asked to turn it into water. When she tried, the liquid became acidic, dissolving the glass and the bedside table, before one of the nurses used their abilities to contain it.
She would’ve blamed her pounding headache on the bullet that had pierced her skull a fortnight ago, if the wound hadn’t already been healed by the doctors. She rubbed her forehead now, feeling smooth skin where a nasty scar should’ve been. Here in the conference room, she could sense what they weren’t saying.
Cecily Meadowes was going to die again.
“We need to bait EON to send Oscar out,” Nico explained. Cecily had been informed that Jack was actually an alias, taken from her killer’s middle name.
“Lovely,” she replied. “And you need me to help you do it.” Each of the four faces sat before her grimaced out of discomfort. “Why haven’t you used one of your own agents to do this sooner?”
“We tried to send Lando out once,” Lewis said. “But it was too obvious, EON knew it was a trap and they didn’t take the bait. With you, we can catch them off guard.”
“Okay. How should we do this, then? I don’t think it’s the best course of action for me to go into the middle of Merit Square and start screaming about how I’ve risen from the grave.”
“No, definitely not,” Lando said. “That’s why we’re going to make a scene with one of EON’s potential targets. So long as we can find out which one they’re going for next.”
Nico pushed a stack of files towards the center of the table, fishing out a paper.
“Here’s a list of EOs that have come through our database recently. I cross referenced the names with EON’s system, and struck out those who they have yet to discover. Their next target is somewhere on this list. I’ve printed out each of EONs files on them, as well as Cecily’s file.” He tossed the file on top of the stack towards her. “Let’s skim each of these, and give a holler if you see anything suspicious. We need to find their next victim ASAP.”
Cecily pulled open her file, seeing her school headshot pinned to the front of the papers. She pulled it off, flipping through the stack. They’d had a ton of information on her. No wonder it’d been so easy to find and kill her in broad daylight.
Well, might as well start at the beginning. She turned back to the front page.
But the first line was incorrect– for two reasons. It read:
CECILY OPHELIE MEADOWES – DECEASED
She supposed the ‘deceased’ bit was only half-wrong. Cecily had been deceased twice in her life. She just wasn’t currently.
But her middle name wasn’t Ophelie. It was Marion.
FOUR WEEKS AGO:
EON
Former Vice Director Fernando Alonso marched right up to Christian Horner’s office, not bothering to knock as he pushed open the door.
Horner looked up from where he was typing on his desktop. “Fernando. To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked, folding his hands.
Alonso ignored his sarcasm. “Twenty-eight EOs dead, in half a year. I can’t keep covering up your dirty work, Christian. Something’s gotta change.”
“That’s bold, storming in here with your demands. You don’t hold much power here anymore, need I remind you? You don’t get a say in what EON does or doesn’t do. You left your position.”
“I left, because I hated what you were turning this place into. What happened to monitoring ExtraOrdinary’s, and making sure that people stay safe?”
“If we put every EO in this place, we’d have to keep rebuilding. It simply isn’t logical. But no one is safe with these hazards on the loose. Here at EON, we’ve developed the best solution.”
“Your 'best solution' is just killing innocent people.”
“They’re not innocent,” Horner seethed. “They’re unnatural, corrupt. They shouldn’t exist out there, integrated with normal people. And don’t act like you're oh-so innocent. You’ve also done much to help this institution, like providing us with our beloved Oscar.”
By now, Alonso regretted ever recognizing Piastri and tracking him down for EON. It’d led to so much more death and destruction than peace and control.
“Besides,” Horner continued. “We still haven’t located former subject 04. He’s out there somewhere, working against us. Aiding other EOs and giving them a ‘fresh start’. Giving them power. He’s a threat to EON. The sooner we take him out, the sooner we can quiet all this business and return to discretion. But he’s currently making it rather hard to do so.”
“It’s still sloppy,” said Alonso. “I can’t keep lying about this, not when you won’t even change your MO. It’s suspicious, even to my lowest ranking officers.”
“You’re smart, Alonso,” Horner condescended. “Figure something out. Or, lose everything. Your choice.”
Alonso clenched his teeth. “Only contact me if it’s absolutely necessary. Other than that, I want to be doing the bare minimum for EON.”
“You already have been!” Horner called as he watched the Detective Chief Inspector storm out of the office.
SEVEN YEARS AGO:
EORP
Late morning sunlight streamed through the curtains as Oscar lazily traced his fingers across smooth, sun-tanned skin. He loved the feeling of waking up like this: peaceful, safe, loved. He pressed a kiss into the messy curls that were tucked under his chin.
Lando stirred and lifted his head with a small noise as his sleepy eyes fluttered open. Oscar watched his pupils dilate immediately, pitch black overtaking his green irises. The sight made a slow smile spread across his face.
“Hi,” he greeted quietly.
“Hi,” Lando croaked in response. “Whatchu thinkin' about?”
“Just you. Us. How much I love this.”
“This?” Lando questioned, shifting off of Oscar’s chest momentarily so he could stretch out his limbs. Once satisfied with the state of his joints, he immediately slung an arm around his boyfriend’s waist and pulled him close so they were face-to-face.
“Mhm," Oscar continued. "Slow mornings. Waking up in your bed. No rush to get anything done. It’s not something that I ever thought I’d have.”
Lando’s lips curved into a teasing grin, but his gaze was adoring. “Didn’t realize you were such a sucker for domestic bliss.”
“I’m serious. I feel incredibly lucky to have built a functional life in the first place, let alone the fact that I still have you through it all.”
“Of course you still have me, Osc,” Lando reassured. “I love you. And I’m not going anywhere.” His gaze darted between Oscar’s eyes, which were fixed entirely on his own.
“I love you too. So much,” Oscar responded as he cradled Lando’s jaw and met him halfway for a kiss.
It felt like perfection– like the relief of being on stable ground after navigating harsh waters, or like the haze of soft mornings that kept you hidden from the real world. Like trust. Like love. It was the communion of two people who had a dark past, but had made it out because they’d been together. And while they occasionally acknowledged it, they didn’t linger on it. Because they didn’t need to. They had EORP– a home, a community. A purpose. And they had each other. Which was all they had ever really needed.
Lando’s the one to pull away, his face hovering just a millimeter away from Oscar’s.
“Oscar,” he said seriously. “I need you to know that if anything ever happens to us again, I’ll always find you. Always. Even if it’s the last thing I do.”
Oscar’s heart dropped. He cupped the sides of his boyfriend’s face and pressed their foreheads together, feeling a pull in his heartstrings. “Don’t speak like that, Lando. We’re safe. I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.”
“But I mean it,” he insisted.
“I know,” Oscar sighed. “And that’s… everything. You’re everything. I love you.”
“I love you too,” Lando replied, as he sank back onto Oscar’s chest and wrapped his arms around his neck. “I won’t let anything happen to you, either.”
SIX YEARS AGO:
Where It All Went Wrong
Oscar knocked down another EON agent, staring in disbelief at the small house up in flames. Susie and Toto, both hydrokinetics, were already working on putting it out, but the progress was slow. They were extremely lucky that Abbi Pulling’s house was out in the middle of nowhere instead of in the city. He spun around to search for the girl, and spotted her with Lando and Daniel, inside one of the latter’s protective forcefields. Abbi’s hands were still ablaze, and she didn’t look like she was calming down much. Daniel was clutching his side, but he seemed to be mostly fine.
“What happened to Daniel?” Oscar asked and Nico jogged up to him.
“Stray bullet bounced off one of his shields and hit him. I’m not sure how bad it is. Lando cut his pain for now, so hopefully he won't pass out until we’re safe.”
Fuck, Oscar thought. Now was one of the many times when he wished that he’d been given the gift of healing others, rather than himself. They prepared as more EON agents came onto the scene. Oscar was grateful that they never sent any EOs, only armed soldiers.
But there were so many of them.
“Lando?” Oscar shouted. “Might need your help over here.”
Nico slipped in and out of time, taking down agents one by one. One second, he was snatching up a gun. The next, he stood in front of Oscar again, hunched over and leaning against an EON soldier.
The soldier ripped off his helmet, the unfamiliar face quickly changing into one Oscar recognized. “Nico’s down,” Lewis said.
“Accidentally got caught in the crossfire,” Nico explained. “Fucking stupid,” he wheezed.
This was really not going well.
“Lando!” Oscar shouted once more, desperate. He couldn’t find him.
“Daniel’s fainted!” Susie exclaimed suddenly.
Oscar spun to see an unconscious Daniel, before looking back towards the burning house again, where Susie and Toto were now panting with a dozen EON agents lying around them. Lando, a haunting silhouette, stalked away from the wreckage, fingertips crackling at his sides.
He was lethal. He was beautiful.
The air around them became electric, vibrating with a hum that Oscar had learned to pick up on.
A gunshot went off. Everyone searched for the source, and saw Abbi laying still in the grass where she’d just been standing, a bullet in her temple. Oscar’s whole world went still, and the only things that he could hear were his thundering heart and uneven breathing.
“You fucking idiots! She was just a kid!” Lewis thundered.
“Get Daniel and Nico back to the vans,” Lando said to Oscar and Lewis, his tone leaving no room for arguing otherwise.
Oscar rushed over to Daniel, hauling him up off the grass, not before checking to see if there was any way Abbi was still alive. She wasn’t. Oscar wanted to throw up.
Him and Lewis hobbled towards the EORP vans, Susie and Toto close behind.
Lando flexed his hands, and then splayed his palms, unleashing the thing that buzzed underneath his skin. He let rage overtake him, felt the current run through his entire body. The EON agents froze immediately, dropping their guns. Lando watched as they seized in pain, writhing like fish out of water as he dropped them to the ground.
It was exhausting, but he wanted to make them feel it. A fucking EON helicopter landed on his left, soldiers filing out of it. Lando knew he should turn his attention to them, but he couldn’t tear his focus away. He was seeing red.
They all have to feel it. They did this to us, and they still haven't stopped. They just killed a child. I can’t stop–he thought, as a dart stuck into the side of his neck. He pulled it out, observing the empty vial– not until they… until…
“Lando?” Oscar shouted as he emerged from the van, watching EON’s vehicles start to zip away. “Lando where– oh fuck,” he hissed as he rushed towards his lover’s unconscious form.
Two sets of strong arms suddenly seized him, yanking him away from Lando.
“No!” Oscar yelled. “Stop it– get your fucking hands off of me!”
They dragged him towards the helicopter. Oscar was panicking. The rest of the EORP agents were in the vans already, preparing to flee the scene.
“No– NO! Lando!”
They secured cuffs on him, arms pinned behind his back.
“Lewis! Nico! Guys!” He screamed, kicking and thrashing.
There had to be four or five people restraining him now.
“Lando,” he sobbed, as the helicopter began to lift into the air.
The last thing he saw before they put a bag over his head was Lando, motionless, lying in a lawn full of bodies in front of a burning house.
Notes:
I cannot write fluff for the life of me it always comes out so cringe *hits choking emote*
Anyways hope everyone enjoyed all that! Feel free to leave any questions, comments, or concerns :)
Also happy holidays, and happy end of the F1 season!! I will officially be pushing the OP81WDC2026 agenda starting now.
HungryGhostForKatsudons on Chapter 1 Wed 20 Aug 2025 11:02PM UTC
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eyeofthenight on Chapter 1 Thu 21 Aug 2025 04:47PM UTC
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Mr_Decapitation on Chapter 1 Thu 21 Aug 2025 04:16AM UTC
Last Edited Thu 21 Aug 2025 04:16AM UTC
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eyeofthenight on Chapter 1 Thu 21 Aug 2025 04:51PM UTC
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Greyhatespeople on Chapter 1 Thu 21 Aug 2025 12:00PM UTC
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Greyhatespeople on Chapter 1 Thu 21 Aug 2025 12:07PM UTC
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eyeofthenight on Chapter 1 Thu 21 Aug 2025 04:56PM UTC
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eyeofthenight on Chapter 1 Thu 21 Aug 2025 04:53PM UTC
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eyeofthenight on Chapter 1 Sat 23 Aug 2025 08:59PM UTC
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Fallen_Star_890 on Chapter 1 Sun 14 Sep 2025 12:28PM UTC
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eyeofthenight on Chapter 1 Mon 15 Sep 2025 06:10PM UTC
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eyeofthenight on Chapter 3 Mon 01 Sep 2025 05:04AM UTC
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leianeywh on Chapter 3 Sun 24 Aug 2025 03:07PM UTC
Last Edited Sun 24 Aug 2025 11:45PM UTC
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eyeofthenight on Chapter 3 Mon 01 Sep 2025 05:07AM UTC
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Mr_Decapitation on Chapter 3 Mon 25 Aug 2025 02:23AM UTC
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eyeofthenight on Chapter 3 Mon 01 Sep 2025 05:13AM UTC
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lovesongsmakemecry on Chapter 4 Mon 01 Sep 2025 06:47AM UTC
Last Edited Mon 01 Sep 2025 06:47AM UTC
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eyeofthenight on Chapter 4 Mon 15 Sep 2025 05:53PM UTC
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Mr_Decapitation on Chapter 4 Mon 01 Sep 2025 01:11PM UTC
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Arty (Guest) on Chapter 4 Fri 12 Sep 2025 05:42PM UTC
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eyeofthenight on Chapter 4 Mon 15 Sep 2025 06:07PM UTC
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0Artemiz0 on Chapter 4 Fri 07 Nov 2025 09:02PM UTC
Last Edited Fri 07 Nov 2025 09:04PM UTC
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eyeofthenight on Chapter 4 Sun 16 Nov 2025 10:41PM UTC
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Fallen_Star_890 on Chapter 5 Mon 15 Sep 2025 06:38PM UTC
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eyeofthenight on Chapter 5 Sun 16 Nov 2025 10:37PM UTC
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Apachmamszi21 on Chapter 6 Tue 18 Nov 2025 08:15PM UTC
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eyeofthenight on Chapter 6 Mon 15 Dec 2025 07:40AM UTC
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user3772454700 on Chapter 6 Tue 18 Nov 2025 09:36PM UTC
Last Edited Wed 10 Dec 2025 07:00PM UTC
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eyeofthenight on Chapter 6 Mon 15 Dec 2025 07:42AM UTC
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lovesongsmakemecry on Chapter 6 Fri 21 Nov 2025 11:51AM UTC
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Joycha on Chapter 7 Mon 15 Dec 2025 09:28AM UTC
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user3772454700 on Chapter 7 Mon 15 Dec 2025 09:36AM UTC
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