Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Owen Keldor ran around a corner, sirens blaring in his ears. this is really unnecessary, he thought, it's just shoplifting- this time. As he turned into an alley, he found himself at a dead end. This wasn't much of a problem, though it would mean he would have to stall. He turned to face the sirens, a dead look on his face. Though once he saw which officer he was up against, it quickly turned into a smirk.

"Owen Keldor, surrender and you might knock some time off your sentence," the blue and brown haired policewoman yelled through the megaphone in her hand. "Attempt to flee again, and add time, instead."

"Magic, long time no see! The lawful life been treating you well?" The criminal offered casually.

"Cut the small talk, Keldor. You and I aren't friends anymore." Magic spat.

"Ouch, that hurts!" Owen laughed in mock offense. "and here I thought we were close! Almost like siblings..."

"I don't want to take you in by force, Owen," Magic's eyes softened. "Please, come quietly this time."

"Sorry, no can do. I've got places to be, things to get done."

"We'll catch you eventually. Do you want to spend your whole life in prison, Owen?" Magic sighed. 

"See, you keep saying that..." Owen rolled his eyes. "You always say you'll add to my sentence, but a sentence doesn't matter if you can never catch me."

"You sound so confident now, and yet that's exactly how they all sound right before we take them down."

"Did Apo?" Owen snapped, an acusatory tone in his voice. "Was he confident? Or was he begging for forgiveness, on his knees as she drew her weapon? As you stood and watched?"

"There was nothing I could have done!" Magic shot back. "Ayngel has been punished accordingly, and we've moved past that! Meanwhile, you're still so hung up on the one incident-"

"He was my best friend! And you wonder why I changed sides." Owen growled.

"I don't have time for this," Magic sighed. "You're coming with me."

"That's what you think, is it?" Owen turned on his heels and ran up the wall behind him, fingers just barely grabbing the ledge at the top.

"You can't run forever!" Magic yelled up at him. "Your actions will catch up to you! Karma's gonna be a bi-"

Owen jumped up onto the building and blocked his ears. He stuck his tongue out at his once-friend, now rival, and turned his back on the scene. 

Owen jumped down into another alleyway, humming a tune as both Magic's yelling and the sirens faded into the background.

~~~

Back at 'home' (which was really just an old abandoned half burnt down warehouse on the poor side of town), Owen thought about what had happened that day. He had stolen some cereal and and apple, and gotten chased down by Magic. He had managed to bring up Apo's murder again, even when he tried to forget about it. Pretty normal day.

Owen got something to drink, ate some cereal for dinner, and made his 'bed' (some old, moth-eaten blankets and a yoga mat). He knew most criminals worked at night, but he wasn't nocturnal, and he could manage alright in the daylight anyway. He brushed a hand over the crumpled photograph of him and his parents, taken the day before The Incident. He smiled sadly, remembering how proud his father had been that Owen would be a police officer just like him. 

"Oh, dad..." Owen whispered to the wind. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't continue our legacy..."

Owen felt tears running tracks down his dust-covered cheeks, and he let them fall. He could cry only when no one was watching. Little did he know, at that very moment, someone was watching. Observing him.

Always watching...

Chapter Text

Owen woke up to the sound of sirens. He shot out of bed, confused and in a panic. How did they find this place? Was his first thought. was I foolish enough to allow them to track me? He grabbed the important things he owned (the photo of his parents, a locket given to him by Apo, and a key left behind for him in his mother's will) and ran out the back door of the building.

Sure enough, there were police vehicles surrounding the building, and Owen's senses were instantly overwhelmed with flashing lights and wailing sirens. It was around midnight, though it was hard to tell given the fact that the full moon was covered in clouds. Owen glared at the nearest officer, locking gaze with them, before bursting past them, not even hesitating. He pushed past multiple more people, not even pausing when he heard Magic's voice calling from the crowd. He just ran, and ran, and ran.

As Owen broke free from the clutch of some policeman, he realised he might actually get caught here. There were just too many of them, and only one of him. He wouldn't surrender, though. Owen Keldor doesn't surrender. Owen Keldor fights.

Just then, there was a burst of smoke, and Owen couldn't see a thing. He raised his hands, clutching them into fists in hopes of scaring anyone who tried to catch him. But instead, a man with white hair and a ninja-like mask emerged from the smoke. Owen noticed one of his eyes were red, and had a scar over it.

"Hey, you." The man whispered. "Come with me."

"What- who are you?" Owen whispered back.

"It doesn't matter. Do you want to escape or not?"

Owen definitely didn't trust this guy, but going with him certainly sounded better than getting caught by the police, so he nodded. The man grabbed him by the arm and started running. Owen wondered how he could possibly navigate through this smoke.

Then Owen passed out.

When Owen awoke, he was in a real bed for the first time in years. He felt horrible, and struggled to sit up. The man from earlier was there, and so was a new person.

"What- where am I?" Owen muttered, disoriented. "What's going on?"

The newer person got up from where they were sitting and walked over. They had pale purple eyes, and a scar in the shape of an X across their face.

"Mr Keldor, I presume?" They offered out their hand to shake, but Owen didn't take it.

"How did you know my name?"

"We have been watching you for some time, Owen. My name is Xisuma, and I'm the head of VOID co., an organisation for criminals who have been wronged by the world," they explained. "It is of my understanding that your friend, Apo, was killed by a police officer?"

"Uh, yeah..." Owen thought this whole thing was really creepy. "That sure happened..."

"I am also aware that you have a rather concerning criminal record, ranging from shoplifting to mass homicide."

Owen just rolled his eyes.

"Alright..." Xisuma muttered. "I'll cut to the chase. Would you like to join VOID?"

"Uh- I'm more of a lone wolf. Joining a big... Organisation... Is not really my style. Sorry."

"Oh, gods, I was never good at the persuading thing... Etho, could you lend me a hand?"

"Not sure what makes you think I'm any better, X..." The masked man- Etho- laughed. "I'll give it a shot though..."

Etho walked over to Owen.

"Uh... I'm also a bit of a lone wolf. Great thing is, VOID doesn't make you work in a team if you don't want to! I prefer to stick to solo missions... All VOID does is gives you tools, resources, a place to live... Which you look like you're in need of right now, actually. I don't think I've ever said this many words at once, this is really weird..." Etho rambled on, before stopping himself and coughing. He simply walked back to his seat and sat down again.

"Since you seem very insistant on me joining, I suppose I'll give it a shot. I don't really have anything better to do with my life at the moment..."

"I'm pretty sure that's a yes-" Xisuma seemed confused. "Good! We'll take you into HQ then."

Chapter Text

Owen and Xisuma walked down the corridor of whatever this place was, Xisuma seeming almost scarily excited, Owen more anxious and wary. He still couldn't trust these people, he barely even knew anything about them.

Owen had to admit, the idea of a proper home did sound appealing. He had been living in old warehouses and abandoned buildings all over town for years, and barely remembered what life was like when he was one of the 'good guys'. Although, could he really call them good guys? Ayngel had been a police officer, and she was no better than a criminal.

It seemed like whatever this 'VOID Co.' was, it only further proved Owen's motives. Criminals wronged by the world. 

Owen had been taught that criminals were soulless monsters who were selfish and wanted only to harm people. Then he had met Apo, a theif who stole to help his poor family. That had changed Owen's world view a bit, and suddenly, crimegoers were just people. They had families, and lives, and they were just trying to get by, much like the rest of the population.

Of course, Owen knew there were bad people, selfish people, mean people. But not all criminals were bad people, and if Ayngel had taught him anything, not all bad people were criminals.

Xisuma's feeble attempts at small talk were what finally brought Owen out of his thoughts. Owen didn't actually bother listening to what the other had to say, but he was grateful not to be alone with his dark thoughts any longer.

"So, nice weather, isn't it...?" Xisuma tripped over his words.

"The last time I saw the sky it was the middle of the night and the moon was blanketed in thick, dark clouds. Not my idea of pleasant weather, but to each their own I suppose."

...That was Owen speak for 'don't talk to me.'

"Ah," Xisuma seemed to take the memo. They walked in silence for a few more minutes.

"So, tell me about yourself." Owen spoke out of the blue, not because he particularly felt like talking to the guy, but because he actually wanted to know a bit more about the man who pretty much kidnapped him and then offered him a job.

"Oh- I..." Xisuma was caught off guard. "I'm Xisuma, the founder of VOID Co., I started this place because I realised that I wasn't the only one like me, I guess..."

"Like you? Do you consider me to be anything like you?" Owen was amused, but also wanted to know if he should be worried.

"Uh- sort of? You're a criminal, and you've... lost someone, like I have..." Xisuma seemed wistful. 

"That's really all you know about me, huh? I'm a criminal who's 'lost someone'. That narrows it down to... About sixty percent of all criminals?"

"Well, it would be a bit creepy if I knew everything about you, wouldn't it?"

"It's already creepy what you do know about me. It's not like the wanted posters say 'lost his best friend, Apo, to a police officer', is it?"

"It was all over the news. Thief shot by police officer, officer's co-worker quits and is seen attending criminal's funeral, police station is mysteriously burnt down, oh, turns out the officer who quit is now pursuing a life of crime..."

"Alright, fair. How did you know where I lived?"

"How did the police?"

"I don't know!"

Xisuma just sighed.

"Well, we don't know everything about you. How about you tell me a bit more about yourself now."

"Don't know what there is to tell. Arson is my least favourite crime."

"Not murder?"

"That's fun sometimes, you know?"

"I may not agree with you there, but I'm sure some of the others will... And look at that, here we are!"

Owen looked in front of him to find they were standing at a large door, with stars painted on it and a doorknob with a 'V' engraved on it. Xisuma opened the door with a flourish.

"Welcome, Owen, to VOID." 

The room was... really big. The walls were painted to look like, well, the Void. There were different sections to the room, marker with lines across the floor. There seemed to be a section for every crime Owen could think of. There were people walking around, talking to each other, on their phones, doing normal people stuff... As well as people doing less normal things. 

There was a girl with ginger hair in a braid down her back, who appeared to be throwing knives at a wall. She looked weirdly sweet, and to the outside view, she could be a totally normal civilian. Another redhead, with a scar across her face and what appeared to be stitches on her wrist, was fiddling with a crossbow, seemingly fixing the mechanism. Etho, the masked guy from before, was leaning against a wall in the corner, examining a gemstone in his hand. When he saw Owen and Xisuma, he waved cheerily.

Owen stood and stared for a second, before snapping out of it. 

"Uh... Wow."

"I'm going to assume that's a good 'wow' despite your slightly judging tone," Xisuma smiled. "If you go over to Gem, the ginger throwing knives, she'd be delighted to give a tour."

And with that, Xisuma disappeared.

Owen did as Xisuma suggested, and went to approach the girl. She spun around on her heels, and her eyes widened. She smiled brightly, and offered her hand out to shake.

"You must be the newbie Etho mentioned! I'm Gem, serial killer and cottagecore softie, at your service!" Gem piped in a sing-song voice, shaking Owen's hand vigorously. "I'll give you a tour of the place, uh, what did you say your name was?"

"Uh- Keldor. Owen Keldor." Owen muttered.

"Oh, you're one of those..." Gem whispered to herself, but Owen heard. He didn't comment on it, though. "Well, Owen, I'm glad you're here! New arrivals are always fun..."

Gem grabbed Owen's hand and practically dragged him along.