Dexter walked down the street, listening to his iPod. He had been trying to get away from his brother lately, who was paranoid ever since the Event a few years back. He thought everyone around him was going to turn into an EVO any second. Dexter spent a lot of time at the cafe nowadays because of it.

The song changed and Dexter heard a crashing noise. He bopped his head to it as it got louder, wondering when he downloaded the song. As he stepped off the curb and his earphone fell out, he realized the sound wasn't coming from his iPod, but from down the street. He looked up as a group of hairless mammals tore through the streets. He looked for people running away but the city seemed deserted. Then he noticed a little girl running after a doll that was blowing away in the wind.

"Girl! Hey, girl! Get away from there!" He yelled and moved forward. The little girl looked up, confused, and then looked back at the EVOs growing near.

"Gerbil! Come here." She said and ran toward one of the beasts. The "Gerbil" sniffed her and opened its jaw to reveal four large, dull teeth. It moved to take a bite out of her but stopped when Dexter's iPod hit it in one of its huge, black eyes.

"Run damnit!" He yelled. The girl whacked the Gerbil in its other eye, grabbed her doll, and ran until Dexter couldn't see her anymore."Damnit Dexter..." He said to himself as several Gerbils stopped gnawing on various objects and slowly moved toward him. The nearest crouched and pounced toward him. He put up his arms and closed his eyes in reflex.

"Hey, Hamster-Food, it looks like you need a hand." He opened his eyes and saw a giant metal hand holding a squirming Gerbil. The boy the hand belonged to wore a red and orange jacket and goggles. He squeezed the Gerbil until it stopped squirming and dropped it. The other Gerbils jumped up toward the boy and he punched each away.

"Whoa... you're Rex." Dexter said.

"No foolin'?" Rex said with a smirk. His metal hands fell away and he began curing the EVOs by placing his hands on them. They deflated into tiny naked molerats.

Dexter stood agape. "My brother would freak." He looked around. "Where are all the Providence agents that usually back you up?"

Rex finished and put his goggles over his eyes. "They have bigger things to deal with. Stuff like this is happening all over."

"All over the city?" Dexter asked.

"All of the world. Get home and stay there." Mechanical wings grew out of Rex's back. "Gotta fly!"

Dexter watched as he flew away and disappeared. He walked home stunned.

The door was open when he got there. "Conrad?" He walked to his brother's room and knocked on the door. "Dude, you won't believe what-" He was cut off as the door flew off its hinges and knocked him into the wall. He pushed the door off of him and looked inside the dark room. "Dude...? That freakin' hurt man."

A low groan emanated from the room. A large, three-fingered hand reached out and clutched the door frame."Sorry, bro." Conrad walked out into the hallway. His arm was large, burly, and solid red. Other than that he looked normal. He had short blonde hair and glasses, as opposed to Dexter's black hair and perfect eyesight. "Guess I don't know my own strength." He said and collapsed.

Dexter ran to his brother. "We've got to get you to a hospital." He looked at Conrad's shoulder, the red and muscle was slowly creeping up his neck and over his chest.

"What are doctors going to do?"

"I... I don't know. Okay, new plan, we get you to the Providence laboratory near here. If anyone could do something, they could." Dexter said. Conrad groaned in reply and Dexter ran into the kitchen to leave his mother a note.

When he was done he dragged his brother to the car and used their mom's spare keys to start it up. She would kill him if she found out he took the car, but he thought she was the least of his problem at this point. He pulled out and they slowly drove away.

They lived relatively close to the laboratory. On the short drive there, Dexter saw a few people and EVOs, but was too focused on getting Conrad help to investigate them. When they did get to the Providence building, it was guarded by several Providence agents and there was a blockade forcing Dexter out of the car. "Wait here." He told his brother.

"Hey, stay right there, kid. State your business." A female agent said.

"My brother," he gestured to the car. "He's turning into an EVO. He needs help."

The agents looked at each other. "Is his skin red? And his muscles growing rapidly?" This time a male agent asked.

"Y-yes. How did you-" Dexter began.

"Just hurry up and come in." The male agent said. "Cadet Martinez, escort them to Holiday." The female who spoke earlier, Martinez, helped Dexter get Conrad out of the car and they went into the lab.

"What's been going on?" Dexter asked. "I'm Dexter Taylor by the way." He added.

"Sandra Martinez. Most just call me Martinez." She sighed. "Providence started getting reports of animals turning into EVOs, all over the world. More at once then ever before. We mobilized in less than an hour. Soon, humans started to turn at the same rate. Most end up huge red giants causing wild destruction."

"So my brother... will he lose his mind and go crazy?"

"I'm really not sure. The change has never been this slow before. That is why we're taking him to the Doc." They came to a door which opened automatically. Standing inside were various scientists in contamination suits bustling about. They laid Conrad on an examination table. A scientist walked over. "Dexter, meet Doctor Holiday."

"Can you help my brother?"

"Believe me, I'll do everything in my power." She began examining his arm. "His nanites aren't excepting the change like the others. They are being slowly forced into this form. The data we collect from your brother might end up saving the world."

"I just want to save him."