First off, I wanted to say this story is independent of my previous Generator Rex fics. It is in no way related to them at all, but I do encourage you to click my name and read my previous stories. Second, I like to dedicate this story to ZigZaggy an author who inspired me to write a new GR fic with her story, "Memory Rewind". I urge you all to read it considering how good it is. Lastly, I hope that you support my original work by asking your local library to carry or perhaps purchasing my book, "Battle for the Stars". Thank you and remember to review what you read.
He was bouncing up and down in his seat as the transport van hit another pothole. He looked around nervously at the other passengers. Some of them were looking pretty sick and a few were in restraints. Most of them were moaning or cursing in Cantonese so he couldn't understand them. One of the passengers took a swipe at him with a partially transformed hand.
"Ahh!" he yelped closing his eyes only to hear the sound of something metal blocking the attack. Opening his eyes he saw the man in green armor adjusting his sunglasses as the pretty lady in the lab coat knelt beside the little boy. "Are you alright? I'm sorry we have to ride back here, but there's no room in the cab for us. Don't worry Six and I will protect you."
Rex smiled at both of them. He open his mouth to thank them when all of a sudden the transport started to shriek. He felt, rather than saw, the vehicle swerving around. Out of the tiny window he could see them heading straight for the side of a building. Everyone was being flung around as the two adults braced for impact by covering him. Some instinct told him to protect them as there was a loud...
"Beep, beep, beep!" The persistent beeping of his alarm clock startled the teen as he sat up in bed frightened. He was tangled up in his sheets as he tried to get his breathing back under control. He felt rippling sensations throughout his body; similar to a thousand ants walking on him. He needed to calm down. He took a few deep breaths letting them out. The sensation in his skin stopped. "It was only a memory dream. It was only a memory dream." he whispered. Sweat was pouring down his face as he wiped it off. There was a knock on the door. "Yeah?"
The door opened a bit as a lady with dark brown hair and green eyes stuck her head into the room. "Time to get up Rex, you don't want to be late for your first day at school! Get ready and be downstairs in ten minutes if you want to have breakfast."
"Sure thing Mom, I'll be down soon don't worry." The door closed leaving the teen alone. The Latino teen took a deep breath before surveying his room. The room was decent size painted dark blue with an orange trim around the border. Sunlight shone through his two windows near his bed. The floors were hardwood with a few boxes scattered on them. The family had only moved here late Friday afternoon so they were still unpacking. He did have all his artwork on the walls already along with having his furniture (desk, bed, dresser and nightstand) set up the way he liked it. Most of his stuff was in place, he'd finish unpacking after school today. Right now he needed to see if there was anything clean in his closet.
Two adults were sitting at a remarkably moved in kitchen. While most of the rooms in the small two story white house were in a varies stages of completion the kitchen was finished. Holiday was sitting at the table dressed in a simple yellow blouse with a red skirt and knee high black boots. She was reviewing some paperwork as her husband, a man dressed in a green suit, brought over breakfast. "Pancakes and scrambled eggs? Is that fresh coffee to? Quite the culinary breakfast isn't it?"
"We're going to need our strength today if we're going to be dealing with my old friend. You think he would have gotten the message by now that we're not interested in joining Providence," Six said as he sat down at the table. He started chewing his food as he thought about all the reasons his family had against moving to Haven City. The two of them didn't want to be in Providence's backyard, not with the danger it posed to their little family. "I still think moving here was a bad idea."
"I know Six, but we're closer to my family and the chance to set up my own private lab in the old power plant, are good reasons to be here. Don't worry the two of us can keep Rex safe just as we've done for the past five years," Holiday said squeezing her husband's hand. The couple sat in silence for a few minutes before they heard someone coming down the steps towards the kitchen.
"Talking about me? Don't worry so much Dad. I'm more worried about attending a real school for the first time than Providence. Besides, I know the drill. I'm not going to expose myself, I promise," Rex said. He was dressed in his usual clothes with an orange backpack slung over one shoulder. He sat down to eat his breakfast trying not show how nervous he really was.
A short time later his parents dropped him off in front of Benjamin Franklin High School. After checking in with the front office Rex made his way through the hall jostled among the students. He was trying to keep his cool as he struggled to open his locker. He couldn't seem to get the lock opened. "Come on I don't want to be late. Ah why couldn't you be electronic?"
"Having a bit of trouble?" a voice said. Rex turned around to see a blond hair kid standing there. He smiled at Rex putting the teen at ease. "I had trouble my first day too. Let me show you how its done."
"Thanks, I've been home schooled the last few years and have no clue about anything. I'm Rex Hayashi," he said holding his hand out. The boy shook it never breaking eye contact.
"Noah Nixon, nice to meet you. So did you just move here?"
"Yeah. Um, think you can show me around? They gave me this schedule, but I have no idea where anything is."
"Sure, let me see that. Hmm, we're in most of the same classes. Come on I'll show you where homeroom is." Rex followed his new friend to homeroom. The two of them entered a nearby classroom filled with kids lounging in chairs chatting with one another. The teacher was sitting at the desk going over the attendance list and lesson plan. The two of them took their seats as the bell rang.
School was a lot harder then Rex thought it would be. First, he had to sit in homeroom listening to announcements and dealing with jerks flicking paper at his back for being the new kid. He did his best to ignore it by focusing inward like his dad taught him. It worked because soon he wasn't feeling the tiny hits. After homeroom his first period was Natural Science. He did well in that subject thanks to his mom's lessons. She was a real drill sergeant when it came to tutoring. Second period was English Lit which was harder for him because he wasn't really into literature. Reading works by Modernists and discussing the symbolism of the language was boring. He had more fun in third period Art class. He loved sketching and learning to ink his works. His teacher was impressed with his skill complimenting him on his eye for detail. It was fourth period that really gave him trouble.
It was Gym class and those same jerks were in it. They seemed annoyed they hadn't gotten a rise out of him in homeroom so they decided to make him their personal target during class. They had already tried to steal his clothes in the locker room only to be blocked by Noah. At the moment Rex stood next to Noah as the teacher divided them up into groups. "Listen up maggots its time to get your bodies into shape! Group one will do stretches, group two start climbing the ropes. Group three you're running laps and group four get to work on building those muscles. I want to see you sweating!"
"Which group are we in again?" Rex whispered, tugging at his gym uniform. The office had issued him one, but it was tight and giving him a wedgie. He wasn't very happy at the moment. He was also worried what might happen if he got to competitive.
"Group three don't worry, running laps is easy. The worst that can happen is we'll smell groddy, but that's what the showers are for. Come on; the sooner we get this done the sooner we can get to lunch period. They're serving fish tacos today. Trust me they are great."
"I do love Mexican obviously. Okay let's get started. Bet I can run faster then you!" he took off running around the track. Noah laughed trying to catch him, but soon was falling behind. Rex's speed was unbelievable. His stride was excellent and he had good breath control. Noah had to stop after three laps to catch his breath. Rex smirked pleased he was better then Noah at this. "Hey, not my fault my Dad's been training me since I was ten! Maybe I'll invite you over for a training session sometime."
"Rex look out!" Noah shouted. Those jerks, who had been in the fourth group, decided to play a trick. The had filled a cart with weights and shoved it at the teen as hard as they could. Rex, who stopped in his tracks when he heard the shouting, got caught off guard as the cart struck him with full force. Noah watched in horror as his friend was sent flying. "REX!"
Rex's mind was racing as he was flying. He could feel his body urging him to change. His arms were starting to morph. "No, I can't blow my cover! Don't change, don't change, come on don't change owwwwwww!" Rex hit his head on some bleachers clutching his scrapped up arms. They were starting to bleed a little. Noah was running over to check on him while the gym teacher was shouting at the bullies telling them how much trouble they were in. Rex struggled to his feet, leaning on Noah. "I didn't know gym class could be so deadly."
"Normally it's not. Those skaters are the worst. They love picking on other kids for fun. Come on, let's get you to the nurse to check you over."
"You think she'll call my parents? They're at an important meeting today and can't be interrupted."
"I'm sure she won't need to. Hey, at least we're out of gym class," Noah laughed. Rex winced as he was guided to a small office. There were two cots, a small desk and a medicine cabinet. The nurse saw the injuries and got up. "What happened? I thought you kids weren't playing dodgeball today?"
"Some kids thought it would be funny to shove a cart full of weights at me. I'm fine really ow that stings!" Rex shouted. He felt his body trying to change as a result of his emotions. He mentally clamped down on his emotions not realizing he was squeezing Noah's hand to death until he heard his friend wail. "Sorry, I didn't mean to do that!"
"You've got some grip on you. Nice to know for the future. Is he going to be fine?"
"Just some scrapes and bump on the head. You'll live, but I would have your parents check on you tonight just in case. Why don't you guys head to lunch? The period's nearly over anyways," she said as she finished wrapping the bandages around his wrists. "Try to be more careful next time okay?"
The smells of spicy food and loud chattering greeted the two teens. After changing back to their regular clothes Noah led Rex into the cafeteria. He froze unsure of what to do surrounded by so many kids and adults. Noticing the panicked expression on his friend's face Noah helped him through the line telling him to avoid the mystery meat, but make sure to snag extra yogurt cups for desert. After paying for their meals he guide his new friend to a table in the corner where two girls were waiting for them. One was a cute blond wearing a purple blouse and dark pants. Chatting happily with her was a beautiful girl with coppery red hair and sparkling green eyes. She had a white jacket over a long sleeved blue shirt and jeans. Her face lit up and she kissed Noah on the cheek.
"I was beginning to think you were standing me up. Anne and I were going over our math homework. AP math is a lot harder then I imagined."
"Oh whose this guy? I remember seeing him in homeroom and Art class. You must be really good because Mrs. Sarver rarely complements new students on their work. Oh where are my manners? I'm Annie Jinxs oh sorry," Annie blushed. She had knocked her tray all over Rex covering him in fish tacos and salad. She got some napkins and tried to clean him before he told her to stop. He didn't want to end up with more food on him. Noah offered to get him some spare clothes he kept in his locker, but Rex said it was fine. After scraping the food off into a nearby trashcan the boys sat down and he properly met Noah's girlfriend Claire Bowman. Both she and Annie were really friendly and made him feel very welcomed.
"So Noah says you just moved here. Where are you from?" Clair asked curiously. She put her homework in her bag so she could give him her full attention.
"All over, my Mom's a freelance research scientist searching for a cure to the Nanite Event. She's been involved in a lot of different governments and solo projects. My Dad's an ex soldier for hire. He mostly trains others now to handle difficult situations or teaches a few self defense classes."
"That's so cool. My parents are accountants. So your parents are coming to work for Providence then?" Annie said. She leaned in a bit to close and fell off her chair. Laughing she accepted Rex's hand and got back on her seat. "Thanks."
"Your welcome, but we didn't move here because of Providence. My parents don't like Providence. They don't agree with their methods for handling EVOs or researching cures. Providence wants them to work for them, but my mom's finally gotten enough grant money to set up her own private research facility. She's met a lot of great people over the years who want to work with her. I can't wait to see her new lab. I'm sure dad's going to stock it with some of his toys he's collected over the years. He's really into being prepared for anything. Here, let me show you a picture of them."
They each took a turn passing a photo of ten year old Rex standing next to Holiday and Six. Judging from the background they were in Asia possibly some place in China. "I can tell how much you love one another, but you don't look like your parents."
"They adopted me when they didn't have to. I'll tell you more about that another time. Let's just enjoy lunch for now. I've got Home Ec, Trig, and lastly World Events after lunch. I'm not a very good cook, but I'm super good at trigonometry."
"We'll see after you survive a session with Mr. Buchiner. He's the toughest teacher in the whole school. Hey, want to hang sometime after school? We'd love to show you around town."
"Thanks, I'd like that. Maybe I'll invite my "aunt" along. Oh don't worry she's around our age. This is going to be the start of a great friendship," Rex said enthusiastically. He felt so good to belong for a change. He liked Noah a lot. The girls were funny, nice and smart. He wasn't sure he'd ever want to date Annie, but he thought her clumsiness was kind of cute. For the first time in five years he felt like a "normal" teen. Though as he munched on his fish taco he wondered if they still be his friend if they knew his secret. The one that his family had spent the past five years hiding from not only Providence, but the world.
While Rex was at school making friends his parents were getting the VIP tour of Providence. Neither of them were saying much as Captain Callan pointed out the different areas of building. Six kept his expression stoic, but Holiday was frowning a bit. The never ending white halls and harsh lighting was depressing. They had just entered the garage filled with different transports. "As you can see we've upgraded our vehicle selection in the last year. Not only do we have the Keep as our main transport along with our smaller flyers, we've upgraded our tanks and smaller personal vehicles. The weapons systems on the larger transports include cannons, lasers, and we've recently upgrade to rapid fire guns. I personally think we might have overdone it on the smaller personal transports. They tend to have issues staying upright during high speed maneuvers."
"Well if they weren't loaded down by so many weapons maybe that wouldn't happen," Holiday remarked. "You've shown us the personal living quarters, training facilities, central command and now the garage. When do I get to see your research facilities and holding areas for the EVOs? Are you still continuing dissections with Dr. Fell even after that incident two years ago?"
"You mean when White Knight got bleached barely surviving the malfunction in the old lab? Yeah Dr. Fell is still here, but he's not allowed to perform dissections on such a grand scale anymore. I'll show you the captives holding area. We've put the animals and plants into our wildlife area. In the last year we've constructed prisons for the human EVOs that are more secure. Some of the human EVOs retain their faculties after transforming so they have to be restrained," Captain Callan explained as he led the two of them into a different part of the building. He entered a code into a pad on the wall. The metallic door whooshed open as a calliope of screams could be heard.
Six found himself keeping his wife on her feet as she looked in horror at the cells. Many of the cells were overcrowded with four or five prisoners inside them. The EVOs had muzzles on their faces and collars around their necks that they were trying to remove. When they did that they received a nasty shock that left them smoking. Cameras monitored their every movement as guards harassed them using their weapons freely on them. There were no beds, bathroom facilities or comforts at all. It was high tech concentration camp. "Rebecca, its okay. Rebecca, can you hear me? Rebecca!"
"Oh what the Six? I'm sorry this place it's just horrible," she whispered to him as she leaned into his body. He stroked her hair reassuring her it would be okay. Captain Callan watched the exchange puzzled by what had gotten the lady so upset. Clearing his throat he got their attention. "I understand that the conditions here are harsh, but we don't have another choice. There's no way we can let them run free. It's the same in the Petting Zoo area."
"Why haven't you been studying them in a natural environment to understand the effects of the nanites? Have you even attempted to stabilize the nanites in the EVOs or reverse engineer the active power in the human ones? I sent Providence my prototype cure gun months ago. In the incidences I've used in I've had a 75 percent success rate with returning EVOs back to normal. I gave you my prototype to see if you could mass produce it or improve upon it. Let me guess; Dr. Fell hasn't even bother to look at my research and gun."
"I'm not involved with Dr. Fell's work so I can't tell you for sure. What I can tell you is I'm hoping that if you come to work here you can change things around here. Hold on," Captain Callan pressed her ear com listening to the message. He nodded and turned to his guests. "I've been instructed to get you some lunch then escort you to White Knight's office for your one on one meeting. If you'll follow me please."
"I can't believe this place Six, its worse then I imagined. Providence has no interest in solving the Nanite Crises. They rather just capture or kill as many EVOs as possible while sitting on their asses doing nothing. The agents here are nothing more then empowered enforcers for a mob!"
Six didn't know how to respond to that. He understood Providence mindset because of his past as a mercenary. He recalled how he hadn't cared about anything or anyone. He just did his mission, accepted payment, and moved on to the next one. He remembered partnering up with White Knight after leaving The Six behind. It was their test mission to Hong Kong that changed him in more ways then one. As he entered the cafeteria he felt a memory surface as he looked at the prepackaged food being served.
"I know its hard for hired muscle such as yourself to understand, but killing EVOs and blowing up neighborhoods isn't what I signed up for on this mission Six," Holiday told him coldly. He had met the vibrant, eager, and determined young woman from the Doctors without Borders group a week ago. In the time spent in Hong Kong studying the rapid transformations of many of the lower class citizens he noticed it was Holiday who was most interested in treating and curing people. She would go out of her way to help people, using her free time to treat sick civilians. She was so full of hope and optimism, something rare around this operation.
"I understand that Holiday, but in case you haven't noticed I'm not like the rest of the protection detail either. I joined this test mission to see if working for Providence would give me a sense of fulfillment. Like you I want a cure to this madness," Six said softly. He looked at his reflection in his katana as he thought about his foster father One. Would he approve of Six's actions now?
Holiday looked at him with a new found respect. She was about to ask him more when they heard a rustling followed by a clattered coming from the food tent. A small figure was running from the tent only to stumble on a broken pipe crashing into an alley. The two made their way over where Six held his sword to the throat of a frightened and grubby looking ten year old.
The small boy dropped the sandwich he'd stolen and looked at him with fear in his eyes. "Por favor, no me hagan daño mister! I mean I didn't mean to steal from you, but I'm starving!"
"Six, put that weapon away your scaring him. Its okay, my name's Holiday and this is Six. What's your name? Where are your parents?"
The little boy sniffed trying to look tough, but failing miserably. "My name's Rex and that's all I know. I don't remember anything else."
Six was brought out his memory as he felt someone tap his shoulder, "Six? Are you okay?" his wife asked him. He nodded looking at his half eaten sandwich. Not hungry he threw it away as they headed to White Knight's office. It was time to meet up with his old friend. The couple followed Captain Callan into a sparse white room where a huge video screen was set up. White Knight's face was plastered on it and standing below it was an annoyed looking Dr. Fell. Holiday narrowed her eyes at the man as they were introduced again.
"Thank you for your services Captain Callan, your dismissed. So after five years we meet again Six. After working together on the Malaysia mission I thought I had a grasp on who you were. Never in a century would I have suspected you to abandon the cause for something a mundane as marriage and family. How's the brat doing?"
"Our son's name is Rex White as I'm sure you remember. I also didn't abandon the cause, I just found another way to contribute to the on going fight."
"Yes, helping teaching civilians and government groups how to fight EVOs is a worthy job. I suspect your wife has something to do with that. Still taking the high road I see Holiday. You never were one to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve scientific discovery."
"If you mean I don't dissect every breathing creature or treat sick patients as humanely as possible, then I'm glad I struck out on my own!"
"Enough all of you! This isn't getting us anywhere. I invited you both here today for a reason. As you're well aware in the last two years Providence has been losing public approval. Our funding from our founders has been cut a few times. While they approve of most or our mandate they are very interested in your work Holiday. After your success with the hidden Engineer Village and curing Meechum in New York they've asked me to extend an invitation to you to join Providence Research team. This offer also extends to you Six. Your skills could go a long way into better preparing our troops," White Knight explained. He pressed a button on his desk. Out of the tower a shelf appeared with folders on them.
The couple reviewed the material as they looked over the job description, details on Providence missions and data on their research. The folders were detailed and recently update with information on the couples exploits over the last five years. Thankfully, there wasn't much on their son other then the basics. Holiday finished her packet first setting it back down on the shelf while Six carefully read information about Providence enemies including Van Kliess and the Pack. While they had never directly encountered him during their travels they were aware of him. His group had attempted to sabotage their work a few times. He feared what would happen if he ever learned about Rex's abilities.
"It's a generous offer, but we're going to have to decline. Don't give us that look you can't force us to work for Providence. I don't care what you think you have over us the answer is still no. Besides, I'm a week away from my own personal research facility going online. Our connections have financed us not to mention supplied it with all the technology and materials I'd need. Some of the people we've met along our travels have agreed to come work with me. You might be familiar with some of them because they quit Providence."
"Listen here Dr. Holiday..."
Six unfolded his katanas bringing them to Dr. Fell's throat daring him to say something disrespectful about his wife. Dr. Fell stared at him in terror not knowing what to do. Six put his weapons away, grabbed the doctor by his lab coat and threw him out of the office. He glared up at his old friend, a tick forming behind his sunglasses. "Here's how its going to work White. My wife and I agree to be on retainer as consultants for Providence. We'll help you with world crises and share our findings with you. In fact we'll take some of the animals and plant EVOs off your hands. Rebecca's set up her own Petting Zoo to study them naturally to find a complete cure. We'll even take those transports you were going to mothball if you want. In exchange you leave us alone, don't try to force us to do anything or bother our son. He deserves a normal life after traveling with us so much. Do we have a deal?"
White Knight had a large frown on his face. He was not pleased by these events at all. He had nothing he could use as leverage to force the duo to work for him short of kidnapping their kid. He didn't even want to think about how many ways Six would kill him if he did that. Besides, he could always steal their research to further Providences agenda and he still had Meechum in his back pocket. With a nod he agreed to their terms. As the couple left he could only shake his head at how far his old friend had fallen.
A week passed relatively quickly. The little family seemed to be adjusting to living in one place for the foreseeable future. The couple found themselves at the Plant every day as they worked to finish setting up the lab and prepare it for operational uses. Meanwhile, Rex was finding himself as a high school student. He had found his niche in Noah's group becoming best friends with the blond. He liked hanging out with the girls even though Annie's clumsiness nearly killed him a few times. He was really starting to open up to them; sharing his interests with them, such as the comic he was creating, or telling them about his travels. Still he kept his secrets close to his heart afraid of what would happen if they learned the truth about him.
It was Monday afternoon and Noah plus the girls were waiting for Rex at the Snake Shake. He had gone to pick up his "aunt" at the bus stop before hooking up with them. The three friends were very interested in meeting her as she was the first family member they'd been introduced to. For some reason Rex was afraid of inviting them to his house or meeting his adoptive parents.
"Don't you think it's a little strange that we haven't met Rex's folks yet? I get that they're busy setting up their lab and all, but at the very least we should get see his house. What's he afraid of that I'll wreck it? Oops sorry!" Annie said as she slipped on a fallen napkin, bumped into the table and sent the condominiums flying all over the place. "I really need to work on getting that under control."
"You'll get it don't worry. As for Rex, I'm sure he'll invite us to his house soon enough. He's just nervous considering he's not use to staying in one place so long," Claire commented. She took a sip of her soda watching the door. It opened as Rex walked in with a girl about eighteen or nineteen. She was wearing a pink tank top and blue jeans. She had a tablet tucked under her arm and was talking animatedly with Rex. Claire waved them over. "Hi Rex, so this is your aunt?"
"Don't call me that it makes me feel old. My name's Beverly Holiday. I'm a freshman at Progressive Tech Community College. I'm majoring in Communications and Web Design. I live with my folks in the next town over to save money. Let me guess your Claire, Annie, and Noah. A pleasure to meet all of you," she said shaking their hands. The two of them sat down and started enjoying their burgers and fries.
"So Beverly, what's it like having Rex as a nephew? Do you have any juicy stories you want to tell us about him?" Noah asked. He ducked to avoid having a napkin thrown at him by Rex. Propping his hands on the table he waited. "Don't be like that Rex. We just want to know more about you."
"Yeah well there are some things that are private Noah is all," Rex mumbled. He looked pointedly at Beverly. She glared at him giving him a playful shove. She knew what he was worried about and honestly did he think she betray him after what he did for her? Blowing a strand of hair out of her face she tapped her tablet until she opened a photo album. She scrolled through the images until she stopped at one. Turning the tablet over she showed the teens a photo taking at a wedding. Six, for a change, was in a black tux holding Holiday in his arms. She was wearing a simple lace dress with a birdcage veil. Standing next to her in a one shoulder purple bridesmaid dress was a younger version of Beverly. Rex, who was dressed in a brown suit, stood next to Six making peace signs at the camera.
"This is the first time I met Rex; at my sister's wedding no less. I had to be only twelve. You can imagine my parents shock because up to that point my big sis had been to busy with work to settle down. We knew that she had adopted a kid and was engaged, but it wasn't until the wedding we actually met them. You should have seen how my dad squirmed when he met Six. It was hilarious wasn't it Rex? Rex, hey where did he go?" The four teens looked up surprised that the latino wasn't in sight. They looked around furiously until Annie, knocked Noah into the next table, as she pointed out the window.
"Sorry, hey what's he doing? Do we know that girl?" she asked. Outside in the parking lot Rex was standing protectively in front of girl with black and red hair in a grubby, thin, black coat. She seemed to be arguing with him as he three thugs moved towards them. Rex stood his ground blocking the first idiot's punch. He then twisted the guy's arm flinging him into dumpster. The other two rushed him as he side stepped their attacks. He seemed to dance around them blocking and attacking at the same time. The girl called out a warning as he flipped them over his shoulder into the dumpster. Brushing his hands off on his knee he looked at the girl talking to her. She seemed nervous and upset trying to get away, but he grabbed her arm talking animatedly to her. He seemed to be trying to convince her to come into the restaurant with him.
"Oh boy, he's trying to help another street kid for his karma project." The teens looked at Beverly confused so she elaborated. "You'll have to ask Rex for the full story, but he was living on the streets when my sister found him. Ever since he was adopted he's tried to help street kids find a safe home." The door opened and the friends looked up as Rex, nervously guided a skeptical face girl towards the table.
"Everyone, this is Circe Warren. Circe this is everyone. She's a bit down on her luck and I was hoping we could help her get a decent meal. Do you like cheeseburgers?"
"I'll have two and chocolate shake please. Thanks Rex, you really didn't have to do this," she said as she sat down next to Claire who gave her some of her fries to eat. Circe was looking a bit thin and had some dirt on her face. She seemed exhausted as if she'd been on the run for awhile. Rex came back with two cheeseburger and shake which she started devouring with gusto. Wiping the crumbs off her face she stared at the floor to avoid their quizzed eyes. "Sorry, I just haven't eaten in awhile, been to busy running."
"Hey, its okay don't worry about it. So, I'm Claire, that's Annie and Beverly. This is my boyfriend Noah and you've met Rex." Claire held out her hand and Circe shook it hesitantly. She seemed quite scared glancing out the windows quite a few times. She jumped a bit when Claire placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey don't worry so much. Do you have someone we can call for you or a place to stay for the night? I've got a guest room in my house."
"That's kind of you, but I don't want to be any trouble. My parents threw me out of the house and I've been chased by these weird guys for awhile. I don't know why, but I don't want to drag you into my troubles. I'll be okay on my own really." Before Claire could protest the electricity went out in the place. The sounds of screams were heard as the earth began to shake. Circe's eyes widen in horror as a grotesque giant lizard with cavernous bumps erupted from the street. Cars crashed into one another or the buildings. The EVO flitted its tongue out searching for a scent. Its red eyes narrowed on the Snack Shake as it marched destructively towards the building.
"We need to get out of here now! Come on let's go! Circe, come on!" Rex begged grabbing her arm, but she shoved him to the floor. The roof of the building was torn off as patrons ran for their lives. Noah had gotten the other girl's out of the front door before it collapsed. Annie had already called for Providence, but they were being held up by another EVO attack down town and would be delayed for several minutes. That was minutes that Circe and Rex didn't have as the beast continued to claw at them trying snatch Circe.
"We need to crawl towards the back door. Make a run for it," Rex said as he pulled Circe towards the door. She was resisting him dragging her feet. "Stop that, we need to get out of here now!"
"No, you need to get out of here. That thing is after me. If I give myself up to it maybe it will leave you alone."
"That's crazy Circe you can't take that thing on by yourself!" Rex shouted. A swipe of the tail shoved him into the kitchen nearly getting scorched by the hot stove. As he pulled himself through the door back towards the action he saw something extraordinary. Circe was using a second mouth of some sort to hit the EVO with sonic attacks. The beast backed off withering in pain before coming at her again. She jumped out a window ignoring the cuts from the glass. She called at the beast trying to lure it to an abandon construction site next door. The EVO let out a bellow chasing after her.
"Come on you stupid monster, come on I'm right here rooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrr!" Circe shouted firing another blast. She was hoping to find a frequency to make the creature fall asleep. Not having any luck she climbed the fence into the construction yard running past the machinery. She could hear the beast getting closer and closer ready as she rolled under a cement truck. Her cover was ripped off as she stumbled backwards. As she got up to run she found herself unable to her. Her leg was caught in on the beams. The Lizard EVO opened in maw wide coming at her to swallow her. She closed her eyes afraid to look.
"NO! Leave her alone!" Rex voice rang out. There was a crunch followed by a loud thud and metallic ringing. Opening her eyes she stared in disbelief. Rex's legs were covered in some kind metal amor that he was using to kick the Lizard's hide. The EVO turned standing on two legs and coming after him with his front claw which he intercepted with his Smack Hands crushing them. Pinning the beast down he demorphed one hand placing it on the creature's chest. "Come on please be human be human." His eyes lit up a light blue and weird sound was heard as the creature started to morph. With in seconds an unconscious man in street cloths lay there. Rex got up after making sure the guy was breathing. He slowly walked over to Circe helping her out of the trap. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, how did you do that?"
"Yeah, how did you do that Rex? What are you exactly?" Turning around Rex saw all his friends looking at him with awe and confusion. Maybe even a little fear. The teen tried to run, but Circe held him in place telling him it would be okay. Hearing the sounds of Providence coming Rex made a decision. "We need to clear out of here fast. If you want the back story come to my house. I've got some explaining to do." By the time Providence arrived there was no sign of teens or any useable evidence of what had happened.
Twenty minutes later the teens found themselves in Rex's living room. The room was fairly sized. In the corner was a flat screen tv with a Wii game system and surrounded sound stereo. The couches, end tables, and small rug had an Asian look to them. On the walls or shelves were curio items collected during the family's world travels. Annie, Claire, and Noah sat down on the couch while Beverly and Circe took the small futon. After Rex retrieved a photo album from one of the bookcases, he sat down on the armchair. "So, what do you want to know?"
"I want to know how long you've been an EVO. How did you manage to keep it a secret like that? When I turned three months ago it took me two weeks to hide my transformation. I never thought I'd meet someone like me. Do your parents know you're an EVO?"
Rex nodded his head. "Its the reason they adopted me and kept us on the move for the past five years." Seeing their confused expression the teen sighed. "Alright, this is going to take some time so I'll start at the beginning Try to not interrupt to much okay?" The others nodded scooting up in their seats. They were all very curious to know Rex's back story. Rex opened the photo album showing them the first picture. It was in Hong Kong, ten year old him was sitting in tent eating noodles as Holiday tried to wipe the dirt off his face. "This photo was taken the day I met my parents about four months after the Nanite Event. It was the first time I remember someone caring for me. You see, I have retrograde amnesia. I don't have any memory of before the Nanite Event."
"Really, you have no childhood memories at all? Nothing about who you were or what happened to your family? That's awful," Annie said, a look of pity on her face. She couldn't imagine not being able to remember her past. The others had similar looks on their faces. "What is the first thing you do remember?"
"Waking up in a crater under a red sky with smoke choking the air. I don't know where I was exactly or what happened. All I know is that there were monsters, EVOs, all over the place. They were coming after me. I was terrified screaming for my life. Something happened to me; some sort of blue glow and a weird sound. Its kinda of fuzzy. All I know is that I took off running for my life. It took me a week to reach civilization by then I was starving and dehydrated. I managed to get to a shelter of some sort before passing out. I came to sometime later where someone gave me food and water. That's when I learned about the Nanite Event and people turning into EVOs."
"So why didn't you stay at the shelter? Surely someone would have been looking for you. At the least you would have been taken care of," Noah pointed out logically. His best friend shook his head. His eyes widened as he watched Rex place his hand on Beverly's tablet. Instantly the device turned on and started playing music without a single flick of Rex's fingers. "How did you?"
"It was the first power I discovered about myself. Mom calls it technopathy; I can talk to machines and computers so to speak. I wanted desperately to tell someone, to get help, but after seeing how EVOs were regarded I knew I was on my own. I left the shelter after breaking into the office. I used my ability to see if anyone was looking for me, but found nothing. I spent the next four months just trying to stay alive. It was hard living on the streets. No one wanted to help me and I was struggling with my growing powers. Parts of my body would start to morph then stop. I knew I needed some kind of help, but I was too afraid to approach anyone. I somehow ended up in Hong Kong where I stumbled across a mixed group of Doctors Without Borders, Providence scientists and soldiers, along with a few unaligned soldiers working in the slums. From listening to them I understood they were studying EVO transformations to see if there was a connection between ethnicity, location, or level of health. I knew it was a risk, but at that point I was willing to trust someone."
"You must have been so frightened if these pictures are any indication. You seem happy though with your parents. So you found your folks and judging by these photos they were taking people to the hospital on transports correct? So what happened between the ride to the hospital and being adopted? The next batch of pictures shows you in the hospital being treated without any explanation," Circe said as she looked at the photos.
"The convoy was attacked by a mobster EVO named Quarry according to my Dad. After Quarry caused the crash I pulled my parents out of the wreckage with my Smack Hands before passing out. They told me what happened next." He was quite for a few minutes as he collected his thoughts. Getting encouraging looks from his friends he related what he'd been told.
It was total chaos as power downed power lines sparked. There was smoke and fires everywhere. The convey transports were smashed or turned over. Most of Providence agents were severely injured or dealing with the escaping prisoners. Their attackers seemed organized EVOs who were using a combination of powers and guns to try to control the situation.
Six, dazed from the crash, checked Holiday's neck for a pulse. It was strong as she started to wake up. Both were amazed they hadn't been injured or that they had been dragged out of the carnage by a little kid. They heard coughing and whimper. Their eyes widened as they saw Rex sitting next to him. He had a large gash to his forehead that was bleeding profusely, but that wasn't what drew their attention. His hands resembled large metallic fists that were now retracting back inside him. "I'm glad your okay. I was worried about you..." he whispered before passing out.
"Well that's a surprise," a voice cackled. The two adults took up a protective stance as a man made of rock appeared. Six's eyes narrowed as he saw the man eyes latch onto the boy behind him. "The name is Quarry. I attacked the convoy in order to get more soldiers for my empire. I'd never imagine I come across an EVO who could pass for human or with such interesting powers. That kid would help me control all of Hong Kong, maybe even expand my empire. I'd appreciate it if you handed him over."
"Your not getting Rex you creep!" Holiday snarled. Six didn't bother to mince words. He snapped into action running up the side of the building, doing a flip and striking out with his katanas. The man stood there letting the swords strike him. They didn't even make a dent. Chuckling he drew back his fist and punch Six right in the gut causing him to go down.
"You think your puny little swords are going to hurt me? I'm made of inorganic material! Nothing can hurt me!" he laughed. He was still laughing as Holiday shot him with a discarded gun from one of the down agents. He came after her, but she had already scooped up Rex and was running for her life. Quarry came after her, but Six had recovered. The mercenary and mobster were locked in battle.
Six was ruthless as he cut, kicked, and used every technique One taught him to defend his friends from harm. The EVO was agile and his reflexes inhuman for his transformation. Quarry's attacks were hurting him even as he dodged about avoiding painful hits. It seemed that there was no stopping him as he was caught in a crushing embrace. "Time to squeeze the life out of you. Then I'll just kill the lady and take the kid."
"Six, the acid! Use it!" Holiday shouted. She had left Rex in a door alcove before running over to help him. She had tried to use a needle with a sedative to break through his tough skin, but it didn't work. However it was distraction enough for Six to break free. There was battery acid from the cars pooling on the ground. Quickly coating his blades on the acid he brought them both together before slicing Quarry left eye off his head.
"I suggest you leave or I'll take your head off next," Six told him calmly. Growling Quarry ordered his men to retreat; taking the newly formed EVOs with them. Sheathing his swords he helped Holiday to her feet. They needed to get Rex to a hospital fast so they commandeered a rickshaw.
It was three hours later and the two of them found themselves sitting by the unconscious boy's hospital bed. The doctors had been amazed at how fast Rex was recovering from the crash. His blood loss had been minimal from his wound. Holiday theorized his nanites gave him advanced healing. The question was what to do next. If they left Rex here he'd be put in an orphanage, or worse, handed over to Providence once his powers were discovered. They had talked about becoming Rex's legal guardians, but were unsure if they could handle raising a kid while trying to work out the details of their new relationship.
Their musings ended when someone barged into the room without knocking. "Hey partner I heard that you managed to nearly kill one of those monstrosities. Wish I had been there to help take care of those mindless EVOs, but I got stuck trying to defend the camp from mob enforcers interested in our tech. I managed to subdue them pretty well after the inital attack. They won't be bothering anyone for awhile. So, why are you and the lady here anyways? Something happened to the runt?"
Holiday's eyes flashed as she stood up to her full height and getting in White's face. "That runt has a name; its Rex. He risked his life to get us out of the car wreckage. He deserves your respect!"
"Cry me a river lady, that punk is just a worthless street kid looking for a free meal. If you let your bleeding heart rule you then you'll never make it in Providence. We're going to contain or capture as many EVOs as it takes to experiment on. I heard that one guy Doctor Fell, is building a molecular dissection machine. Can't wait to see that in use, what about you partner? Providence is ready for both of us."
Six was quite for a moment as he thought about everything that had happened. He'd risked his life for that kid because he owed him. Was he really obligated to continue looking after him knowing he could become a monster at any moment? He wondered what One would do. He wanted to smack himself as he knew what his father would say. Taking Holiday's hand in his they both presented a united front to White Knight. "Tell Providence thank you for the offer, but I have other priorities. I'm going to use my connections to help Holiday and myself become Rex's parents."
White Knight sputtered in disbelief and anger. He was gripping his gun so hard it looked like the handle would crack. "Six, think about this! Your throwing your life away for some runt and a bleeding heart. Do you really think that a mercenary can take care of a kid?"
"He won't be alone, I'll help him. You can also tell Providence that I refuse to work with them. I've decided to strike out on my own to find a cure. Now get out of our son's room or we'll have security escort you." Frowning White Knight left as the two new parents waited for their kid to wake up.
"That's an amazing story. So your parents risked a lot for you. From these pictures you've been all over the world. So did they help you with your powers? What was it like being raised by them?" Circe asked.
"It was tough; especially with my powers continuing to grow. They didn't even let Mom's parents know at the wedding seven months later I was an EVO. They wouldn't have ever learned if we hadn't come back for a visit on Beverly's thirteenth birthday."
"I'll take over Rex. Here look at the power point presentation I made," she said opening up a special triple guarded file. It showed them at a birthday party blowing out candles and exchanging gifts. There were photos of Rex and Beverly playing with her friends. Then the images changed to after the party when they were cleaning up. There was a photo of Beverly turning gray and her body starting to change. The next image showed Rex placing his hands on her, his eyes glowing blue as lines appeared on his arms. The next image was him passed out as a normal Bev stood over him. "Rex can cure EVOs, at least most of the time. He's still learning to handle animal and plants. He's successful a lot with humans, but some can't be cured. I would have been incurable if he didn't stop the process mid transformation. He forced them to listen to him though he suffered for it. He was unconscious for two days."
"Wow you're so amazing Rex! You have powers, your parents are cool, and it seems like you've had quite the life. Thanks for sharing with us," Annie exclaimed. She tripped over the coffee table as she got up sending a vase flying. Instead of a crash they heard someone clearing their throat. They all turned looking sheepishly as Holiday and Six stood there, unreadable expressions on their faces. Clearly they were not happy about the situation.
Rex stood up quickly looking sheepishly at them. "Mom, Dad I can explain..." Six silenced him with a stare. The ex mercenary turned his attention to the teens who were shrinking under his intense gaze. Holiday had grabbed her sister by the arm taking away her tablet. She looked absolutely furious with Beverly. Her sister was trying to wrench her arm free protesting that she hadn't done anything wrong.
"I don't want to hear it Beverly. I told you before about the sensitivity of Rex's secrets; stressing the importance of keeping them. I didn't expect you to have evidence where anyone could find it."
"Please, like anyone can break my code. I'm a hacker remember?"
"We'll talk about that later," Holiday hissed angrily. She turned to the frightened teens giving them a small smile. "It's nice to meet Rex's friends although I wish the circumstances were better."
"You don't have to worry about us telling anyone about Rex's secret. We're not snitches you can trust us," Noah stated holding up his hands to show them he didn't mean any harm. The others chimed in that they felt the same way. Circe was about to show them her powers to convince them of their sincerity when they were interrupted by Six calmly clearing his throat and stepping closer to the furniture. He casually removed his katanas from his sleeves making everyone sweat.
"For now we'll have to trust you, but I suggest that you all go home. We have to talk with Rex. You can see him tomorrow. Just remember that if you have loose lips you might not have them for very long." Understanding his veiled threats the kids said goodbye to Rex hurrying out the door with Claire grabbing Circe's arm saying she could come over to her house until tomorrow. Once they were gone Six removed his sunglasses folding them into his suit pocket. He gestured for Rex to sit down as he and Holiday took up seats on the couch. Rex wouldn't even meet his eyes staring at the floor, his hands folded on his lap. One could feel the teen's emotions of fear and disappointment coming off him in waves. "Do you want to explain why we had to hear about an EVO causing a rampage in a construction yard only to be found cured with no one in sight?"
"The EVO was going to kill Circe; I had to do something! The power was out and there were no witnesses besides my friends. I was careful to keep the damage to a minimum. Providence wasn't even close I had to do something!"
"You could have called the police or even used the construction equipment to trap it. Do you realize how dangerous it was to use your builds? I'm proud that you cured the person; every cure is a good thing, but you took unnecessary risks. Rex, we've gone over this a dozen times. You know what will happen if Providence figures out you're an EVO."
"Don't you think I know that Mom? I've had to live in constant fear for five years knowing what could happen if someone learned the truth. I know the risks and sacrifice you and dad have made over the years; that I'm the reason we've never stayed in one place for more then five weeks. That you had to fabricate results about your cure guns or why dad hasn't gone to visit his family in so long!" Rex yelled, his voice rising as he looked up tears threatening to spill shocking his parents. "I understand and appreciate the sacrifices you've made so I could have a normal life. I love being normal, going to school and making friends. At the same time though you raised me with a sense of duty to others. What was the point of all this training to control my powers if I don't use them to help people? Helping Circe out was the right thing to do. I'm sorry I broke the rules, but I don't know how much longer I could have lied to my friends." The teen wiped the tears off his face, got up and headed to his bedroom leaving his parents alone.
Once upstairs, he pulled out his journal. It had been his first gift from his parents to celebrate his adoption. As he opened the leathery cover he traced the messy handwriting with his hands. Doodles of his builds darted the margins. He opened to a random page rereading about his excitement of completing his first build, the Smack Hands. He flipped to another entry this time about the whale watching trip they had gone on when he was thirteen. He could still smell the sea air attached to the pages as he had written about how the pod hadn't treated its EVO members any different. Another entry described how happy he was learning to fight from his dad or helping his mom out with her experiments. He loved his parents dearly and understood why they were upset. They feared losing him as much as he did of them. There was a knock on his door. "Come in, the door's open."
The two parents took up seats on the bed or desk. They both had solomen looks on their faces. "Rex; we're very proud of you and love you very much. We know that you hate hiding your powers. Maybe it was inevitable that someone would learn the truth. Gladly your friends accept you and we trust them to keep your secret. However this impulsive habit of yours to be a hero has to be curbed somewhat so to speak. So your mom and I have come up with a compromise if you're willing to hear us out." Rex nodded wondering what they had in mind.
The next day the teens all assembled at the old power plant where Holiday had set up base naming it Hope. They were all wide eyed and dumbstruck as they were given the tour of the place. It was water powered, with state of the art research labs, a fully functional medbay, and a garage full of different vehicles ranging from a heavy duty transport to cycles. They also had a command center along with guest quarters for the scientists to rest in if they were too tired to make it home at night. The crowning achievement of the base was a two story area with filled with trees, plants, and small pond. Inside the area animal EVOs ran around free as a few plant EVOs could be seen teasing them.
"This is incredible sis; you actually created a zoo and here I was thinking you couldn't manage something like this. After all you killed your garden plant when you were younger."
"Very funny Beverly. The Petting Zoo is a great achievement because scientists like my friend Dr. Rhodes can study the EVOs naturally to learn from them. I also have an agreement with a friend named Valentina that they will be treated as humanly as possible. I've agreed to release them back into the wild after a few weeks of study." It had been an uphill fight with Valentina on this issue. She was an environmentalist who worked on sabotaging Providence bases and setting EVOs free. During their travels in Mexico they had come across the woman and her Green Fist team helping her treat injured EVOs. Valentina wasn't big on EVOs being caged for any reason, even if it was for passive research. She agreed to be part of Hope's extend team if the animal EVOs were released after three weeks of study promising to provide Holiday with her own observations.
"Can't believe you actually got Valentina to cave into that. Still if you managed to convince Jacob and his family to join your research here I'm not surprised," Rex commented. The teens followed his mom as she continued the tour until they ended up in the security room. Sitting at the table munching on caviar was a chimp in cloths wearing a fez. "Hey, what's a chimp doing in the security office?"
"The name's Bobo Haha punk and I'm running this joint. It's nice that my skills are finally being appreciated," Bobo remarked, shocking the teens with his speech. "What's the matter? Never seen a talking chimp before? Tch, here I thought this place would be better than Providence. Do you guys know how to play poker?"
Six gave Bobo a look silencing him. A tick was forming on his head. When White Knight had transferred some of the EVOs he insisted that they take this one. Bobo was destructive, manipulative, and above all a pain in the ass. Still, he had his uses so they'd offered him the job of being head of security in exchange for caviar and free run of the base. He'd also be a big help in the surprise for the group of friends.
"I'll play poker with you later, got to tell you I'm a bit of a card shark," Noah informed him. He had to admit the tour of the facility had been interesting, but he still didn't get why they were here. He thought for sure that Rex's dad would have done something to them by now to ensure their silence. Scratching the back of his head he asked them. "So why did you bring us here? Rex mentioned something about a compromise about us and his heroics the other day."
"Follow us, we have something to show you," Six replied curtly. They followed him through the twisting corridors until they came to a maintenance closet. It was a tight fit with all the mops, shop-vac, and cleaning supplies. Ignoring the grumbling of unhappy teenagers Six strolled over to the sink twisting the spout around a full one eighty before pulling up in the drain. The mirror above the sink slid to side revealing a high tech scanner of some sort. He placed his palm on it and removed his glasses so they could be scanned. After a few seconds the light on the scanner changed from red to green. Six wasn't surprised when the back wall slid to the left revealing a hidden elevator. They got on board as the elevator made its way down.
"I have to admit a secret elevator is cool, but where are you taking us? I thought the lower levels were just the power grid and the archives. What else do you have down here?" Circe questioned the couple. After seeing how much they loved Rex and were willing to protect him from Providence she was willing to give normal people a chance. The elevator dinged as the doors opened revealing their contents. "Whoa."
They entered what appeared to be a secondary command center only this one was paneled in light blue. The lights here weren't harsh fluorescent either, but soft lights that could change color. The command center had state of the art computers set up with a holographic display. On the right side of the room was a wall of TVs with different channels streaming in. Music seemed to be coming out of the speakers. There were two corridors, the one on the left was labeled living quarters/lounge. The one on the left was labeled training/lab/garage. All in all it was amazing.
"This was going to be Hope's auxiliary command center, but at the last minute we decide that we had enough space upstairs for our day to day operations. Instead, this secret facility will be your headquarters," Holiday explained.
"Say what our headquarters? As in our secret base? You want us to be superheroes? Oh that is so cool I always dreamed of being a superhero! Do we get cool uniforms and vehicles? Oh we'll need code names! Will each of us be trained in a specialty? What is..." Annie was cut off when she tripped on her own feet after jumping up and down. Claire helped her up and looked at the adults in surprise and perhaps wonder. Whatever she was expecting it wasn't this. None of them were.
"No lo entiendo. Yo pensaba que me quería para evitar enfrentamientos y ahora quiere mis amigos y yo para el equipo?" Rex asked confused. The idea of having a team to combat Providence and other threats was pretty cool, but still it didn't make sense. Why would his parents knowingly put civilians in harms way?
"Rex, you were right when you said you had duty to use your powers to help people. Providence isn't doing anything to solve the nanite problem and there are forces out there wanting use their powers to hurt innocents. Your father and I can use our resources to help find a solution, but unless there's an active force willing to go out to do what is right it will be for nothing. Your friends have demonstrated great character in keeping your secret and I know that they want to help you. Besides we're not going to send you out blind. Your father will train you and we've been working on some projects that will help you out. Let me show something."
Holiday walked over to a safe on the wall entering a code. The door popped open as she removed six silver gear shape buttons out. Distributing one to each of them she told them to put them on their chest and press the button. Doing as she instructed the six friends found themselves clothed in a form fitting power suit contoured to their exact measurements complete with a full face cowl with either goggles or visor covering their eyes. There were holsters on the sides for weapons and utility belts for carrying tools. They were also different color schemes. Rex was orange and black, Noah was forest green and brick red, while Claire was sunshine yellow and rose pink. Annie's was magenta and teal while Beverly had lilac and gray, Circe rounded them out with red and gray.
"The power suits were designed by your mother and I for troops fighting EVOs. I used all my knowledge of being a mercenary to create a suit designed for protection, efficiency, and a bit of comfort. They are keyed to your individual biometrics; responding both to your mental commands or needs as the situation arises by monitoring your body systems. The suits have quiet a few features which I think you'll like."
"What can they do exactly? I can see the cowl contains a digital read out of the world around me. I have access to the full EM spectrum. Oh there's a communicator and voice changer built into the cowl!"
"Correct. The suits also have stealth and camouflage functions. Along with a self diagnostic built in its self repairing. I've worked hard to water, fire, and radiation proof it along with an emergency supply of oxygen. The suits also have bio-enhancements for muscles, reflexes, speed, and agility. Your natural abilities will be augmented. The suits also come with an instant WI-fi hook up and you can interface with almost any computer system. I have a few ideas for some upgrades for the future. Six and I will be training you to fight in hand to hand combat or with weapons. We're retrofitting some old Providence vehicles for your use and yes we'll be seeing where your talents all lie to find your niche in this team. Understand something though," Holiday said sharply getting the teens attention. "I want you to know that while Hope needs a field team of sorts you're still kids. We want you to enjoy being normal and only do missions if your really needed. Don't miss out on your final years of being kids. Its going to hard to find a balance between normalcy and hero work, but we know you can do it."
"Don't worry Mrs. Hayashi we're going to have the best of both worlds. You can count on that!" Claire replied and the others nodded in agreement. Six and Holiday smiled nodding in agreement. While there was a lot to do before they were ready to enter the field Rex solved the most important issue right then, naming the team. They were going to be the Gears because they would turn the world around to be a better place.