Hardwired

This takes place right after Beyond the Sea. Just to let you know.

Chapter One: The Chase

The day had started out normal. Went to school, did classwork, annoyed Coach Peterson. Stuff teenagers were supposed to do. 'Course nobody at school knew I was an EVO, and my family and I intended to keep it that way. No one wanted Providence to knock on their door. Even if they had a way to cure EVOs, my family and I still remembered when they would molecularly dissect something.

When I walked through the door after school, I felt a calm wave of peace wash over me. "Dad…You better not be trying to get me to do the dishes tonight!" I called out to him as I headed for the kitchen. Mom was standing by the sink that was piled a mile high with dirty plates. Vi had broken our dishwasher last week and we were waiting for the repairman to return our calls. Until then, we had to take turns washing the dishes. It wasn't fair how Dad used his powers to influence us into doing it.

Mom turned towards me, the family EVO parrot sitting on her shoulder. The EVO was twice the size of a parrot and more brightly colored with a vicious temper, but Nana had been with the family so long before the Event that we couldn't bear to send her away. Plus, the fact that Mom could control Nana if she started getting fussy helped a lot. Mom's faces stretched into a grin as she said, "Hi honey, how was school today?" Mom usually works at a veterinary clinic, but she's on maternity leave right now, she's six months along, and she'll be the first EVO to have kids. Of course, we're keeping that last bit to ourselves.

"Meh…School's school." I shrugged and threw my backpack down. "Where's Vi?"

Mom turned back to the sink and started to scrub plates. "I could use a hand here. Your sister's staying late at school again. She got into trouble hacking the school's main frame again." Mom shook her head and said, "If that girl's smart enough to switch her grades online, I don't know why she doesn't just put the effort into her studies."

"Vi's a teenager Mom," I expressed as I scrubbed some mold of a Tupperware container. "Teens do weird things, like…"

I just shut my mouth as we both turned and looked at the door across from the kitchen. Sheldon's Room, the sign that hung from the door said, Enter at own risk! This means you Vi! A little komodo dragon was sketched on the sigh with a glare directed at anyone about to open the door. Just staring at that door makes me think of Sheldon. He was tall, athletic, and had green eyes and black untidy hair, like me. He was three years older than me and should have been in college by now. He had a passion for sports, books, minerals, and reptiles. I remember the day when he plopped a garner snake in my playpen when I was four and said, "Look what I found Sash!" We hadn't seen him in almost five years.

My eyes filled with tears and I was aware that my dad walked into the room and my feelings felt more peaceful since before Sheldon had left. Dad sighed and said, "You really shouldn't mention your brother all the time."

"You think I want to?" I snapped at my dad. "It hurts when I think about him, but it hurts even worse when I realize he could be with us now if he could do what we can! He could be in college, meet someone, and have a LIFE! But no, he got the worst part of the nanites and turned into a monster! He didn't come out of his room for three days when it happened!" I shouldn't have been mad at Dad but Sheldon and I were very close. You'd have thought we were twins.

Dad hugged me close and sighed. "Not a day goes by that I don't think about him Sasha…Every time I see you accomplish something, I feel remorse for my own son not doing the same things as you. But I try to move on, Sasha. We all have to."

"We all have to," Nana squawked in my dad's voice. Damn Nana, ruining a good moment like this. I hadn't made Dad talk about Sheldon except for once a year on Sheldon's birthday when Dad would tell stories about my older brother. I glared at Nana who squawked, "Tell Sasha the news, Kylie!"

"Shush," Mom said to Nana, as she wiped some tears off her face, "I was just getting to that, Nana. We just got a letter from Sheldon today."

"Really," I said perking up. Everyone in the family was upbeat when Sheldon sent his letters. "You didn't read it yet right?"

"No we're waiting for your sister. Now what do you want for dinner? Spaghetti with tomato sauce or salad?" When my mom started to understand animals, she went vegetarian.

"Spaghetti," I said as I started to do my homework. "Don't you guys think its funny how we always get a letter from Sheldon on a Friday?"

Mom shrugged and dumped noodles into a pot with some water. "He always said it was his favorite day of the week," she said softly.

I sighed and went back to my homework. By the time I finished, Vi was angrily stomping into the apartment. "It isn't fair," she wailed as she flung her backpack onto the table, scattering my completed homework papers. I glared at her and she growled and said, "Sorry Sasha, geez. But Principle G is taking this whole "hacking the web" too far. He just banned me from the electronics club and the computer lab!"
"Next time, don't try to hotwire the computer," I expressed.

Vi opened the fridge, got a bottle of water, and took a swig from it. "I was just trying to make it faster!"

"Whatever," I said as I rolled my eyes. "We got a letter from Sheldon today."

"Well, that does make me feel better, or is it just Dad?"

"Both," Dad called from the living room where he was working on a business proposal for his job. "We'll read it after dinner."

Dinner itself was a stormy affair, despite the fact that Dad was trying to keep everyone's tensions in order. Mom was angrily talking to Vi about the issue at school, and Vi kept saying, "I didn't mean for the computer to explode!" Nana kept quiet for once, perhaps Mom and asked her to be silent or maybe she could tell she would just make the tension even worse or because she knew I would kill her if she did something evil when Sheldon had just sent his letter. I just kept silent and ate my pasta, wishing the meal could go faster so we could read Sheldon's letter.

Finally, we all were sitting in the living room with Sheldon's letter lying on the table. Vi and I did rock-paper-scissors to figure out who got to open it. I won. I grinned and tore the envelope at the top to open it. Inside were several sheets of Manila paper. On the paper was Sheldon's scrawled writing. I handed out the various letter and began to read aloud Sheldon's letter to the whole family.

'"Hey out there folks, it's been awhile since I've last wrote. I've found a place I can really call home and I've met some new friends. Plus, Ben's here too and we're doing what we can out here. I can't tell you where I am, since Providence might find out about it, but I'm happy to be here. You haven't been going into my room, right Vi? Mom, how's the vet clinic? Sasha what's been going on in your school? Has Coach started you on your basketball lessons yet? Has baseball season started and are you keeping up your stats? How things at work Dad? And has Banana been freaking out recently?"' Nana's real name is Banana, since she was Froot Loops when she got her and the name stuck when I named her. Mom changed it to Nana to give it a kinder feel.

'"Sorry again for not writing. Yesterday, I found a great copperhead snake out in the woods were I now live. I got a pic of it and have enclosed it in this letter. The guy in charge he is kind of nice, but he can be strict, but I'd think you would like him Sash. Eventually we could all meet up again, but the odd projects around here are kinda tough and keep us busy. I'll write back as soon as I get your letters. Just leave them at the usual drop off place. The mailman knows how to find me. See ya around!

Love Sheldon.

P.S. If Vi has gone into my room recently, please reminder her to feed Strangles."'

I smiled at Sheldon's sense of humor. Strangles was a garner snake who lived in and out of Sheldon's room. Sheldon knew Vi hated snakes, even the harmless ones, and he used this at every possible advantage. Vi shuddered slightly.

"I hope you've been feeding him, Sasha," Mom said as she rubbed her swollen belly. "He tries to get into the fridge sometimes, ESPECIALLY at night when people should be sleeping." She spoke these last lines with humor at my sister.

I grinned at the look of horror on Vi's face. She was always getting busted looking for a midnight snack. I shook out the picture of the snake and looked at it. Sheldon had it right, this guy or gal was amazing. It had a long tail, diamond marking leading down the entire body, and its eyes were looking right at the camera, or whatever Sheldon had used for the pic.

"I wonder where he's living," Dad said.

Mom shrugged and said, "Wherever he is, I hope he's safe. Sweetheart where are you going?" she asked as I got up.

"A bunch of kids from school are doing pick-up baseball tonight at the park, and I was invited." I grabbed my bat from besides the door and gammed a baseball cap on my head. "See you guys later!" I called over my shoulder as I ran out the door.

It took me five minutes to get to the field and everyone else was there. I waved at Sydney and Tyler who grinned and called me over.

"You're late Strike-out Sash," Sydney said using my nickname that Sheldon had bestowed upon me.

"Sorry, we got a letter from Sheldon and Mom and Vi were arguing about how Vi blew up another computer again or something." Sydney and Tyler were my best friends and, like everyone else, thought that Sheldon had been accepted for an early scholarship from Princeton University. No one knew the truth about what happened to him. I counted up the people on the field.

"Where's Alex?" I expressed as realized we were one short.

"She got mono remember?" Sydney said. "We're going to have to find an alternate or something."

"Hey, what's going on?" We turned to find a teenage guy with dark skin, black hair, and brown eyes standing there with a blonde guy and a chimp. The first dude had a pair of googles on his head, like he had a motorcycle or something, a red and orange jacket, blue pants, and a white and blue tee shirt. The blond guy wore an old jacket and jeans and a basket ball was tucked under his arm. The chimp had an eye patch and a fez and was wearing a shirt and snorts. I glanced at the chimp when it said, "What ya lookin' at punk?"

"A talking chimp?" I said flabbergast. I was worried at I becoming like Mom.

"Don't bother," the chimp said, "I've heard all the jokes." He gives me a sly smile like he wants to pick pocket me or something.

"Ah…Don't mind Bobo, he gets like this when he hasn't shot at something recently," the Mexican kid said. "I'm Rex and this is Noah."

"Sup," the blonde said with a smile.

"He's an EVO right?" I asked still looking at the monkey. "And what do you mean he shoots things?"

"Like he said sweetheart," Bobo said craftily as he laid his paw on his belt. I realized that dangling from the flaps were two blaster pistols. Vi would be so jealous.

"Yeah," Rex said. "I'm one too."

"Oh," I said as I got a good look at his Nanites. They were pulsing with power and a brief glance showed that he could create machines and…cured EVOs.

"You're that guy from Providence right?" I asked with fear.

"Yeah, but I'm playing hooky right now. Mind if we join?"

"Rex can't make a dunk to save his life," Noah joked as he spun the basketball on his finger, which made Rex looked really mad.

"Sure, but I don't trust that monkey to throw anything but...his…you know."

"Don't worry sister, I only do that in emergencies."

"Alright," Sydney said. We headed for the diamond. I immediately asked for Rex and Noah to join my side, still not trusting that monkey. They agreed and Ricky, the captain of the other team, looked reluctant to accept an EVO monkey to his ranks. But he seemed to like it better when Bobo' started to caught pop flies and skimmers.

"Please tell me you two can play baseball," I begged as the chimp caught a fastball.

"I did pee-wee stuff when I was ten," Noah offered as I groaned. I turned to Rex.

"I'm anesthetic so I have no idea if I played baseball or not or even where I lived prior to the Event. Sorry," he said softly.

I coughed and said, "Look it's kind of easy. Just hit the ball away from other players and run to the bases."

"Sounds easy," Rex said as he went up to bat. He grasped the bat and waited for the pitcher to throw. The pitcher, Lefty Lenny, pitched a fastball at Rex, who swung the bat and somehow made contact with the speeding ball. The ball arched and flew over the fence that separated the field from cranky Mr. Wilson's yard and a satisfying crunch could be heard as the ball shattered a window.

"That's good right?" Rex asked confused.

"REALLY good, that's an automatic homerun!" I raced over and gave him a hug and the rest of my team followed. "The only bad thing is, you have to go get the ball from Mr. Wilson."

"Shouldn't be too hard," he said cheerfully, his face red from my surprise hug. My hugs were infamously known for their tendency to crush the hugee.

"Good luck man," said Sydney as Rex ran off to collect our ball. Since we only had one, it caused our game to be put on hold. Everyone broke up and started talking to one another. We were still talking when I felt it. There were two EVOs down the street and Rex was fighting them.

"Heads up!" Rex called as he was thrown through the fence, his fists ten times their size and encased with metal. People erupted screaming and raced off, while Sydney and Tyler stayed with me as we dove for cover with Noah.

"What are they?" Tyler called as we peeked over the top of the bench we were sheltered under. A mechanical wolf creature with long claws was slicing at Rex, who held up his metal fists defensively, while a teenage girl with four arms walked towards us.

"EVOs," I muttered. "Guys, run back and call Providence or something, and tell my parents what's going on okay?"

"Wait what are you doing?" Tyler asked as I raced away from the bench. The EVO girl's head followed me and I suddenly swerved right as a circle of deep brown and red spiraled into existence besides me.

Thank you EVO powers, I said silently. Thanks to my powers, I could predict where that girl would next send her portals. "RUN NOW!" I called back to my friends who got the message and raced off. I saw Bobo grab his guns off his belt and start firing.

"Hey Biowulf, where's Skalamander?" Rex questioned as he ducked an attack.

"Van Kliess said it would be best if we did this mission," the wolf growled in a synthesized voice.

"Who's Skalamander?" I asked Rex as I dodged more of those portals.

"Wait…What you are still doing here I…" Rex stuttered as he saw me duck under the girl's portal.

"Don't ask," I begged as I punched through one of the portals and the girl reared back in pain. I had successfully hit her knee.

"You're an EVO?" Rex said his guard lowering ever so slightly. The wolf slashed him and Rex was shot into the wreckage of the fence.

I scrambled over to him to make sure he was okay. "You still alive?" I questioned as I pulled him up.

"For now," he expressed. "Let's hope Providence gets here soon and…"

Suddenly I was aware that the girl had fired another portal and I realized this one I couldn't dodge with an injured Rex. Bobo the chimp was dodging a blow from that wolf, so I doubted he could help. The portal swirled over us and we were no longer in the baseball park. The area around us had mammoth pine trees and a weird red stained sky.

"Oh crud," Rex muttered. "Abysus."

"What?"

"The territory of Van Kliess, supreme EVO mastermind and whack job. He'll drain your Nanites and turn you into a statue if you displease him. He wants me to join his 'cause'" Rex said and did quotation marks at 'cause'.

"And those EVOs are his goons?' I asked as I felt another portal coming. The red-brown circle appeared and the two EVOs stepped out.

"Yeah," Rex said sourly. "Biowulf and Breach. Although I wonder why V.K. sent them out to get me without his other lackie Skalamander."

"Shut up punk, I had a different assignment."

We turned to find another EVO standing there. My heart jumped to my throat. It was a large lizard like EVO with a club of crystals, green skin, and four feet. His other arm was kind of twisted and his mouth drooled. His eyes were green…the same color they were before.

"Why'd you get Rex when Van Kliess said the target was that girl?" The EVO that had to be Skalamander questioned.

"Call it a bonus," the wolf EVO said. "We saw an opportunity and took it." I took off my ball cap so the EVO could see my eyes. If I was right, I was going to start bawling.

The EVO turned to look at me and his eyes widened. "Sash…What the heck…? WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!" he yelled at his companions. I began to cry softly.

"Wait," Rex said confused, "You've met Skalamander before?"

"He's…my …my brother. Mom is so going to kill you Sheldon."

END OF THE CHAPTER FOLKS! Stay tuned!