Okay, in this chapter I had to dig a bit to figure out exactly how his nanites work and uhh, I MAY have missed an explanation in the show, but I'm not sure I did it right in this chapter. If anyone would like to contribute some information regarding that if it's wrong, I would be ECSTATIC, but yeah, fun EVO fight in this one. Also I don't know if they ever mentioned how long it takes someone to go crazy with nanites, but I'm assuming it's relatively quick. I'm also assuming Rex heals faster than normal or his nanites protect him or something. I mean seriously, he gets thrown through walls and stabbed with spikes and he's totally down with it lol C: I hope you enjoy! (the new ep of Gen Rex filled in some questions I had; loved it C: )

Rex let Susan know his plans the next day; he wanted to help her do anything, as long as it involved heavy thinking or movement. She finally gave in and let him help around the house cleaning. Eventually this turned into a routine, and as Rex didn't have a school to go to or actual work at the moment, when they got done with the house (which didn't take long with Rex helping) Rex would look forward to Katie coming home so he would have someone to talk to. Her school let out after lunch and Greg and Tony didn't get home until late that night.

So naturally, Rex ended up bonding with the girl. With her mom still busy, Rex was definitely bored enough to do anything the girl asked. Including baking cupcakes, brushing her doll's hair, having mock tea parties, and more. The fun just never ended for Rex, but then when he thought back on it later, he realized he was making memories, and it didn't matter how stupid the task was, he did it.

Susan thought it was cute as hell when Katie made him wear an apron, but that was a step in the wrong direction if she was trying to cure his sour mood. Falling into this routine wasn't planned, it just happened, and Rex was glad for it. On the weekends, the family would socialize with others or go out. Rex accompanied them each time, and each time he began to realize that this family was beginning to mean something to him.

Rex was broken out of his thoughts as Katie came running into the kitchen with a drawing, slapping it on the table and demanding him to look at it.

"Lookit! Do you think Mommy will like it!"

Rex smiled at her enthusiasm and picked up the paper, holding it far away like he was critiquing a great artwork. It was a unicorn in a field by a rainbow, "Hmmm, I think you can do better..." the girls face fell and Rex laughed, "I'm kidding Katie, it's gorgeous, she'll love it."

Katie's mouth spread into a toothy smile, "Really?"

Rex smirked, "Do I lie?"

Katie shook her head rigorously, brown hair whipping around her face as she demanded, "Juice! I want juice!"

Rex snorted and stood up, getting her a cup. Moving it out of her reach by a few inches Rex asked, "What's the magic word?"

"Please!"

Rex smiled and handed her the glass, "That's what I'm talkin' about."

Katie ran off again and her presence was replaced by Susan, "Thanks for entertaining her, you're great with kids."

Rex shrugged it off, "It's not a big deal."

Susan just smiled, face turning to alarm as she remembered, "Oh yes, I was meaning to tell you yesterday, but forgot after Katie glued her fingers together; My eldest son thinks he may have found a job for you."

Rex's interest perked at the mention of a job, "Really?"

"He works at a Providence research base not far from here, said they were looking for a security guy and I referred him to you."

"What do you think the chances are?" Rex was hopeful.

Cleaning the counter with a sponge she answered, "He's supposed to call back and let me know if you get the interview. " Susan winked, "Referenced your great work ethic for you too, maybe that will help hmm?."

Rex fell into another one of his apologies, "Thank you so much!"

"Don't thank me yet chico."

Rex smiled nonetheless; the opportunity had presented itself and he was eager to hear back.

Rex wasn't disappointed when her son called back the next day confirming that Rex had an interview the next morning. Rex had literally jumped and yelled in victory. Greg had been kind enough to drop him off on the way instead of having him take the bus.

Now he stood at the gates to Providence in the best outfit he had. Which was about one of three, but good nevertheless. Security let him in and waved him down the hall to the office he needed to be in.

Rex was nervous that he wouldn't get the position, but kept his confident mood anyway as he was called in by the secretary. He was surprised when the man sat him down not for an interview but a briefing on what his job would be like.

When Rex asked the man laughed, "This is a dangerous job son, that's why I'm making sure you know just what you're walking into. After our incident not very many people want to work for us, if you know what I mean. But a job's a job, and this is the real world, so I'm not going to sugar coat what your job entitles you to do. You look like a tough young man, so I've got my faith that you can pull through in the event of a, ah, situation."

Rex raised an eyebrow, "Situation, sir?"

"As you're well aware, this is a research facility, and every once in a while, a project will go awry and it'll then be your job to help neutralize that problem."

Rex ventured to ask, "What exactly would I be dealing with?"

The man, Rex looked at his name plate: Thomas, leaned back in his chair, "We've been working on a cure for the mutant changes in humans, plants and animals from the effect of nanites. We haven't quite gotten to the point where we know what's going to happen when we mess with these little bastards, so that's when things so wrong or over-mutate."

Rex didn't get a good mental picture of that, "So my job is to..."

"If a mutant escapes, you have the authority to do whatever it takes to put it down. Right now you'll be listening to the man in charge of your department, so you don't do anything until he gives you the go-ahead, but you will be carrying a powerful weapon, so you do what your told; no hero work."

Rex nodded seriously, "Yes sir."

The man gave him a grim smile, "Great, now if you'll sign these papers here, I can send you to the head of your department..."

Rex scanned the papers, and most of them just said that he wasn't allowed to sue for work related injuries ect. It wasn't long before Rex had been sent down the corridors with a complex set of direction to the place he needed to be at. Rex found himself instantly lost, he may as well have not gotten directions.

Blowing air out of his cheeks, Rex found someone to redirect him to the right hallway, much to his embarrassment. Turning down what he hoped was the right hallway, Rex jumped when he heard a terrified yell from around the corner. Running towards the sound, Rex almost ran right into a man that was thrown out of a room, his back slamming into the wall with a loud thud. Groaning, he struggled to stand, yelling, "No!" as the door slammed shut.

Rex shouted, "Hey! What's going on?"

The scientist rapidly punched numbers into the keypad, cursing when they flashed red and denied him access. Rex heard a scream from inside and moved the scientist aside, "Can we force it open?"

The scientist shouted in frustration, "No! It's an electronic locking mechanism."

Rex grit his teeth and pounded the door with his fist, "Dammit."

Spreading his palm on the door, Rex pleaded, 'Open, open, open.' He gasped when he felt a resistance in his mind, like he could actually feel the door. Rex's brow furrowed in confusion, but he concentrated this time and demanded, 'OPEN.' His hand tickled and his breathe caught when glowing blue lines crawled under his skin, stretching until they spread over the control console. He was even more surprised when the door actually opened.

Revealed inside was absolute chaos. A mutated dog-like creature let go of the leg it had been chewing on and opened its jaws wide, saliva connecting its sharpened teeth as it's curled lips vibrated in a snarl. It literally opened both sets of jaws and lunged at the intruders in a madness induced rage. Rex lifted his arm instinctively to defend himself, snarling as the huge dog latched onto his forearm with one mouth while the other snapped at air, its teeth sinking into tender flesh, almost sending him sprawling into the scientist behind him.

Instead, Rex swayed back on his heels, then managed the weight and leaned forward, throwing their combined body weight onto the dogs head as he tackled him into the ground. Immediately, Rex's arm was released with a pained shriek from the hound, shock forcing it to release its grip. Scrambling to gain distance between this new attacker as Rex withdrew his arm the monster paced, its blank yellow eyes keeping the teen in its sights. Blood steadily dripping to the cold metal floor, Rex ignored it with clenched fists as he focused on the monster that was getting ready to attack him again.

The dog circled to the right, wary of this new threat as Rex leaned into a crouch, not willing to dodge in case it went for the scientist behind him instead. The dog went for his legs this time, going for his mobility instead of the kill.

Rex reacted instantly and turned, catching the dog at the start of it's neck behind its ear with a heel kick, throwing it heavily to the ground.

Rex watched as it twitched in unconsciousness, blood-stained drool pooling by it's mouths. Making sure it was staying down before looking to the scientist behind him, Rex motioning inside with concern, "Is she alright?"

The scientist stared at him momentarily before running inside and dropping to the woman's side, "She's only feinted. Good for her, otherwise she could be worse." Standing up and facing Rex fully he asked, still shaking and recovering from the adrenaline surge, "How did you do that?"

Rex was uncomfortable with the awe in the scientist's eyes and gripping his bleeding arm tightly in his good hand, he hissed and shrugged, "I don't know, I just- I just wanted it to open."

Finally, the cavalry arrived. They were dressed in the same white and black outfits and handled what looked like powerful weapons. The man in charge towered over Rex and growled, "Who are you?" He was filled in and ripped, short buzzed white hair the only indication of his actual age.

Rex laughed nervously, "Actually sir, I was send to find you, but um," gesturing to the dog Rex gave him his most innocent look, "this happened."

He was glad that the towering man agreed with his story as he nodded, but the scientist behind just wouldn't stop giving him that calculating stare. The man observed his work and asked, "You took this one out barehanded?" Rex could hear the rhetorical edge to his voice as the man continued, "Good work. Come with me and we'll get that bandaged."

Rex was surprised the scientist didn't speak up as he moved past him, but didn't bother himself over it too much. As the adrenaline of his little skirmish began to fade, Rex began to notice the pain in his forearm more than before, but it still wasn't so bad that he couldn't ignore it. He got a uniform and a gun to keep in a locker there at the center, the gun apparently being a high powered stun gun so no one would get killed in the crossfire. All in all Rex hoped he had made a good first impression.

Only after all that was settled did Rex wonder about what had happened with the door. It had all been happening so fast, he may have just been mistaken, but as he mulled it over, he realized grimly that the chances were slim. The blue markings were strange, but he didn't feel like anything was wrong. Rex decided that when he got someplace private, he would try it again. He didn't see any harm in it.

Waiting to get picked up, Rex was told not to tell anyone about what had happened, so he was going to have to find a way to explain away his wound; It wasn't just a paper cut. There was also the fact that they looked like bite marks. Sighing against a wall, Rex decided it all could have been worse, and figured he would let his foster family decide what happened on their own.

When Greg pulled up, he saw the bandage, took note of Rex's expression, and there wasn't another comment about it besides, "Rough first day huh?"

Rex was relived he didn't take it to heart when he didn't explain, but when he thought about it He was probably used to that kind of behavior from his eldest son.

It was dark by the time he pulled up to the house, and Rex was beat from a long, tedious day. He expected all the worrying when Susan saw his arm. She dragged him to the kitchen and insisted she take care of it herself. She retrieved gauze from the pantry and some other first aide, but also a pair of scissors to cut the existing bandage free.

Rex's eyes widened as the red stained cloth fell away as he saw the bite. It was several times better than when he'd seen it earlier that day. Swallowing down panic, Rex tried to understand how that could happen. If anything, it should be worse, not in the early stages of healing. Thanking Susan when she redressed it, Rex excused himself to his room.

Closing the door behind him, Rex looked down at his hands with narrowed eyes, 'What was wrong with him?' Deciding to experiment instead of panic, Rex paced around the room and tried to figure out what to do to test his theory.

Touching the tv, Rex concentrated on turning it on. Again, his arms were laced with glowing blue, unnatural lines and...it worked. Rex pulled his hand back like he'd been burned, but after a moment to get used to the sensation, replaced his hand and did the same thing to turn it off.

Rex sat down on the bed, his mind trying to comprehend the implications of what he could do, and he could only come up with one word; nanites. But from what Rex knew, the machines turned you into a raving monster if they became active. He'd seen the proof himself not hours ago. Rex thought with mild confusion, 'If that's true, why aren't I?'

Rex pushed the thoughts down and helped with dinner after he showered and stayed up for a while talking since none of them had to work on Saturday. And just like that, Rex let life go on. He found out from his job that Providence called the nanite monsters Evo's, but the term didn't stick with him much.

He would show up for work in uniform, but after his first day, he didn't get that much trouble. There was only a small matter that had to be dealt with, and Rex didn't even get to fight. Not that he was craving bloodshed or wishing ill of anyone, but what he did crave was action. Getting bored sitting around and waiting for things to happen wasn't exactly at the top of his to-do list, but Rex didn't expect to be attacked off the job.

He'd been sitting by himself under a dying streetlight waiting to be picked up. Greg was late for some reason or another, not that Rex minded much, but he fell too deep into his daydreams to notice the nanite-induced mutation stalking him from the shadows.

He was knocked back to reality with a slam to his back. Rex winced at the stabs of claws he felt through his shirt and fell down to his hands and knees, just barely preventing himself from losing all his teeth in a concrete sandwich. Before Rex could let his assailant get in a good bite on his shoulder, he rolled to the side and picked himself up into a steady crouch. Quickly analyzing his situation, Rex counted only two...rat things, and thanked the powers that be there weren't more.

Both looked eerily hungry, forcing his back up against a wall. Rex realized he was being herded so he couldn't escape and his eyes darted around for a way out. His best bet was to run for it, because without a weapon, he would be taking a huge risk trying to fight.

Waiting for the opportune moment, Rex planted his heels against the wall and bend down low enough to prepare for the crazed animals. Both were about as tall as his waist and Rex would be delusional if he thought he could overpower them. If they were anything like real rats, Rex assumed he would have agility on his side.

Holding his breath, Rex pushed off the wall as hard as he could when both attacked him from each side. He felt the air rush by him as he passed just beneath their mangled fur. Barely catching himself in a stumble, Rex broke into a sprint away from the mutated rats. He could hear their startled, pained squeals as they collided with each other and simultaneously lost their prey. He knew that just down the street there was a building getting rebuilt and he figured there had to be something there he could defend himself with.

He could hear the scratching claws gaining on him as he skid around a corner and though the chain link fence surrounding the building. Breathing hard, Rex paused briefly to scan the site, his heart doubling when he saw the rats getting closer and saw a sledgehammer laying discarded by an outer wall that was half destroyed.

Running across the yard, Rex tripped just short of the sledgehammer with an oompf. Rolling to his side, Rex found his foot caught up in a power cord and he spat a curse. His eyes widened when he saw one of the rats bound into a jump from over twenty feet away, maw gaping, towards his throat.

Rex whipped his head to the side, and grabbed a scrap piece of wood on his right, barely having enough time to get it between himself and two rows of sharp teeth. Grunting at the weight thrown onto his upper body, Rex wedge the board in the thing's mouth, leaving him just enough strength to reach his hand up behind him to try to get a grip on the sledgehammer handle.

He only just noticed in his peripheral the second rat snap at his hand before he lost the chance to pull it away. Turning his attention back on the board, Rex realized it wasn't going to last long as it creaked under the stress of having a writhing animal gnaw it to shreds. Alarm gripping him as the board began to splinter, Rex pulled his legs up under the animal and kicked up as hard as he could, throwing the rat off of him just as it snapped the board in two.

Scrambling to his feet, Rex found himself surrounded and still weaponless. His fear began to shift into a resolute anger as Rex panted, "I..will not...die here...with a couple of stupid rats!"

Rex heard the signs of attack in the rat behind him as he whirled and planted his feet, fully prepared to punch it in the nose, what he didn't expect was to feel the skin in his arm tingle and cover itself with grey metal, stretching his arm into a sharp point. His eyes widened as he felt the rat's skin and bone give way to his improvised weapon.

Shock coursed through his veins and he instinctively lashed out with a yell when he heard the shriek behind him, nearly cutting the other rat's head clean off. Rex shuddered when he felt the nanites shrink back into his skin. Even more than the rats and their dead bodies around him, Rex was terrified at what had happened with his arm.

Gripping his arm tightly, like that would keep it from happening again, Rex gulped down air, his nose stinging with the arid scent of blood that now coated his arm. Looking down at the mutated creatures at his feet, blood pooling around his shoes Rex wondered with horror, 'Is that my future?'

Rex had walked, dazed back to where he was supposed to meet Greg and his breath still coming in shallow shudders, he barely realized the idling car. Greg actually jumped out of the drivers seat and rushed over when he realized who he was looking at. Shaking him by the shoulders, Greg tried to get his attention, snapping his fingers in front of his face until Rex would look at him.

Rex felt like he was moving through molasses, shock that his life could essentially just end, gripped him fiercely. The guilt was intense as Rex lied through his teeth when Greg asked him what had happened, "A couple of Evos. I ran and...and some machinery fell and crushed them before they could get to me."

Greg moaned, "This is all my fault, if I had just been here sooner..."

Now Rex was paying attention, the glazed look slipping from his eyes, "Hey! This isn't your fault or mine, these things happen."

Greg gave him a look of appreciation as Rex gave him a small smile, no more than a tilt of the lips. Rex sank into the car and kept his hands curled in tight fists when he noticed they were shaking.

Before they got out of the car, Rex grabbed Greg's arm before he could get up, "Can you make sure Susan doesn't find out?"

Greg looked ready to protest before he sighed and said, "I'll see what I can do, I'm not promising anything though."

Rex visibly relaxed, "Thank you." Greg only gave a slight nod as they went into the house, Rex almost sneaking to his room. Closing the door to the shower, Rex grimaced as he saw his reflection. He was certainly a bad sight. His shirt was ripped and there was blood drying in a smear across his cheek and his torn sleeve. He could still feel the burn in his back from where claws had sunk into his skin and his knees hurt from falling too hard on concrete.

Ridding himself of his clothing, which put him down another outfit, Rex was done being surprised when he saw the bite on his arm was healed already. He cleaned off the blood as well as he could and organized his thoughts. Deciding that if he really was turning into a monster, he would wait until he felt even a little off and turn himself in to Providence.

Pushing down all his worry and fear, Rex put up a front as he met the family in the living room for dinner. Greg watched him with concern for a fleeting moment, but it was gone as his tone betrayed none of what he'd seen in his eyes earlier.

Rex kept his mind from wandering back to negative thoughts as they sat for dinner and enjoyed the other's company. After the dishes were all cleaned and put away, Susan left to check on Katie, who's bettime was much earlier than the rest of the household.

Susan came back in with an unhappy frown creasing her face as she leaned on the counter. Greg turned around to asked what was wrong when she pushed her hair back and sighed, "Katie has a fever and she's sleeping now, but it came on so suddenly...she was fine a couple of hours ago."

Tony contributed, "Aw she's be fine, Katie's a trooper."

She sighed and pouted, "Oh I know, but I still worry."

Rex felt his stomach twist in anxiety, but as he climbed into bed and squeezed his eyes shut and prayed for sleep, all he was awarded with was nightmares.

The next day, Katie had gotten worse. Her breathing grew heavy and she was curled up like she was in pain, her hair clinging to her sweat-damp face. When Susan left to get Greg so they could take her to the emergency room, her hands were trembling in fear for her little girl. Rex stayed in the room to watch her while she left and chanced brushing her hair out of her face with the back of his fingers, his eyes burning from lack of sleep. He froze at the feeling he got from the contact between his and her skin.

It was the same sensation he felt when he'd touched the door and the tv, but magnified to the point that he knew what he was feeling. Swallowing in fear, Rex heard his breathing climb as he struggled to understand exactly what he was feeling.

Pressing his palm over her forehead, Rex's breath caught when he felt the turmoil of the nanites inside of her. He was startled when the couple came into the room, and he jerked his hand back as Greg bent over to pick her up. Susan had the car keys in her hand as they started in a hurry for the front door, but Rex was too stunned to think of anything to say to stop them, or tell them his fears.

They barely made it to the porch before Katie's eyes snapped open and she gasped. Rex shook as he saw the narrow slits her eyes had become and the sharp points of her teeth. Her skin was already melting into a deep red starting at her fingers and toes. Taking a deep breath Rex yelled in alarm, reaching forward to them both in a lunge, "Put her down! Now!"

Not sure how much I'm liking Rex working for Providence, but I do enjoy writing that more than I would him at a Hotdog stand lol Plus, I figure if he's so close to the incident site, the place would be swarming with Providence and therefore, the chances of him finding a job in connection with them would have to be greater. Anyway, I hope you were entertained by my Rex musings.