(Don't have high expectations; this is a crackfic. Should have said this in the beginning tbh. Sorry 'bout that.)

Currently unable to find a loophole, Rex took in a deep breath and let out the biggest string of swear words he'd ever forced out in his life, hoping his mental pain would be suppressed by the use of extremely colorful language. He pulled out every nasty word he'd heard in his life from memory, from angry Providence soldiers, to disgruntled enemies, to Bobo on a rampage, and especially from mature scenes on TV.

It lasted an entire five minutes long.

"Rex... you require serious self control," Van Kleiss's hesitant voice began after the vulgar spouting had ceased. "What I've just heard from you was utterly repulsive, to say the least."

"That was nothing," the teen grumbled, sliding off of Cesar's car. "That was just me blowing off steam. Like a volcano."

"I couldn't care less. Learn some manners. Keeping calm is the key to everything."

"You're not my therapist. Hurry up and tell me what you want from me so I can leave."

"Patience, Rex," the king said. "Now, I want you to enter the building. Show no fear or suspicious behavior."

Rex rolled his eyes and did as he was told, approaching the lab. He then pushed open the doors and found himself staring at a woman at the front office. He sighed and continued, closing the doors behind him. Hopefully the woman wouldn't be any trouble.

She frowned. "Hello. Can I help you?"

The teen gave a cheesy smile. "I'm just... visiting. Don't mind me."

"This is a private location, sir. If you have nothing to do here, I'll have to ask you to leave."

"I remember her," Van Kleiss mumbled into the boy's earpiece. "No personality at all."

"I'm just here to use the bathroom, ma'am," Rex lied, ignoring the man in his ear. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it was private. But it's an emergency."

The office receptionist's frown deepened, but after a while, she nodded. "Wait for a bit. I'll call a worker over so you don't wander somewhere dangerous."

"Funny, I didn't know I walked into a wrestling arena, heheh," Rex weakly quipped. But if it made the woman less cautious, lame jokes would work just fine. Soon, a vaguely familiar scientist walked into the room after the woman made a quick call on her buzzer, and led the boy into the grey hallways.

"So, what are you guys doing in here?" the teen asked, pretending to be oblivious.

The scientist smiled. "I wish I could tell you, but it's classified. We're working marvels, though. Can you imagine an upcoming perfect world?"

Rex narrowed his eyes, recalling all the families torn apart by the appearance of rampaging EVOs. "No. There's no such thing. We need to stick with what we have."

The scientist's smile faltered for a moment as he then glanced at the teen curiously. "Well, it might sound unachievable right now, but... miracles do happen. I've certainly got one one the way."

"I do know. From experience. I suggest holding off on that "miracle"."

The two walked in awkward silence for the next few minutes, making Rex slightly regret the intensity of his words. Acting like a total stranger wasn't easy, especially if he wanted to remain undercover. Moments later, they finally reached the bathroom, and the boy was told to stay at until the scientist came back. Rex entered the restroom and sighed, sliding down against a wall and sitting with his knees propped up.

"He's crazy wrong if he thinks nanites are the answer to everything," the teen remarked. "His little miracle on the way is going to ruin millions of people's lives! It really sucks that he's that deluded."

"My, you're oblivious," Van Kleiss's voice chimed in, followed by a laugh. "The miracle he was subtly referencing was you. That was your father."

Rex's heart nearly stopped.

"He's- my- my- que?" the young EVO stuttered, his head spinning again. "I- oh my god- I just talked to dad!"

"Yes, you did. I imagine it must be a shock. I'll give you a few moments so you can pull yourself together before we continue with more important things."

Rex curled on the bathroom floor in shock, rambling to himself. "I was so mean. I should apologize. I should ask where mom is. He has a mustache. Oh my god."

"Rex, don't make me come and drag you out of there," the king warned, though his tone wasn't that serious. "You're on a dirty floor. Sit up. No, stand up."

The boy complied, his head still abuzz with questions about what to ask his father. "I said some really rude things to him! I need to-"

"Yes, you did. Your idiocy is reflected in your attitude towards nanites. You act like they were the end of the world."

"They will be!"

"No. They're going to be a new beginning."

The teen groaned and lightly smacked his head on the wall behind him. "Just tell me what you want."

"Finally, you're getting somewhere," Van Kleiss remarked. "Currently, they should all be on their lunch break. I am most likely in my office, working on... I can't quite remember. Go to the center lab where the nanite tanks are held."

Rex sighed, arched his back, and snuck out the bathroom. He then meandered down the halls, and with the help of his kidnapper's directions, turned a few select corners when he was told to. The lights were bright against the walls and floor, painfully reminding him of Providence. He wanted nothing more than to go meet his father- properly, this time- and be rid of the mission he didn't even know the goal of.

Moments later, he finally reached the main room.

The teen gasped.

Inside the massive lab were rows upon rows upon rows of nanite tanks. They took up three quarters of the room and were organized into groups, making them catch his eye instantly. The rest of the lab was impressive enough, but apart from his time in Abysus, the young EVO had never seen such a massive amount of nanites in one place. It was fascinating to think that he was staring at all that would eventually rock the course of civilization.

Fascinating, yet terrifying.

"There's so many," Rex breathed, walking around the columns and tracing his fingers across the glass they were constructed out of. "I'm staring at the ingredients for hell on Earth!"

"Oh, stop that," the king snapped into his earpiece. "Even for a child, you're quite melodramatic. Nanites also helped save your life, in case you couldn't remember. Be grateful."

"You just want them to take over the world," the teen grumbled. "Cut the crap."

"It doesn't matter. There's a good purpose to it. Now, I want you to release some sample nanites into a tray."

The boy rolled his eyes and grabbed a nearby sample tray from a lab counter, then brought it to one of the nanite columns. Using his technopathy, he forced a metal door at the bottom of the column open and released a cupful of the tiny scientific innovations into the tray. The boy then shut the door to prevent any more from spilling out, and placed the now full tray on the counter again.

"Isn't it wonderful what your nanites have allowed you to do?" Van Kleiss mused. "Normally, you'd need an ID card to access anything in there. Now, let me see..."

Rex waited for the rest of the sentence to come, but it never did. Instead, a sudden flash of light illuminated his body from above. He glanced up to find a small, golden portal above him, and watched as it lowered itself until it engulfed the nanites. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished.

"Did- did you just take them?" the teen balked, stepping back from the empty lab counter. "What are you doing? You're stealing them!"

He heard nothing from his kidnapper, and began to feel the hairs on his back rise in alarm. Not only was he seemingly stranded in a lab he hadn't seen he was a child, but any minute now, someone could enter and label him an intruder. It was a strong possibility that he could even end up in jail.

Quickly, Rex dove under one of the nearby metal tables and attempted to shield himself with a chair in case anyone arrived. He let out a few curses at the older man for abandoning him for no good reason, wishing he was back at home in his present time. If there was anything he wished for right now, it was for his family on the other end of the timeline to attack the maniac rendering him helpless.

Too bad they didn't really know where Van Kleiss was.

The bright glow of a new portal distracted the teen from his thoughts, making him slide the chair a few inches to the side in curiosity. The nanite tray appeared on the floor, and the portal closed up yet again in the blink of an eye. This time, however, there seemed to be considerably less nanites in the tray than before. About half the amount, Rex guessed.

"I was going to use a few for nanite absorption," his kidnapper's voice piped into his ear, "But they're still in their immature form, as they lack data and coding to control."

Rex grinned. "So your plan failed?"

"No. All the nanites started out this way. I want you to head to Cesar's office. It should be in the hallway you came through, and my name should be written above the door. Hopefully, his past self should have some blueprints for further coding. He was obsessed with the Alpha nanite later on, after all."

Rex groaned and crawled out beneath the table, then exited the room in search for his brother's past domain. "I wish you'd just give up."

"And I wish you'd do the same with your attachment to an organization against our kind."

"Yeah, well, we can't all have what we want."

"I most certainly will."

Rex scowled and snuck through the corridors, careful not to make a sound. His shoes were quiet as he slid softly around the corners as he pretended he was somewhat of an EVO ninja. While he roamed through the halls, he tried to recall flashbacks he'd had of the place when he was young, but they were quite difficult to procure. Strangely enough, only a blurry image of a soccer ball came to mind.

And soon, he found himself staring right at a large sign above a door with perfectly clear, bright white letters on a black panel, indicating that he'd reached the right location.

The office of the man who'd caused the explosion.