Generator Rex Generations

by dragonsroar

A bold new world is blossoming with the advent of cybernetic technologies. But the lines between man and machine will be blurred and new characters take the stage and shape the future.

6. Road Rage

Generator Rex Generations

Episode Six

"Road Rage"

The mighty roar of engines echoed down the long boulevard as a bevy of high-powered speed demons lined the streets while onlookers cheered with a fervor unmatched. One car though stood out from the pack. A slick black car with streamline design. With an engine roar that would shame a lion and a tight hugging suspension this black beauty's elegant visage masked a mighty beast underneath. Its tinted windows contrasted starkly with the mid-morning sun, giving off a radiant shine that seemed to envelop it. Although those same windows kept the driver of the car an utter mystery to all around. Still, the coming race had everyone's attention, with the drivers revving and waiting to take off. At that, the starting light ticked down with a slow flow from red to orange to yellow and finally to…

GOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The moment the green light dropped did the squeal of wheels erupt as the assorted racers took off into a blurred rush of dust and exhaust.

Right from the get-go there was an immediate fight for control as the cars jockeyed for position. Paint was traded between vehicles as they grinded rubber to road. One might mistake the rally for a roller derby with how close the cars stuck to one another, with the almost constant eruption of sparks of the cars scraping against one another.

… all save for the slick black car.

Not only had it avoided any car-to-car contact, it also was progressively moving up in the pack. Whoever was behind the wheel wasn't a simple racer, but it was as if they could feel the road, moving ahead or back to avoid other racers as if they had a sixth sense. It slid into turns with the utmost grace, gliding down the boulevards with nary a loss of speed or control. The driver's skills were mesmerizing to watch as time seemed to slow as it glided across the asphalt to slide pass other racers with only the barest of space between them. It didn't take long for the black car to make itself the king of the road as it soon overtook the leaders of the pack.

However more than racers tailed the slick race car. The undeniable sound of police sirens echoed behind it as the police saw fit to put an end to the city-wide race. And though they were a copy-paste bonanza of law enforcement agency vehicles, the cop cars had some serious kick behind them and pulled ahead of the racers.

… all save for the slick black car.

Though the cop cars tried to run him off the road the car served among the ravenous pack and avoided their vehicular assault attempts. The black car then took to the interstate, ramping up the highway while a swarm of police cruisers blared at his back. As more and more police cruisers joined the chase it didn't take long from the pursuit to turn into a grand spectacle as the cars were soon given aerial support. The whirl of chopper blades soon joined the cacophony of noises as several overhead shadows indicated the arrival of the rotary machines. Taking a rather unorthodox attempt at stopping the free-wheeling black car the helicopters overtook it from above and from the sizes large metal strips where tossed out. Those strips unfurled to show spikes; spike strips aimed to shred tire. And though they rained down like steel-teethed bombs the black car whipped around the metallic maelstrom with almost precognitive skill. A quick juke to the left saved it from a tire tearing fate while a drift to the right helped it dodge a tumbling wave of jagged spikes.

The police were quick to up the ante once more, deploying from the side of their cruisers small harpoon like launchers with rather crude looking harpoons skewed in. With a "ka-chunk" of machine parts the harpoons flew free from their casings toward the black car, the long rope attached to them wiggling widely through their flight. But the car driver's ability to think ahead aided him in avoiding the worst of the assault. Be it the road being impaled as columns of asphalt sprayed up or guardrails being shredded into scrap metal, the black sedan bobbed and weaved through the hail of serrated edged pokers.

The black sedan raced across an expansive bridge, with the spray of the bay lapping at its sides. It looked to be followed by a practical parade of patrol cruisers, police vans, and law enforcement helicopters. A parade with sharp objects flung across it. Law enforcement did everything short of opening fire on the fleeing sedan, using all manner of device to slow down or deactivate the speeding car. Nets rattled across the asphalt that fell from up high and magnetic anchors clattered uselessly to the side as the sedan dodged to and fro from the excessive assault. And as the attacks reached their peak, everything thrown at the black car save for the kitchen sink, the wave of stopping measures began to wane.

The reason for this was pertained to the fact that the black sedan had reached the border; crossing the bridge into a providence that the police had no jurisdiction over. Thus, the overzealous police forces were forced to pull back against their dogged pursuit lest they incur the wrath of the principalities of the land across the bridge. As the sounds of sirens and copter blades fell silent the black sedan began to slow, eventually coming to a stop just at the edge of the bridge.

Having reached freedom, the side door of the sedan popped open where the driver casually pulled himself out. Much like his car the driver wore a slick black suit without so much as a wrinkle despite his hazardous drive. He popped his collar briefly before fooling with the dark shades that lined his face. Then as he pulled the sunglasses free, he revealed himself to be none other than… Rex Salazar. Being the apparently driver behind the wheel of such a slapdash ride the Evo boy let out a smirk at his evading of the law.

"I rock." He said with wide grin.

And it was undeniable that Rex had proven himself to be the undisputed king of the road with the skill he had portrayed. As least as far as the game screen nearby had proclaimed.

"You're full of it." Came the voice of Carmen.

It took little time for reality to come crashing back for Rex; the boy in question standing nearby the arcade console he had just stepped out of. His black sedan just happened to be the car he chosen on screen and his slick suit had just been a spur of his imagination, as he was clothed in his normal attire. All-in-all though, Rex had achieved the high score; subsequently putting his name up on the leader board. That said it didn't exactly impress Carmen who simply stood nearby shaking her head despondently at his peculiar antics.

In time Rex, Carmen, Bobo, and Jungle Cat left the arcade; though the last of them had been waiting outside the arcade as his sensitive senses didn't do well with bright lights and loud sounds. He did catch the sounds of arguing as the group made its way out of the arcade.

"Are you five or something?" came Carmen

"Well sorry for not being a stick in the mud." Was Rex's rebuttal, "Seriously Carmen, have some fun once in a while."

"And look like an absolute goofball in the process? No thanks."

"It's called being immersive." Came Rex, "Seriously, it's like you have a switch or something that cuts off the fun receptors."

"Oh, I can have fun. But what you were doing was just stupid. What with all the sound effects and hand movements and stuff. You looked like you were having a stroke."

"I was just getting into character. You know, really getting into the feel of tearing up the road." He replied, "Besides, gotta psyche myself up for my driver's test tomorrow."

"That's another thing I don't get. Why are you so excited for getting your license anyway?" she asked, "Why do you even need one for that matter? You can literally create a ludicrously fast ground vehicle with your feet. You can fly even. Why would you want to limit yourself to a regular car?"

"You don't understand Carmen. It's a man's dream to put the pedal to metal. To grind those asphalt roads. To grab that shift and kick it into high gear." He pontificated, "My builds make it too easy to tear up the road. But an actual car, that takes real skill to tear the streets a new one."

"Sounds like a lot of wasted effort."

"Well, humans enjoy a challenge after all." Replied Jungle Cat, "Not something unfamiliar to you?"

"Maybe. Still, there's challenge and then there's needlessly tying your hands behind your back while trying to carry a full load." Replied Carmen, "Efficiency is about achieving more production with less energy expenditure after all. Rex wanting to learn how to drive seems counterproductive."

"I never said all challenges were worth it." Replied Jungle Cat.

An incensed Rex blurted out, "Dude, can't you have my back on this?! This is a man's dream? Don't you share it?!"

To which Jungle Cat replied, "One, I am not a man. And two, I can traverse the city fine without a motor vehicle. It's useless in my case."

"See, exactly my point!" came Carmen.

"Useless?! Dude, you lug around a Vulcan Cannon despite being able to tear through steel with your bare claws!"

Jungle Cat took thought to that, "Hmm, that is true. However, that's only when the situation requires it." He replied, "Otherwise I am more comfortable using my natural gifts as opposed to heavy ordinance… despite how fun it can be."

A smirking Bobo added, "A brother in arms after all."

Though Jungle Cat took on a slightly unease look, "To think I'd have something in common with you."

That was a comment that didn't tide over well with Bobo, who gave him a nasty raspberry in response.

"Despite Jungle Cat's… interest in heavy ordinance my point still stands. There's no point in you getting your license." Replied Carmen.

"I see you riding bikes all the time." Came Rex.

"I don't have a choice." She rebutted, "With my systems locked there's no way I can get around just running. You on the other hand have at least four ways to cross the city in a blink."

"That's the point." Came Rex, "It's natural, a part of me. Easy. Boring. But driving… that takes skill. Skill I plan on putting to the test. So, I gotta get in the mood."

Carmen rolled her eyes to that, "I don't know how a person can get bored flying but whatever. Even so, that was a video game so don't think that translate to actual driving skill."

He gave her a haughty snort in response, "Please. By tomorrow this boy right here will be an official denizen of the road."

"May the heavens have mercy then." Was Carmen's response.

"Funny." Muttered Rex.

Rex would have retorted with more snappy one-liners and quippy comebacks, but the sound of several engines caught his ears. As he and the others turned to the adjacent avenue, they saw a gaggle of helmet-clad bikers rounded the corner at incredible speeds. Assorted cries of surprise came from the citizenry as the bikers tore through down the asphalt. Fortunately, no one was run down in the ensuing chaos but that didn't mean the boulevard came out unscathed from of the biker's rampage.

Be it blades that cut across the frames of cars, lances that that pierced mailboxes, or hammers that crushed street posts the virulent malcontents defiled the peaceful roads. It was a desecration that Rex took none to kindly to.

"We got Road Warriors: Idiotas Locos Edition." He groused as faint lines of energy lined his feet, "Guess I'll have to put the pedal to the metal while I drop some heavy metal on them."

His quick quip gave way to the creation of his Rex Ride build, along with the backseat passenger of Bobo, with blaster guns at the ready.

"Y'all hang back while I clean up the streets." He said as his helmet superimposed itself on his cranium.

Then with a toothy grin he let his engines carry him in hot pursuit of the marauding band of miscreants.

"He seriously doesn't think we're going to sit on the sidelines while he plays at an over-glorified traffic cop?" Carmen groused to her furry companion.

"For you perhaps." Replied Jungle Cat, "I could give chase just fine, but you lack any sort of means of transport."

"You wouldn't just leave me behind, would you?"

"Heavens no." Replied Jungle Cat, "Personally I see no reason in interfering with an event that should be under the jurisdiction of the local police department. And besides, you are my partner and it is my job to watch after you."

"You could be a gentleman and carry me." She offered.

To which he replied, "Your weight is far too substantial for me to effectively keep pace while carrying you."

"Are you calling me fat?"

"I'm saying that unless you find something to ride, you'll be out of luck at putting your nose in this situation like Rex." He replied.

Carmen looked about for anything that could help her but found no spare vehicles for her to "commandeer" and thus with a heavy sigh she found herself, as Jungle Cat put it, out of luck, "Man, this blows something fierce." She muttered.

With Carmen and Jungle Cat unable to assist, Rex and Bobo were left to their lonesome as they chased down the destructive band of two-wheeled hooligans. Said hooligans bashed their way through the city streets, their various overbearing weapons of disaster cutting a swath of destruction through the avenues of the winding ways.

"What are these old-school clunkers doing on these high-tech bikes?" pondered Rex as he caught up to the malignant group, "They're literally going medieval on everything."

"More like earlier Nara/Heian period to me." Came Bobo, a response that had Rex give him a very peculiar look, "What? I read." Bobo added.

Rex would have questioned that tidbit of new information, but he had more pressing concerns and with a determined glint in his eye he closed in on the armored marauders.

"Hey, you samurai wannabees! Pull over!" barked Rex upon reaching them, but the cackling motorists largely ignored Rex as they continued on their destructive way.

Rex didn't take kindly to being ignored and decided to take a more hands-on approach to the situation as he got literally handsy with a Smack Hand. The steel-clad bandits took notice of this, crying out as they were forced to swerve to the side to avoid being side swiped by the swiping gauntlet.

"I said break it up and pull over!" Rex barked; his metallic fist clenched tightly in intimidation.

The motorized hoodlums responded in kind, with two of them pulling back against Rex as the nanite boy breezed pass him. Then in an enclave of screeching tires the group of gangsters surrounded Rex in short order. They assailed the boy with numerous feudal weaponries, showcasing a twisted vision of classic armaments.

A wicked spear was thrust toward him with intent on bodily harm, but the boy deflected the blow well with his Smack Hand, the crooked head of the spear scrapping against the build futilely. He didn't reveal in his block for Rex had to dodge aside the manic swing of a large hatchet, lest he lose his side to the jagged weapon. The dodged weapon scrapped across the ground for a time before the wielder regained his balance, only to be driven off when Bobo unleashed his blaster-based fury. That didn't stop one of the bikers from behind to pushed forward with a blade at the ready as he tried to take Rex's back out. Rex reached back to swat at the attacker with his Smack Hand but found trying to get enough leverage while driving was a hassle and barely managed to ward off the biker. Bobo stepped in with another round of blaster fire and while pushing the attacker back, found himself ducking low as another spear whipped about, nearly taking his furry head off.

"You know, maybe getting into the middle of the pack wasn't the best idea!" Bobo called out as he fired upon enemies, though found himself more bunched up against Rex to avoid being skewered.

"Right… hang tight!" called Rex, with his back suddenly glowing with nanite power.

In little time did a new build take center stage; his ride reverting into his body as his Boogie Pack took form. He was in the air moments later and gained a bit of height against his adversaries. He then morphed the turbines to unleash his bolos, subsequently firing a fusillade of them onto the heads of the hostile group. But the baddies proved to versatile despite their manic antics and dodged about the falling bolos with surprising skill. The street was bombarded by the heavy-set bolos while the bikers weaved about to avoid being crushed beneath them. In time the bikers returned fire with makeshift rifles, that fired off with loud 'bangs' up at Rex.

Rex cried out with a "Whoa!" as he tried to avoid the oncoming shots, managing to keep himself just ahead of the vicious blasts. Unfortunately, while Rex himself managed to stay out of the line of fire his build couldn't avoid the blasts unscathed, with the turbines of the Boogie Pack rattled with bullets. Bobo defended with shots of his own but by the time he forced the bikers off they had already done enough damage, with one last shot ripping through the turbine's armor and striking the main gear shaft. Rex felt himself tilt and then tumble to the side as the turbine overworked itself, eventually falling apart midflight and sending Rex's plummeting to the asphalt. Bobo gripped about Rex's head like a vice, nearly suffocating the boy as they fell, but Rex had enough mind to bust out another build before slamming into the street. A pair of heavy metal boots impact the street as they landed, the Punk Busters saving Rex from face-planting into the asphalt.

"Glad I hit the ground running!" He said, wasting little time after his landing to keep pace, running with all his might as his heavy boots repeatedly thudded against the pavement.

Though it was safe to say that even with his increased running speed he wasn't going to keep up with the gangsters thus he switched back to his ride after a few strides. He revved his engine and shot forward, keen to even up the score and he brandished his own long-range weapon in response. He held the Slam Cannon aloft and was quick to load it up with several rounds of pavement. Then with Bobo as his back-up artillery Rex opened fire on the fleeing bikers. Blasts and debris buffeted the area, causing the bikers to swerve every which way to avoid being devastated. But be it blaster fire or crumbled pavement it was impossible to avoid everything, for their clumped together grouping at them nearly sideswiping one another to avoid Rex's onslaught.

"Split up!" one of them called to the group.

"And let him rag on us like this?!" questioned another.

"We can't risk getting caught, or the boss'll have our heads!"

There was a group understanding to this and amidst the ballistic fall of Rex and Bobo the belligerent bikers broke up, each taking wildly different routes at the turn of a nearby boulevard. Rex came to a stop in the middle of the boulevard and swung his head about wildly as he watched each biker taking a different path to escape, with the boy cursing under his breath at the revelation.

"Not getting away from me!" he growled and took off after the closest biker, "Gonna get at least one of these numb nuts after all they put me through!" he barked, shooting off down a single avenue in pursuit of the nearest fleeing crook.

The ne'er-do-well took a sharp jaunt down a smaller street, whizzing about the parked cars and the like, trying to lose Rex in the crowd. Rex found himself a bit at odds in the tighter avenue, his bike scrapping against several cars in his attempt to gain ground on the escaping criminal.

"Forget this!" he growled before his bike began to break down at his heels, "Hold tight Bobo." He called as the bike disassembled and quickly resembled into a new, more compact build.

Like a supped up hoverboard the Sky Slider took Rex upward where he sailed over the street below. With more room to maneuver and a new vantage point Rex was easily able to keep pace with the escapee. The sound of hover engines caught the gangbanger's ears and he looked up to spy Rex closing in fast, practically on top of him by the time he crossed the next corner. It took little time afterward for Rex to overtake the biker, to which he jetted ahead to eventually bar his progress. The biker came to a stop when a floating Rex brandished his massive blade and pointed it forward with intent at the street criminal.

"Freeze! You're busted!" came Rex as he held the criminal up with blade extended, "You gave me a bit of a work and I'm a little bummed your pals got away, but I'm gonna make sure I take you down." He said as a sharp grin took over his face at the dismay of his opponent, "Now, you can give up without a fight or I can drill you into the ground. You're choice."

The biker gave a curt curse under his breath at his predicament as he tried to look for a means of escaping. But realizing Rex meant business the biker decided the only course of action left to him was to try and battle it out; as such he brought an oversized halberd-like weapon to bear. Looking like a massed together engine with a blade attached the ominous weapon that hung off the bike now weighed heavily in hand of the biker bandit.

"Dude, can you even lift that thing?" Rex asked as he watched his adversary heft the weapon into a fighting stance, "Look, I'm the only dude around that can swing around the big toys like this." He said referring to his bladed build, "And that's on account of controlling my nanites as opposed to you… regular guy."

"That's what you think Evo boy. The boss's given us some serious… upgrades from being regular old humans." Came the biker, "Let me show ya how!" he barked as he pulled something from a pouch at his side.

In palm he proceeded to jab a cartoonishly large syringe into his arm, only barely missing the vein. The syringe had a see-through measuring rule that showed a yellowish liquid quickly drain into the biker's arm. This gave rise to a curious eyebrow raise from Rex and Bobo, though their bewilderment only heightened when a somewhat familiar sight overtook the biker's arm. Though liquid at first, as the mysterious substance entered the man's body tell-tale signs of nanite activity appeared upon his arm. Rex let out an audible gasp as the nanites traveled freely up that arm, eventually encompassing the biker's chest as they began to spread about the rest of his body.

"Aww yeah, that's the stuff!" the biker barked as the nanites flowed through his body from heel-to-crown, his body responding to the influx with increased muscle-mass and tension.

The now enhanced criminal gave Rex a very feral grin before lunging forward, propelling himself with impressive power and speed. Rex only managed to block in time and quickly found himself pushed back by the empowered biker and his axe.

"You gotta be kidding me!" growled Rex as he was thrown off balance in the air due to the sudden force being pushed against him.

The lurched caused him to lose his concentration somewhat and his Sky Slider suffered for the lapse in judgment. He hit the ground hard, where his build collapse under his feet in a shower of metal that bounced upon the pavement. Bobo was flung from Rex's back in the tumble where he bounced off the roof of a nearby car to slide down the other side with an audible groan. Meanwhile Rex fell to a knee as he tried his best to keep his adversary from rending him down the middle.

"Some kind of Evo?" grunted Rex as his powered-up opponent bared down on him with ever increasing pressure.

"Not Evo! Better!" the biker growled back as his body stood alight with nanite infused strength, "Man, the boss was right about this stuff, I feel unstoppable!"

Rex looked beyond his blade to get a good look at the influx of nanites flowing through the man and decided to try a new tactic. Pushing back just enough Rex then reached forward, grasping upon the biker's arm and immediately sending his nanites into his body. At that point a startling realization came over Rex as his nanites interacted with those in the biker's body.

Rex replied with shocked gasp at the realization, "You really aren't an Evo." He surmised as he couldn't "cure" the man of his nanites for they weren't in an out of control programming flux.

The biker's nanites were simply hyper energized by a second batch of nanites which his leeched energy off.

Or in laymen's terms, "There's nothing to shut down because they're not active, just hyped up!"

"Hey! What are you doing!" barked the biker, baring down further on Rex, "I ain't about to let you steal my power that the boss gave me!" he yelled, then slowly began to cackle as Rex lost more ground, "Guess you ain't all the boss cracked up you to be!"

"Huh… you keep bringing up this boss guy." Came Rex under the grind of blades, "So he gave you these powers and he knows about me huh? Well then, guess I really need to get serious with this." He said, as a wicked grin cross the Evo boy's face.

The biker suddenly found his gains waning and Rex slowly rose against him; the biker's nanite infusion nothing compared to the power that coursed through Rex. Bobo was also recovering, though he groaned with a splitting headache. Still, the biker soon found himself overwhelmed as it was now Rex's turn to bear down on him.

"But how?! I'm supposed to be unbeatable!" barked the biker.

"You think some second rate nanite boost is gonna beat me?" came Rex, "I've fought literal monsters! A supped up human guy isn't gonna be that big of a deal!"

Then with a mighty heave Rex threw the man aside, practically throwing him head over heels across the boulevard.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" growled the irate biker, but it quickly dawned on him that he was little match for Rex, "Gah! I can't sit around and get caught by this guy. Gotta run."

"Come on dude, you really think I'm gonna let you get away?" Rex asked, though he had a mind of the answer already.

The biker him a hefty sneer as he pointed his axe directly at Rex, before pressing a mechanism at its side. The "engine" of the blade began to rev, powered by the same nanite intrusion that powered the biker, though Rex was ready for more melee combat.

Too bad he wasn't ready for ballistic combat, for the blade suddenly shot out of the holding of the axe handle straight toward him. Flummoxed, Rex threw his blade up moments before being impaled and fortunately managed to avoid the worst of the shot as he deflected the steel edge at the last moment. A light smirk creased Rex's lips as the deftly blocked attack, but that smirk slowly faded when Rex noticed his assailant sporting a similar one. It was then Rex realized that he wasn't the biker's true target. Turning over Rex saw the blade continue, straight toward a large bus that had rounded the nearby corner.

The driver tried to swerve to avoid the blade, but only managed to skid to the side, still unfortunately getting the front end of the bus skewered by the flying pike. The impact tipped the bus precariously to the side and would have probably tipped the bus completely over in time. With his mind on the safety of the bus's occupants Rex raced over to the ailing bus, forgoing his BFS for the more situational suitable Smack Hands. The bus itself practically careened off the road and would have gone straight into a nearby office building, but the timely intervention of Rex saved it from that fate. He took the bus head on, his metal hands digging into its side as he held it back with all his strength.

"Whew… why is it that buses only make it on time when you don't want them too?" he said as he half heaved the bus away.

He dropped it down with a rather rough bump but considering the alternative the jerky treatment wasn't that big of a deal. He still ran over and prided the side door open to check on the occupants and gave a relieved sigh when he noticed that the blade hadn't caused any serious injuries. Most of the patrons were in the back of the bus and the bus driver had avoided the blade itself with a scant few inches to spare.

"Okay everyone, looks like this is your stop. Everyone file-out in a nice orderly fashion please." He called to those within.

They gave shaky replies as he helped directed them out of the downed bus. As he did Bobo sidled up with a knowing smirk on his face.

"Good work."

"Yeah, but the cause of it slipped away while I was working." Replied Rex, looking over his shoulder to spy that the biker had long since left the scene, "Coward."

"Whata you expect? Him to stand around and give you a round of applause?"

"Yeah well, I'm just peeved that I couldn't catch one of those jerks." Came Rex, "I mean seriously, what was their deal? And how were they using nanites like that?" He wondered, "I heard of patches and stuff but… gah! I'll just ask Holiday back at base." He said, not feeling the mood to think too hard on the subject.

---

"Have fun you four?" as the veritable Doctor Holiday herself after Rex and the rest of the group returned to Providence base, "You made the news you know." She replied, referring to Rex and his mid-day romp through the city streets.

"Just doing my job keeping the city streets clean of crime." Came Rex as if quoting a movie line.

"Get a better broom then, you let those nutjobs get away." Replied Carmen.

"Kinda busy saving lives ya know." He replied.

"Well if you had waited for me I coulda taken them down while you did all the do-gooding back there."

"Not my fault you don't got a set of wheels." He replied, "Can't always pick-up your slack."

"Not like your 'wheels' did any better." She countered.

Rex moved to snap back but Holiday butted in to keep the conversation on track, "Nobody's to blame for what happened. Besides, I'm more concerned about what you witnessed. Nanite infusion?" she asked.

"Yeah, dude just jacked himself up with nanites and it made him stronger." Replied Rex, "Not as strong as me and my builds, but a lot stronger than a normal human."

Holiday pondered this, "Hmm? There are studies into nanite infusions, but consequently they only work for Evos, who already have activated nanites for boosters to work on." She murmured, "For humans it can cause many adverse effects. But if it's like you described then someone managed to make an astounding breakthrough."

"Yeah and tried to break through me with it." added Rex.

"These aren't normal criminals." Replied Holiday, "But unless I can get a subject, I can't run any tests to be sure."

"Well then, guess Providence is on the job then." Replied Rex, "Next time those motorheads make the scene your boy Rex is gonna give them a crash course in getting a beatdown."

To that Holiday gave Rex a good-hearted smile while Carmen rolled her eyes at his attempt at quipping.

"Just hope they don't pop up when I try to take my test tomorrow." He added.

"For all the good it'll do you." Came Carmen.

Rex snorted to that, "Meh, you just don't understand the dreams of men." He replied, "Right Six?"

Six raised an eyebrow, "Mind elaborating on that dream?"

"You know Six, the open road, the wind in your hair, the feel of that wheel in your hands."

"He means getting his license." Replied Jungle Cat, "He's been particular about it today."

"Well you are going to take your driver's test tomorrow, so I suppose you're excited." Replied Holiday, "Although I can't see why you need it…" she began.

Something Carmen caught on, "See?!" she said to a scowling Rex.

"… but I can see why you want it and what it means to you to have it." Holiday finished, "It makes you happy. And that's what makes you human after all." She added, giving a sideways glance to Carmen.

Carmen returned it with a cross look her own but in time relented, giving a defeated sigh, "Fine. I suppose I'd be a hypocrite to say not to act in a certain way based upon what one is designed to do as opposed to what they want." She replied, "Still, I think it's a waste of time and energy in Rex's case."

"I never said it wasn't." was Holiday's reply.

"Ugh, nobody understands a man's dream." Came Rex, "I guess I'll just have to show you all."

"Just relax Rex and try your best." Replied Holiday, "Whatever happens tomorrow won't change who you are."

"But it will add a new fold in my wallet." He replied.

"That's if you can remember where you keep it." Came Carmen, earning her another cross look.

"Okay you two, enough of that." Came Holiday, "Besides, Carmen it's time for your check up."

Carmen heard a snicker from Rex and gave a groan, "Could you not phrase it like that. It makes me feel like I'm five."

"Would you rather I say, "Your intrusive mechanical operation?" Holiday offered, "That would be the technical term."

"… let's get the checkup started." She relented.

---

A starry night fell the world in time, with most of Providence shutting down for the evening. Even so there were still those that lurked through the night in its hallowed halls, particularly that of two Evo who aimed for a late-night excursion.

"Can't be missing out on my rendezvous." Replied the hushed voice of Rex as he and his faithful companion Bobo slunk the pathways of Providence.

"Ain't you worried about your big test?" asked the simian through the darkness.

"I got all day tomorrow for that." Was Rex's blasé response, "Besides, considering where we're going this is practically extra practice for the test." He added, "Now shh, don't want anyone to catch us." He said amidst their light steps down the hall.

"Yeah, that would be bad." Said a voice at the crossway, to which a startled Rex let out a shriek.

He immediately realized his folly and threw his hands over his mouth, but it hadn't stopped a small chuckle to come from the mouth of the one who caught him.

Carmen stood, leaning against the wall of the corridor, her usual smug smirk firmly planted on her lips.

"What?! What are you doing?" came Rex, trying to yell whilst keeping his voice low.

"Watching you fail at being a spy." She replied.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?! It's late!"

"That's rich coming from you right now." She replied.

"Indeed." Replied yet another voice.

To which Rex looked beyond Carmen to spy Jungle Cat standing nearby, almost completely cloaked in the shadows save for a vague outline of his figure.

"How… how did you even know we were up?" Rex asked.

"Because of your not so subtle murmurs about you "Heading out." All day." She replied, "Besides, my internal sensors picked up on the elevated levels of your heart's unique bio-rhythm."

"You… know my heartbeat?" he asked with a slight put off tone, "Weird much?"

"I have everyone's. It's automatic. I am a combat droid designed to understand human responses after all. It's just a feature designed to make that easier." She replied, "Now then, where are we headed?" she asked.

"We?"

"Yeah "We" or would you like to ask Holiday or Six for permission?"

"You're blackmailing me?"

"It's not being blackmailed if you don't argue it." She replied.

A rather vile looked crossed Rex's features but as she suggested, he didn't argue it. He then turned to Jungle Cat to asked, "And what about you?"

"I particularly don't care one way or another where Carmen goes, but my duty is to keep watch of Carmen so consequently where she goes, I go." He replied.

That vile look took on a slightly more crossed edge.

"Well there you have it, now let's get a move on before we're caught." Came Carmen, quickly taking the lead.

Rex made sweeping movements to stop her, but eventually relented, realizing the futility of it, and trudged along after her. It took little time after that for them to get outside of Providence, despite some last-minute bickering from the two teens. Even so Rex moved to create his ride, the machine bursting from his legs in a swirl of moving machine parts. When it was promptly finished Carmen immediately hopped aboard behind Rex, irritating him somewhat as the build lurched due to her weight. Though he even out well enough after revving his engine and got a little comeuppance when the chuckling Carmen found herself becoming a seat for Bobo who leapt upon her shoulders.

Rex gave a chuckle of his own before giving a "Hang tight." As he revved his engine once more. Then with a sideways glance to Jungle Cat, who had just finished stretching for the coming run, Rex took off with a wave of dust in his wake. Jungle Cat kept pace well enough as they raced down the dividing bridge before disappearing within the city.

Their trek took them quite close to the city limits on the other side of town, to which a large stadium stood out amid a scant few buildings. Beyond the stadiums walls a large racing track was nestled within. The dirt road had a very oriental feel to it, almost picturesque as it sat within the more modern looking stadium.

"So, what's this place?" asked Carmen as Rex pulled up.

"Nice place to hang with some racing buds I know." Replied Rex, "They're a little extreme but they're real tight." He added.

"Well, nice place anyway." Replied Carmen as she hopped from the bike… and then tossed Bobo off her shoulders in a huff.

She took a few moments to inspect the place, her systems zeroing in on points of interest, both outside and within. The group soon met up with another group, that of a group of teenage boys around Rex's age sporting assorted motorcycle attire. Upon noticing Rex and Bobo, they gave him a few smiles and waves, though immediately pondered the arrival of Carmen and Jungle Cat as they entered the scene.

"Hey Rex, good to see you." Replied the lead of the group, "But who're them?" he asked.

"Moss, buddy, back at you." Replied Rex, to the boy named Moss, "These two are friends of mine who… persuaded me to let them join." He answered, "This is Carmen." He said, pointing to the gynoid, "And her partner in crime, Jungle Cat." He replied, attention focusing to the big hairy Evo, "They can be… difficult, but they're cool all the same."

"I'd say the same about Rex, but nice to meet ya." Replied Carmen, "So this is where you hang out…" she pondered, her head swiveling about as she analyzed the interior of the stadium, "Guess your gang owns this place, huh?"

"They ain't a gang." Came Rex, "They just a bunch of dudes with a need for speed." He replied.

"Exactly. Though I will admit we might be a bit too much for you." Moss added to Carmen.

"Because I'm a girl?"

"Let's just say we don't have anyone of the opposite gender that likes to tear up the road like we do."

"Until today."

"Really huh? Then let's see what you got." Moss replied, "If you're up to it?"

"Fine." She said as she strolled toward the group of bikers, "One of you fine gentlemen mind lending a girl a bike?" she asked, "I promise to be extra careful." She said with a slight purr in her voice.

That was all it took to cause the boys to rush forward, the group practically falling over themselves to be the first to offer her their rides, though only one managed to pull ahead of the pack, that of a boy named Rand. He generously offered his helmet to her with a lopsided grin of sincerity.

Jungle Cat simply shook his head in disappointment, "Human boys and their hormones." He muttered.

Moments later Carmen was revving the engine of Rand's bike with a grin upon her face before she popped the visor down and took off. And it soon became apparent to the group of teen bikers that Carmen was far from just show as she immediately started to tear up the track, hitting the first bump with an air of flare. She then took the inside of the first corner with a slick grind that practically whipped her around into the straight away before taking the next big jump with a dramatic leap across the dirt road. And despite her weight she hit the ground running as she built up speed to fly across the second curve.

From the sidelines the whoops and hollers of the biker teens filled the stadium as they gushed over the display before them.

"Girl has some serious moves." Replied Moss, "Who is she?"

"She works with me at Providence." Replied Rex, "She's a special agent like me… and special in another way."

"An Evo?"

"Not quite but trust me when I say she's not a regular human."

"Whatever she is she definitely knows how to tear it up." Moss replied with an elated voice, "Makes me want to race against her if I get the chance."

Rex snorted to that, though he would admit that Carmen was good. Then again, he had already seen her in action on a bike, so it wasn't a surprise. He'd never tell her that though.

Speaking of, Carmen had come around the third corner with her speed maxed out so when she hit the final hurdle she went flying and couldn't help herself but to ham it up as she soared through the air. She kicked her legs out during the flight, and even managed to give a stark wave to the assorted group of boys back in the stands. She eventually landed and moved on to finish up her drive. Reaching the starting point, she was greeted by cheering fans of her performance, to which she gave a curt bow in response.

"Thank you, thank you, you're too kind. But gentleman please, you're making me blush." She replied.

Rex rolled his eyes and gave a snarky "With what blood?" under his breath, but Moss had a more optimistic reply, "Gotta admit, you're good. Then again, Rex said you ain't normal so…"

"Normal's overrated you know." Replied Carmen, "Besides, I'm working on a handicap anyway. Check me out when I'm at full power."

That gave rise to a befuddled eyebrow raise from Moss, with Rex quickly intervening to say, "You still got a long way to go for that."

"Just you wait."

Rex rolled his eyes again, but gave her a satisfied smirk regardless, "Least we know you can keep up… if you ever get a bike of your own that is."

"Hmm… might be able to help with that." Moss mentioned, "Got enough spare parts back at the garage to build you one, but it wouldn't come free… or cheap. But we'd be willing to part with it if you'd be willing to do a little something extra on the side."

"… what exactly?" Carmen asked.

"Run some errands for us and we'd be willing to part with what you need for your own bike." He said.

"Like what?"

"Let's head back to the garage so I can explain it better." He mentioned, "Come on boys, saddle up!" he called to the collective.

The group was soon on the open road of the city, the biker boys racing through the streets with a flair for the dramatic. Trailing the group was Rex and the others, the Evo boy in question chuckling at the forward group's antics.

"These guys crazy or what?" he chortled.

"They're something alright." Mentioned Carmen, her digitized mind thinking back deep in thought, "Almost like …"

"What are you talking about?" Rex pondered.

"… they act a lot like those guys you chased down earlier you know." She mentioned.

"What?! No way!" came Rex, "Ain't the same guys."

"They have an awful lot of weapons for boys who simply like to ride." Jungle Cat mentioned from the side as he ran.

"I told you they're a little extreme."

"Extreme enough to abuse nanites even?" asked Carmen.

"Huh?"

"Bobo mentioned they had a stint with nanite chargers before." She replied, to which Rex gave the chimp a sharp look, "And those guys we met earlier fed nanites directly into their bodies."

"Look, that was before. But they've been clean ever since, I made sure of that." Replied Rex, "Besides, the guy who gave them the chargers is locked up tight and he was the only one who had them."

"Who?"

"Some nut calling himself Valve." Replied Rex, "Had some… weird connection with his nanites but he really went around selling these nanites boosters and thought he was the biggest deal since sliced bread."

"Sounds like a guy who might have nanite boosters for people." Replied Carmen, "And you did say that the one you fought this afternoon kept going on and on about a boss."

"Trust me, it ain't them." Replied Rex, "They got no love lost for Valve. They'd never go back to him."

"Sometimes Rex an addiction is not easy to kick." Replied Jungle Cat, "And dangling something enticing in front of someone's face can make even the most stalwart jump."

"I'm telling you, it ain't them."

"Then just say something." Replied Bobo, "Figure it out."

"You think they'd just go and tell us?" asked Carmen, "We'd need proof before we accuse them."

"We are headed toward their garage. If proof is to be found, then surely it would be there." Jungle Cat added.

"I'm not gonna go around snooping." Came Rex, "These guys trust me and I ain't about to make them out like hardened criminals."

"Then don't. We will." Replied Carmen, "If we don't find anything then they're clean, like you say. But if we do…"

"You won't."

"For their sake I hope you're right."

It was a hope that Rex wanted to believe as well.

And in little time would his answers come to him as the group arrived at the gang's garage, a rather mediocre place to be sure. But it had quite a few bits of spare parts lying about, far more than one might think a bunch of reckless teens would have. It was a scene that Carmen wondered aloud about.

"You seem pretty well stocked for such a small place." She mentioned.

"We do a few odds and ends to get what we need." Moss replied, "Whatever job pops up we take it."

"All on the right side of the law no doubt." Rex replied.

"Uh… yeah, sure…" Moss replied to the somewhat overt comment, "Any way we've got a lot of jobs opening up and if you're interested, we can give you a few. Do that and we can help you with a bike."

"Let me see what you got in stock first before I agree. Don't want to be working hard only to get a "meh" bike."

"Heh, make is sound like we don't have the goods." Moss replied, "Why don't we show you what we got? Bet you'll be surprised."

Moss, and several of the other bikers, generously gave Carmen a tour of their garage to which she gave a keen interest in their wares. Her internal systems also took a heavy interest, as she mindscape surveyed and detailed every item within her field of vision. And though she listened well to their boisterous explanation of their merchandises Carmen's true intention was to search for any signs of enhanced nanite activity.

Meanwhile a certain chimp leapt about the garage with a curiosity in his eye, at least as far as the bikers were concerned. With hands and feet, he'd pick up something of interest, take a quick glance in examination before placing it down to move to the next. Bobo might not have been a nanite expert, but he had enough mind to pick out anything that seemed off in the garage.

In Jungle Cat's case he simply stood at the far end of the garage and held an intense look as he watched the actions of both his group and that of the bikers. It was a look that didn't endear him to the group of bikers, but they were too scared of upsetting the large Evo to say anything on it.

For Rex he held an obvious look of worry as his team scoured about the garage looking for signs of foul play. And he was none-too-subtle about trying to prove that his biker friends weren't up to no good.

"You guys sure trying make a name for yourselves after you dumped Valve." Rex mentioned, breaking Moss and Co. from their sales pitch.

"Well, it's not like we worked for Valve or anything. He just gave us those chargers." Replied Moss.

"Well good. And you didn't need those things anyway." Replied Rex, "Y'all can tear up the street fine without them."

"Yeah. But I will admit, I do miss that feeling of speed we got with them." Moss replied, "Had to find new ways to burn some serious rubber."

"L-like what?" pondered Rex.

"We've also been taking something to give us a boost." He replied, "Something to rev our engines."

"Like… supplements?" Rex asked with concern.

"Yeah… something like that." Moss replied, with a slight air of… shame.

Rex caught that and his own worry increased ten-fold. He wanted to ask further, but Carmen beat him to the punch.

"Would it be whatever's in that safe?" she asked.

All bikers present took notice of her comment, particularly Moss who took on a darkened demeanor.

"What are you talking about?" he asked with a notable edge to his voice.

"That safe in the corner." She replied with matter-of-fact attitude, "I don't know what's in it, but I do know that whatever it is it's giving off increased nanite readings, far beyond the norm."

"Signals?"

"I told you, I'm not normal." She explained, "I know what I'm talking about."

"I'm not sure what you are but you're definitely wrong." Replied Moss.

"Then what's in there?" she asked.

Moss took a hesitant tone in his reply, "None of your business."

"I believe you want her to be a part of that "business"." Came Jungle Cat, stepping up to Moss, "So I think it would be in your best interest to answer the lady's question."

Few things scared Moss, considering he traveled at breakneck speeds down the city streets while firing missiles and the like, but Jungle Cat lording over him made him feel more than just small, but insignificant. Rex though stepped into the scene to give a challenging glare all his own.

"Dude back off my friend. If he says it's nothing, it's nothing." Rex told him.

"If he is your friend then he should have no worries revealing secrets that impact you." Replied Jungle Cat, "You have taken it upon yourself to make sure these humans stay on the straight and narrow. If you truly wish to follow that creed then you must step in when your own assurances are tested, in order to better help them stay on the righteous path."

Rex… took pause to that. Hearing Jungle Cat's words brought him back to a time when another of his friends had betrayed his trust, a betrayal that really tested the bonds of their friendship. In the end though it had made that friendship stronger when they were able to see its weaknesses and strengthen them.

"I trust them. They just want to push themselves harder than anything. Nothing they do is wrong." Replied Rex, "That's because I feel the same way. To give it everything I got in whatever I do. I love that feeling of breaking my limits… but I know that I gotta be the one that breaks them. No one or nothing else." Rex explained, "That's why I don't need to be suspicious of them."

The band of biker brothers… got Rex's meaning, especially Moss who let loose a held sigh. To that he walked over to the safe and fiddled with its lock combination. The audible sound of the tumbler dropping echoed through the garage before Moss turned the handle to open the door. After reaching in to pull something out he turned and revealed the contents of the safe to the group.

"Is this thing the "signal" you picked up?" he asked, holding out in his hand a large syringe.

"Just like before…" Rex said in breathless astonishment, "Where'd you get that?"

Moss sighed once more and gave a nervous gesture of scratching the back of his head, "We were… offered it, for a job." He replied, then quickly moved to explain, "Day ago, some guys road up onto on garage, claiming they had this stuff that would "juice" us up. At first, we thought they were out of it, until one of them jabbed one of these things in his arm and then lifted up a car engine like it was a basketball." He said as Rex's look grew more calculative, "Said that if we accepted the coming job, he'd be able to supply us with a steady supply. That his 'boss' was trying to build a rep in town, and these would be how he'd do it."

"But we didn't agree!" Rand replied quickly, "At least not completely."

"What do you mean?" asked Carmen.

"We told him that we'd think about it. That we didn't just take any job that dropped in our laps." Moss replied, "That… and we'd want to get used to their little… offering."

"And you took it?" came Rex.

"Only cause the way this guy acted; he wasn't taking no for an answer." Replied Moss, "He said his boss had "acquired" other garages and ours was just the next on his list. And with how jacked this stuff made them, we didn't need to start a fight with them."

"Doesn't sound like you want to join up with them though." Replied Carmen.

"… too good to be true." Moss replied, "Already got off one bad bend with nanites. Didn't need to fall for another."

A reassuring feeling welled up in Rex's chest at that.

"Still, we might not have much of a choice." Moss explained, "They said they'd be back… and soon."

"You know where they went?" asked Carmen.

"Nah…"

"But they did leave this for us." Came Rand, rummaging through a nearby desk, to which he pulled out a small hand-held radio, "Said when we were ready to take the job we just had to call 'em up."

"I see…" she murmured, a low smirk appearing on her face, "Then I guess you should take them up on their offer." She replied, earning her a wave of befuddled looks from the boys.

---

Time passed, an hour or so, before the sound of guttural engines could be heard making their way down the night streets. The feral roar of the bikes was not off that of Moss's crew, but of another, with a very familiar feudal styling in their garb. Armor and weapons hung menacing from their rides, and open declaration of their superiority. They rode up to the side of the garage, spotting Moss and Rand standing nearby with not very subtle looks of defeat plastered on their faces.

The lead biker pulled up to the two boys and pulled himself from his monster of a bike to give a wily smile as he towered over them.

"Glad you boys accepted our generous offer." He replied, giving a quick chuckle, "Was a little surprised you didn't take right off the bat, but you made up for that by not chickening out."

"We're just interested." Replied Moss, "This job sounds pretty intense, but if we're gonna take it we want to know more. Like who we'll be working for."

"Don't get ahead of yourselves boys. There's a lot more to this than you think. But just know that this is the first step to getting on the boss's good side." The large man replied, "Now that we know you're on board we'll set you up with more "juice". In exchange we'll use your garage to set ourselves up."

"You're taking over?" asked Moss defensively.

Though the biker simply laughed at his apprehension, "Think of it as a joint operation." He said, "Besides, you'll be getting a whole stash of the good stuff. And you can't tell me that it didn't give you a serious rush?" he said, sounding practically enthralled, "The strength it gives you. The boss could run the whole city once he gets enough guys behind him. Then you'd be free to do whatever ya want. Not having to worry about people trying to stifle ya, no end to the tracks you could run. True freedom of the open road."

"Sounds… nice." Replied Moss, getting a light nod from Rand in response, "It's never easy just to be us. Nobody understands that we just want to tear it up and give it our all. To really break free from a mediocre life. To not be held down." He said, "Yeah… nobody understands… and we haven't done anything to make them understand."

"Exactly. But with the boss, we'll make everyone understand. We'll force them to get out of our way or get run down." Said the biker, "We'll have everything."

"Everything…" murmured Moss, letting the words hang from his lips, "But at what cost?" he inquired, "All them out there might not get us. And probably never will. But we're not gonna force them to get us. We'd be no better than what we left. We broke from that world so that we could have freedom, but we're not gonna take theirs. That's the line we tow."

"What?!"

"Your offer's tempting, but we ain't dealing with the devil." Moss replied, "So tell your boss he can look for some other shmucks to do his dirty work." He said, giving his audience a dirty look.

That didn't tide over well with the medieval bikers, especially the lead biker who glared down at Moss with matching intensity, "This over really careful about what you gonna do next. You only get one chance and if you blow it, you gonna lose it all."

"I doubt it. And we'll take our chances." Replied Moss, "Now get lost before you regret it."

"Heh… you got guts kid." Growled the biker as he gripped his lance from atop his bike, "Let's see what they look like." He said in low growl.

"Actually, let's not." Came a familiar voice, "Instead why don't you lot give up before we pound you into the dirt?"

It was of Rex who, along with Carmen, Bobo, and Jungle Cat, had quickly come out from nearby hiding spots to surround the biker leader and his group. Rex lead the advance with his BFS at the ready, the auburn blade letting out a pale hue against the bright moon's light. To his left was Bobo, his high-powered blasters primed and ready to fire. Carmen stood to his right, carrying in hand a long pipe lazily across her shoulders, with a light smirk held lazily across her face. And finally, to her right, was Jungle Cat. The hefty Evo glared down the armored bikers with a non-to-pleased look as his clenched and unclenched his furry paws.

"You!" barked the lead biker, quickly referring to Rex as he came into view.

"Oh, you remember me from earlier?" Replied Rex in jovial tones, "Then I guess you remember the whipping I gave you? If so, make it easy on yourself and just let us cart you off."

"Preferably after you spill where you and this "boss" of yours are getting you nanite boosters?" Carmen added.

He returned her query with a vile sneer, one that slowly twisted into a crooked smile, "You want to see what this stuff is made of?" he growled, his hand gripping tight something under his armor, "Fine! Me and the boys be happy to oblige!"

Wild cries rang out as each of the armored bikers pulled identical syringes from their armor and jabbed them into various exposed areas. They were immediately enhanced by the spreading nanites, their body's becoming stimulated with newfound strength. But before they could revel in it, Carmen had already charged them with her pipe out to strike at the leader of the gang of armored cyclists. He lashed out to strike her, but she was already in his guard by the time he turned. The pole arm came down hard, cracking him across the face. However, he held his ground against the strike, prompting a befuddled look from Carmen. With little more than a slight reddening on his cheek the biker's wild grin had yet to leave his face, a grin that grew even more wicked as he retaliated in kind. He slammed a tightly clench fist straight in Carmen's chin, cocking her head back with a violent jerk. He would have postulated his victory, but soon realized that Carmen was far stronger than she looked.

"Not bad." Replied Carmen, hardly phased by the counterpunch, "At least I know I don't have to hold back."

With rage building the armored biker took a tight hold of his nearby weapon, "Take them down! Take them all down! We're making coffins for each one!" he barked, rallying his brethren for battle.

From polearms to massive axes to spear guns and so forth the medieval bikes unleashed their nanite fueled might.

Rex once more found himself in a clash of blades against the biker pack's leader, the latter holding the same feral grin he had in their first battle.

"I took an extra dose of nanites this time!" He growled the two blades grinded against one another, "So don't think things will go the same way they did earlier!"

But the Evo boy looked none too perturbed, "Yeah, you can't take the coward's way out now that there isn't anyone around. So now I can take you down twice as hard!"

That comeback didn't tide well with the armored ne'er-do-well, who looked ready to commit all manner of atrocities to Rex. Rex though could back up his boast and with a confident smirk he went blade-to-blade in a rapid-fire exchange of blows despite the overbearing size of the respective fighter's weaponry. Metal gleamed under the moonlight's gaze as a razor's edge swiped pass Rex's brow by the narrowest of breadths. He returned the gesture with a swipe of his own, sending out a loud 'clang' as Rex's blade smashed against his opponent's. Rex brought it along horizontal in a flash, to block an overhead swing by the biker leader who aimed to take him down in one fell swoop. The blade was stopped with Rex digging in his heels to hold the blade aloft. The biker gave an irritated growled to the defense and lashed out with a mighty boot forward, catching Rex in the chest. Rex recovered quickly enough and deflected aside the follow-up strike from the biker before he lost his shoulder. The biker lashed out again in a wild arc, but his sloppy move gave Rex more than enough leverage to retaliate. After ducking low Rex whipped about with his own blade, much too quickly for the biker to respond in time and shattered his enemy's shoulder guard. Metal splayed about in chunks that clattered onto the ground while the biker held his shoulder in wide-eyed shock. Rex gave him naught but a wicked smile of his own and a "come hither" gesture with his fingers.

"Thrill me."

The biker's rage exploded forth and in a wild tear he threw himself at Rex with blade held high. Rex blocked well enough but found himself forcefully pushed further down the street, a street that was currently alight with the red-tinged blasts of Bobo's blasters. Ballistic fury was unleashed upon the armored miscreant with reckless abandon, though Bobo's opponent used his makeshift battle club to curb the shots that rained down upon him. Amidst the fusillade he rushed the simian with tight grip and swung out aiming to splatter the chimp across the pavement. Bobo in turn gave a shrill shriek and a mighty leap to avoid the coming bludgeon and managed to avoid becoming a hairy stain in the nick of time. From his perch on the side of a lamppost he watched with a sinking feeling in his gut as the street cracked under the pressure of the hefty blow.

"Talk about a pothole." Murmured the chimp, though he once again shrieked in surprise when the biker lashed out once more toward him.

Fortunately, Bobo had long since leapt up by the time the metal club hit the post, bending it on impact, and managed to use the biker's head as a springboard to leap clear to unleash a fervent aerial assault. The blaster shots showered the biker, pummeling his armor in a caustic hail. He hardly let it slow him down though and despite the constantly bombardment he swept out with his club to smash Bobo under its heft.

Bobo wasn't the only hairy Evo being assailed by a biker with a comically large sized weapon. But in Jungle Cat's case he was forced to dodge about not a club but a saw… a chainsaw.

The weapon gave out a rancorous roar through the city streets as the biker tried to dig into the fur and flesh of the solitary feline. But despite the bite of the malicious melee weapon the biker could hardly give Jungle Cat a haircut. Even with strength and speed enhanced the biker was but a step behind the agile beast. He slashed and thrusted his whirring saw, cleaving nearby posts and mailboxes in a flurry of grinding metal, but none touched Jungle Cat. And after a particularly egregious swing had thrown the biker off balance, Jungle Cat moved to retaliate. The biker was quick-witted enough to block accordingly, using the flat side of his chainsaw to deflect the blows. But the onslaught of hits from the furry juggernaut pushed the biker back into a stagger as Jungle Cat's claws raked across the metal of the saw. Accompanied with a bellowing roar Jungle Cat unleashed a particularly powerful blow that sent the biker skidding back, far out into the open boulevard.

He shared that battlefield though with another pair, that of Carmen and a biker wielding an oversized lance-like weapon. The large weapon had a very jackhammer-esque design, punctuated by the tell-tale look of the drill-bit pushing in and out in rapid succession. It was an unwieldy weapon though and Carmen's lithe movements let her weave about the vibrating weapon to avoid its piercing charge. However, the weapon's size made it difficult for Carmen to get in any real good hits, considering she was armed with little more than her android-based strength and a long pipe. Besides a deflection that nearly made her lose her balance Carmen was stuck in the unceremonious position of defending against the wayward strikes of the lance.

"Didn't think a human could get this jacked up!" she growled as the lance slid dangerously close to her side, though she avoided it with a quick side-step.

In turn she lashed out toward the biker's head, but found her attempt blocked by the side of the lance as the biker brought his arm up to bear. Then a sudden shift in weight and quick movement the biker swung out in a large arc, cracking the pipe in one fell swoop. The broken pipe clattered uselessly to the ground while her attacker stepped forward with a knowing smirk and ominous intent.

"Perfect." She muttered, eyeing her broken weapon with a defeated sigh.

Carmen refused to back down though and clenched her fists to give it her all, but just before her opponent could lay into her a series of cries from the side caught their attention. The biker was suddenly rushed by Moss and Rand, wielding a samurai blade and spear respectively. Both boys connected with well-placed swings that had the lance wielding biker thrown off balance as he hastily tried to block their assault. In rage he swung out but Moss and Rand and long since backed away to move to either side of Carmen.

"Need a hand?" asked Moss as he held his blade aloft.

Carmen gave a light huff in response, "Think you can keep up?"

"This is our thing! The reason we ride!" proclaimed Rand, his spear held tightly in palm, "No way we're gonna sit this out! Right boys?!" he cried out enthusiastically.

His call to arms had his crew rally beside Carmen with their own weapons to bear. Then with a call of "Show these bozos how real bikers' brawl!" the group rushed their antagonist with hoots and hollers aplenty.

Rex stayed locked in a steely-eyed glare with the leader of the bikers as the two traded punishing blows with their hefty personal weapons. The hectic pace of the battle caused their blades to shudder with each deafening blow.

"I'm gonna tear you apart brat!" the biker yelled above the bludgeoning blows.

But as the battle waged on the biker's leader soon found himself reliving his earlier battle with Rex. Even with nanites with an added boost the leader found himself losing ground with Rex.

"So, weren't you talking some mess about how things were gonna be different this time around, right?" came Rex, with blade scraping against his opponents in a whining grind, "Cause all I see is the same loser I beat earlier!"

The biker gave an incoherent curse but try as he might he couldn't summon the strength to push back against Rex. Then with a mighty grunt himself Rex threw his whole weight into his attack, throwing the biker off before Rex launched into a blitzkrieg. The biker did his mightiest to defend against Rex's relentless attack but after a few haphazard blocks the biker found himself doing little but desperately trying to keep his balance. With a sudden upward swing Rex popped his opponent's weapon up, knocking it from his grip. Rex didn't let his staggered opponent regain his composure and finished him off with a mighty metal boot as he slammed a Punk Buster across his body.

The steel-toed boots of the biker grinded against the asphalt as he tried to keep his balance despite being bodied. He managed to stay standing but not without an awkward tumble that left him dazed. And by the time he recovered he was met with Rex lording over him with massive blade.

"I could do this all night." Came Rex with wide-mouthed grin.

And unfortunately for the biker, neither he nor his group would say the same. Catching sight of his situation out of the corner of his eye the biker spied his compatriots being driven back by Rex's group. Sparks of energy ricocheted off the protective armor of a biker as he was driven back by Bobo's relentless ballistic assault while sharpened claws dug into the metal layers of a biker as Jungle Cat's frenzied strikes hit home. Meanwhile Rex's friends overwhelmed their adversary with a series of blows from their ready-made weapons. From staffs to hammers to blades they pushed back against the nanite enhanced biker, keeping him off balance long enough for Carmen to come in and finish the job, to which she laid into him with a wild string of punches that pummeled him.

Her blitzed finished with a haymaker that would have dropped a normal human, though it still managed to send her opponent for a loop. The knockback had him tumbling over to the rest of his crew, who look worn from their harrowing battles. At that the lead biker realized that eventually he and his crew would be beaten by Rex and his.

"We're pulling out! Let's move!" he barked as he made a beeline for his bike.

The others quickly followed suit, but they met with obvious resistance, "Don't think you'll bug out like earlier!" came Rex, to which he quickly changed builds.

His sword became a hammer as his Hammer Time build popped into existence.

"What do you think you're gonna do with that?" came Carmen, perplexed as to why Rex would pull out such an unwieldy build.

But Rex just took smarmy grin as the piston engaged and then with a firm gritting of his teeth, he brought his arm down into the asphalt. The piston followed suit with a piercing "clang" as it ignited. The street shuddered before an explosive force of energy rippled forth from the piston; a focused wave of destruction that followed along the street on a one-way trip toward the bikers.

"Nooooo!"

Their cries were drowned out as the wave overwhelmed them, with a sudden geyser of destruction lifting from the impact sight. Next thing they knew the bikers and their bikes were sent into a wild tumble through the air… save for the leader himself who had managed to avoid the worst of the blow.

"Forget this!" he growled, giving a good rev of his engine before peeling out.

But Rex was not going to let him get away from him a second time, "Y'all handle the riff-raff while I go after lead dude." He said, his own engines revving when his ride expanded from his feet.

"Wait Rex I…!" called out Carmen, but Rex had long since driven off before she could get a word out.

She held a visible look of contempt at being left behind once more but could do little more than bemoan her circumstance.

Meanwhile Rex raced through the darkened streets at a feverish pace to keep up with the fleeing biker. His quarry barreled through the quiet avenues in his single-minded attempt to get away, lest he end up in prison… or worst, making his boss mad.

"Boss'll rip me a new one if I get caught after this." He said as he took a corner sharply, swinging about slow close to the street his bike scraped the asphalt, "Didn't think that shrimp would be so tough though. Guess the boss was right about taking his seriously."

"So hey, who's this boss you keep going on about?" asked a certain boy as he quickly pulled up alongside the biker, "Cause he sounds like the real troublemaker of you lot?"

Practically running himself off the road in his shock the biker tried to peel away but Rex stayed on him, forcing the biker to retaliate. However, as he swung out with his weapon he was met in kind with Rex's, his blade blocking the blow with ease.

An ease that Rex made sure he knew, "Come on big guy, you're running out of tricks. At this point it's just embarrassing. You not getting away, trust me."

The biker took on a vile sneer, looking liked he'd enjoy nothing more than to rip Rex's head clean off his shoulders… but he realized that Rex had a point. Unlike before he didn't have a lucky distraction to grab Rex's attention.

"Then I'll just have to make one." He grunted as he pulled full throttle.

He took a sharp turn down a dark alley with Rex holding strong behind him. Garbage cans and the like lined the alley, obstructions that were sent hurtling every which way as the biker rammed through them with little regard.

"Better stop this maniac soon or he's bust everything down in his way." Grunted Rex, putting out more speed.

Even so Rex was only barely pulling up to the biker, whose drive had indeed become manic as he raced through the darkened back street.

"Are you crazy?! You're gonna kill yourself!" Rex yelled to the biker as with each passing moment the biker looked less and less concerned with his own well-being.

And a final burst of speed only made it worst, for just as the bike burst through the end of the alleyway, sending debris every which way; raining garbage and the like into a small stream to plunge down, the bike spiral out of control, careening off the edge to take a plunge in the stream as well.

Letting out a perturbed "No way!" Rex took off to the edge, leaping off the side on his build before said machine retracted back into his legs.

Taking a diving pose that would make a professional give a nod Rex cut into the water with ease and dived down toward the sinking bike. Weapons and chunks of armor slowly floated away as the bike sank, followed by Rex as he swam toward the bike. However, upon reaching it he was met with quite the surprise. As he pulled away the armor to save the man, he discovered there was nothing there to save; the biker's armor was empty. Rex looked about but quickly realized that there was no way the biker could have swam away without him noticing; to which Rex deduced could only mean one thing.

"I was tricked." He said after he swam back to the surface, "Dude must've bailed before his bike took the plunge.", Rex surmised, concluding that all he fidgeting the biker was doing before his bike went off the edge was him setting his armor up for the ruse, "Gaah! Can't believe I let him play me like that." He muttered as he looked around, though knew the biker was probably long gone by now.

Since there was no point in driving around aimlessly to try and find the biker Rex decided to head back to the others… never noticing the dark figure peeking at him from around a nearby corner; his elusive prey thus letting out a sigh of relief at just barely getting away.

As Rex returned, he came upon the sight of his friends, both Providence and the bikers, chaining up the other hoodlums, with Carmen apply one last good tug to make sure they were secure. She noticed Rex ride up and quickly pointed out two obvious things.

"Where's the leader of this lot?" She replied, then noticing his appearance, "And why do you look like a drowned rat?"

"Answer to both; because he isn't as stupid as he looked." Replied Rex.

"Then he got away? Again?"

"Unfortunately."

"Are you sure you're good at this?"

He grumbled at the crack, though Moss stepped up to say, "Thanks for the backup there. You really helped us out."

"Meh, it's what pals do." Replied Rex, "I'm just glad to know that even when tempted… you guys stay you."

"Ripping up the road won't mean much if we can't do it ourselves." Moss answered, "Can't run wild when we got someone holding a leash. Thanks for showing us that."

That gave Rex a feeling of pride and understanding as his friendship with Moss and his crew was strengthened.

"What do we do with them?" Rand asked as he waltzed up to the two, pointing a big thumb to the tied bikers.

They grumbled and groaned at their capture but wisely kept their mouths shut as a foreboding Jungle Cat loomed over them with teeth barred.

And so… some ten minutes later the officers on duty at a local police station got a strange present of several chained criminals at their doorstep, with a large sign of "The Bad Guys" hanging around them. From the street their found a waving Rex, Carmen, and Bobo before the peeled off with Jungle Cat quickly in tow.

---

A certain biker leader stumbled through the dark through a forgotten alley, making his way through the backways of several large storage houses, mostly abandoned to the masses. One such storage house connected to a lone garage, to which the biker pulled open a nearby door and raced inside.

The aesthetics were not quite what one might think of when they thought of a garage as it had a very oriental feel, specifically of a sand garden, despite the numerous tools… and weapons that hung across the walls. The intricate sand designs of the garden were immediately spoiled as the biker stumbled across it to a small shack like area. It lacked a door, so the figure within was plainly seen though he had his back to the arrival.

"You seem at a lost." Replied the man within the shack, "So much so that you traipse about my garden with not a care in the world."

"Boss I… we… those guys we were going to get to work for us… we got beat." Said the biker.

"That is both surprising… and disappointing. Especially considering the gifts I gave you."

"They had help. That Evo boy from before, and some others manage to take us down. I got lucky. Managed to get away."

"There is no such thing as luck. Simply fate." Replied the man in the shack, "Though yours may come sooner than you think for your failure."

"I tried boss. I really did. But they were too much for us."

"… I suppose so." Replied the man, "The boy that builds machines is a twister of fate and a curse against my goals. He is an unavoidable roadblock in my way, so the only way to move forward is to demolish him." He said, turning to the biker at his feet, "Tomorrow, when the sun is at its peak we ride and are fates will collide with the boy's, and only one of us will remain standing." He said, bringing to bare a rather oversized katana, "Besides, my blade is thirsty and the only way to quench it is with revenge."

---

Though a foreboding atmosphere lay ahead, the dark of the night soon faded and a new day rose with the sun as bright as ever. Past it's rising Rex lay upon his examination table as Holiday did her daily check-up on his bio-systems.

"Hmm… elevated heart and a slight increase in endorphin, oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine levels." Holiday murmured as she went over Rex's biometrics, "You're pretty excited."

"Why wouldn't I be, today's the day." He replied, "I'll be a man of the road soon."

"Just thought you'd be too tired considering your late-night escapades." She mentioned, eliciting a surprised squeak from Rex.

"How'd… you figure it out?" he asked, realizing there was no point in trying to deny it.

"Carmen told me."

He quickly turned to the betrayer, who was standing aside nearby with a slight upturn to her lip.

"Traitor!" he barked with an accusatory finger point, "Even after I let you tag along."

"Didn't have much of a choice Rex." Replied Carmen, "Would have been a real pain trying to make up a story as to where I got those nanite boosters from."

"Wait… the boosters?"

"Of course." Replied Holiday, "I'm glad Carmen was able to bring back a sample of them. It won't take long to figure out how exactly they work."

"Oh…" murmured Rex, "Well… just doing our part to help clean up the streets ya know." He replied.

Holiday seemed to accept that, although, "I doubt that was all you were doing, but the results ended up the same, so I'm not too upset."

To that Rex felt a surge of pride, "What can I say? I'm a multi-tasker.", he said, to which Holiday's response was one of a chuckle and good-natured head shake while Carmen rolled her eyes with exaggerated gestures, something Rex caught up on, "If you roll your eyes any harder they'll pop out of your head." He replied, before a thought hit him, "Could you actually do that?" he queried with genuine curiosity.

"Ugh, what is wrong with you? What kind of question is that?" She replied, somewhat offended, "Besides, do you know how long it would take to get them back in if they did?"

"… is that a yes then?" he asked.

He was answered with a venomous scoff at the question, before she turned her nose up at him.

Fortunately, Holiday was able to keep the situation from devolving in a useless slug of words or fists and instead steered the conversation to something more road worthy.

"Well I hope you're well rested enough to pass your test Rex. You have been adamant about it for a while now." She mentioned.

"I'm cool Doc." Was his reply, "If anything I'm more pumped than ever. In just a few hours I'll be legally recognized as a denizen of the road. I'll be… complete." He said with slight sense of glee.

A glee not shared by his robotic counterpart, "May we be granted mercy then." She muttered, which was met with a fierce glare, though she merely gave a sideways eyeroll, "Is he almost done Doc? I'd like to get my own examination out the way."

"Are you in a hurry today Carmen?" asked Holiday.

"Have a prior engagement today." She replied, "And don't worry it's all above board."

"With who, doing what? The only people you hang out with is us?" asked Rex.

"My business is none of your business." he got in reply.

"Well I'm glad to see you're making some friends." Replied Holiday.

"More like business associates." Replied Carmen.

Rex still didn't get what Carmen was alluding too but choose not to push it as his thoughts were on his own "business" for the day.

"Well, whatever. Don't really care since in just a few short hours I'll officially be a denizen of the road!" He repeated.

"I just don't get why're you're so happy about this?" came Carmen, "It just seems like a waste of time."

"It's not… for me." He replied.

"Then why is it so important to get your license?" she asked, "It's gotta be for more than just being able to drive a car? Cause it's not like you can't get around easy."

"Getting around easy is a big part of it." He told her, "A thought, a couple of spinning parts and "bam!" I'm gone. Nothing to it. A done deal."

"So, what, you want your license for the challenge?" she asked, "Because it's harder?"

"Part of the reason." He said, "Don't get me wrong, I love using my powers. To be free to do what I want with them. But that freedom ain't just for them. I want to be more than just my nanites."

"More than you nanites?"

"Why are you surprised Carmen?" came Holiday interjecting, "Isn't it the same for you. To be more than just an android?" Holiday asked, smirking somewhat when she noticed the revealing look upon Carmen's face, "What defines you? Your abilities or what you do with your abilities? Or maybe more importantly, what you do without them?"

"Yeah, like that Doc." Replied Rex, "Kinda how I was trying to put it."

"On a practical standpoint there's no reason for Rex to get his license." Replied Holiday, "But the meaning behind it is far more important than any practical measures."

"That, and once I get me a sweet ride nobody'll be able to deny my swagger."

"Gotta get you some of that first." Was Carmen's reply, a reply that got her a glare in return.

Rex though didn't let Carmen's ragging get under his skin, as he was too focused on his coming exam. And by the time he left Providence to take it he was in the highest of spirits. In his mind there was no question that he wouldn't succeed. It was his singular focus, his main thought above any other. So, nothing else concern him. No, all Rex cared about was getting behind the wheel to show off his immaculate driving skills, and it didn't take long for him to get his hands on the wheel of his training car. Or for his instructor, a rather well-kept older man in dress shirt and pants, to sit beside him as his test instructor.

"Rex Salazar correct." The man said in a very formal tone.

"Got that right buddy… err… I mean, sir." Replied Rex in a somewhat lopsided fashion.

"Relax Mr. Salazar. Don't let yourself get too anxious. That's where the mistakes happen."

"Yeah, yeah. Just kinda wanna… get things started." Rex said with a nervous chuckle.

"Like I said, relax. We're just going to go around a few blocks to see how you handle real-time situations." Replied the instructor, "Just take your time, follow the rules of the road and you should be fine."

"No problem sir." Replied Rex before he started to rummage about in the car.

This was the part of the test he heard killed a lot of drivers, the prep. So, Rex had memorized the scenario in his head for weeks. He checked his mirrors, made sure his seat was secure, placed his hands on "10 o'clock" and "2 o'clock" of the wheel and kept his eyes squarely focused on the road ahead. Though he did take a quick glance to the side to see the reaction from his instructor, though unfortunately for Rex the man's expression remained stoic. Still, he wouldn't let it get to him. Rex would get a rise out of him one way or another…

… but as he would soon discover, not in a way that either expected.

For as the beige car pulled out of the parking lot of the school a figure cloaked in the shadows proceeded to pull forth a small radio, to which he flicked it on and spoke, "Boss, I see 'em. Near 34 Sayville and 1st."

And through the radio the reply was, "Ah yes, now the hunt begins. For the hunter is ready to prowl. Follow closely until I arrive." He said.

"Gotcha boss."

But while he ordered his minion to keep an eye on Rex… another kept an eye on his minion.

Meanwhile Rex was focused on keeping his eye on the road, having to continually remind himself not to glance off to the side to see how his instructor was grading him. Something that was hard to do since the instructor remained quiet for much of the ride, leaving Rex to try and liven things up with conversation. Though he had less than stellar results at small talk.

"Guess you've seen this road like… a billion times, right?" Rex asked as he drove down the road at a hearty pace.

"1,765 times to be exact." Replied the instructor, "And you'll make 1,766."

"Hey, an even number." Replied Rex, "I like the sound of that."

"That's just how many students I've had." The instructor mentioned, "Not how many have passed."

"How many have passed?" Rex immediately asked.

To which he got a response of, "An above average percentage."

"And that percentage would be?"

"A percentage you'll be a part of if you focus on your exam." Was his reply.

Rex took that as his cue to refocus his attention on the road, worried he'd get some sort of demotion in his score. However, as he thought it over, he realized something telling. The instructor was implying that Rex was currently doing well enough to pass as he was. Even if the test was a long way from over, just knowing he was doing well alleviated some of the anxiety he was feeling.

Too bad for Rex that alleviation wouldn't last very long for his test was interrupted by the arrival of a destructive force. He had first taken notice of it in his rearview mirror. Something very big was tearing its way down the city streets towards him.

An engine of sorts, an engine on wheels, an engine that cared little about what was in its way. A bemused "What the?" floated from Rex's lips as he watched the large two-wheeled engine tear its way down the street, a presence that Rex's instructor soon took notice of as well. As it the engine rumbled closer Rex slowly came to recognize its rider, as the shape of the bike were all too familiar.

"What is that?" came the instructor, bewildered himself.

And whether the rider heard him, the instructor was given an answer all the same.

"I am the wolf that rides the streets, stalking my prey with feral fury, a hunter that knows no rest and no quarter. I am the ruler of the road. I am…"

"Valve, what are you doing you bozo?" asked Rex, looking completely underwhelmed by the arrival of the hulking biker, "Are you…? Do you want to fight or something?" Rex asked, "I'm kind of busy now so could you wait until after my test? I'll kick your butt later."

That response was less than what Valve was hoping for and through his mask he gave Rex a glare something fierce, though Rex didn't bat and eyelash at the sneer.

"Who is that?" came the instructor, still trying to wrap his head around the situation.

"This is Valve, some crazy biker dude I whupped before. Biker… wait, are you the one that gave those other bikers those nanite boosters?"

Valve responded with an air of superiority, "A true hunter can bestow upon others great power. I am the pack leader for these streets and those who follow me are privy to my strength."

"More like you hook a bunch of idiots with some nasty nanites and they fall over themselves to get more." Came Rex, "Too bad for you my boys aren't a bunch of suckers."

"And they will pay for throwing my gifts back into my face." Came Valve, "But you, you are the focus of my fury now."

"… perfect." Muttered Rex.

"What… what is happening?" asked the instructor.

"Nothing good." Came Rex, before quickly turning his attention back to the wheel, "Need to get some distance from this fool." He said as he shifted the gearstick up and slammed his foot on the pedal.

The car sped up accordingly leaving Valve in a wake of dust, but the criminal rider wasn't perturbed in the least. In fact, he couldn't have been happier at the turn of events.

"Now the hunt truly begins." He said with crooked grin.

With a quick rev of his engine Valve gave chase to the fleeing Rex. And despite its size Valve's bike was more than capable of keep pace with the test car, especially in the crowded streets of the intersection. It caught up with Rex with little effort; pulling alongside the car with Valve a sporting cocky grin aimed at Rex.

"You cannot escape me boy. But your fear is understandable."

"Yeah… less fear and more annoyed. But whatever gets your through the day."

"And this will be your final one!" growled Valve, pulling forth a massive katana from the side of his bike.

"Huh?" pondered a genuinely curious Rex, "Guess you've upgraded a bit."

"My 'fang' thirsts for vengeance. And it's time to sink in!" he declared, raising the blade high into the day sun, the wicked weapon shining menacingly above.

He then brought it down with a sharp yell, though was interrupted from cleaving the car through when in an explosion of moving parts an orange blade burst forth to intercept. The blades clashed mightily against one another, though neither managed to gain any ground over the other. It was made especially awkward with the way Rex was essentially leaning out of the window with one hand waving in the wind while the other held onto the steering wheel, all the while trying to keep an eye on the road so that he didn't run into something or someone as the two battling motorist barreled down the city streets.

Rex's instructor wasn't exactly feeling safe however, considering the heavy impacts of the sharpened weapons radiated throughout the car with every clash.

"He's going to run us off the road!" hollered the terrified man.

Rex didn't disagree but he could hardly pull the car over and get out. As easy as it would be to deal with Valve, Rex could risk the safety of his instructor. For a moment's hesitation and Valve would cleave him and the car down the middle. With options limited Rex could only hope to blunt the blows delivered by the raving biker.

Unfortunately for Rex he soon discovered that maybe he had underestimated the mighty of Valve, as one hefty slash from Valve nearly made Rex lose his build; the impact alone causing the car to careen dangerously off to the side. Scared he'd be run off the road Rex retracted his blade and put his hands at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock; quickly regaining control of the vehicle. Then dropping his boot on the pedal, he kicked the car into high gear as it skidded dangerously close to a nearby guardrail.

It took a lot of tricky maneuvering and bit of luck, but Rex managed to wrangle his car back on the straight and narrow; onto the thruway ramp.

"Not exactly what I was hoping for, but at least Valve missed his exit." Came Rex as he looked in the rearview mirror.

"Is… is it over?" asked the fearful instructor.

"We're cool for now sir." Replied Rex, "We'll get off on the next ramp then I'm gonna head out and put a cap on that Valve."

That was the ideal plan… save for one minor inconvenience. Valve was not one to let a little thing like a guardrail stop him from running down Rex. With a grandiose charge Valve crashed through the dividing line and flew across the empty space before landing ways away behind Rex. Though it didn't take long for him to creep up.

"If he was taking a test right now, he'd definitely fail for that, right? I mean no turn signal and he pretty much said "forget about that right of way"." Rex inquired.

And for the life of the him the instructor wasn't sure if Rex was being serious or not. Regardless the instructor's attention was quickly pulled back to the massive bike and its manic rider that was steadily gaining ground on them.

"You cannot escape the ever-vigilant hunter!" cried Valve as he raced across the thruway with blade tightly in grip, "The chase will not end until you are but rust upon my blade!"

And though the biker was quite serious, Rex couldn't help but role his eyes at his verbose display, "Will I lose points in driver's courtesy if I flip him off?" he pondered, "Still, if this is all he's got then I still should be able to handle it."

"It is time for the hunter to reveal all that he is." Came Valve, reaching toward the front of his bike.

He flicked a switch upon it, and almost immediately did a change occur. The head of the bike folded back in on itself, moving across Valve's body in a clunky series of moving metal. The front wheel slowly retracted while he back wheel, which was much larger in comparison, seemed to disengage from the main housing. The entire body of the bike swiveled about on the two wheels until it rose up, while the wheels themselves closed together side by side. As the bike rose on its wheels Valve seemed to sink within the bike itself, the vehicle body superimposing itself over him like armor.

In time the bike completed its transformation as the skull-shaped head of the bike became a chest piece of Valve, followed by to large extending mechanical arms; one of which held his massive katana aloft. The final product of the transformation gave Valve's new "armor" somewhat of a snake aesthetic. The connecting joints to the wheels were bent at two angles, allowing for flexible movement while the conjoined wheels burned down the thruway.

"O…kay…" murmured Rex with mouth slight agape as he gawked in surprise at the transformation, "That is definitely new."

"The hunter's true form has been revealed!" Valve brayed, with a maniacal laughter following, "Now the hunter will strike you down and reclaim his honor as greatest biker on the streets!"

"Some honor you got! You roid out some idiots to do your dirty work! And did you really think that would help you take over the city?" came Rex as Valve stormed up on him, "You barely qualify as a threat anyway, so you're seriously shooting for the moon buddy. Too bad you aim sucks!"

Those putdowns… didn't tide over well with Valve, who belted out a vicious yell as he brought his blade downs from overhead. A gasping Rex barely managed to juke his car to the side to avoid the blade slash, a slash that tore into the asphalt in a clean swipe.

"Oh boy…" Rex murmured, quickly realizing his car was nothing more than a moving target against the impressive battle suit, "Okay, sir. I'm gonna need you to take the wheel." He replied.

"Take the wheel? Why? What're you going to do?"

"Get out, and have a nice violence filled chat with the approaching idiot over here." Was Rex's reply, before he did just that, popping the door open.

Fortunately, being a driver's instructor afford the man quick reactions, as he was able to grab hold of the wheel before the car could spin out, leaving Rex comfortable enough to leap free of the car, to which nanites in his feet activated.

Those feet never hit the ground though as his ride took to the road, hovering above the asphalt before shooting forward on its energy-laden engines.

"Alright Valve! You wanna settle things?! Then come on, let's settle them!" barked the Evo boy.

He backed up those words with a blade of his own making, the nanites exploding forth across his arm to create his BFS in short order. Then as a grin played across his face Rex swerved about so that he was facing Valve, immediately going into reverse so that he could traveled down the thruway while keeping Valve in his sights. On Valve's end of things, he gave a nasty sneer at Rex's proclamation, intent to rend him from crown-to-toe with extreme prejudice.

"I'll mount your head on my wall as a trophy of my victory!"

A commented that had Rex reply with an, "Eww, do you know how unsanitary that is? Besides, my head is my moneymaker. Can't be awesome without it."

Valve countered that with a maniac bellow as he brought his blade down from overhead. Fortunately, Rex's counter was to bring his own blade up and over, his slash deflecting the blow off to the side. Valve's blade scrapped against the side of the road with a shower of sparks erupting as it cut along, but it held strong and Valve brought it to bare once more.

Valve gave a strangled cry as his blade once more ripped through the air, countered by the forceful thrust of Rex's. The impacts sent reverberations through their blades and arms and bodies and vehicles, throwing their respective rides for a loop. Valve's mech wobbled about on its dual unicycle, nearly losing its balance. But its flexible design helped it stay upright as it picked up the pace before it could be left behind.

The hovering capabilities of Rex's Ride gave him surprising traction considering it never touch the ground, but the impact of Valve's blade had tipped his bike precarious to the side, garnering a gruff response from the Evo boy.

"Well kick me, Valve is actually starting to act like a threat now." Came Rex, "I can't believe I have to take the guy seriously. Who knew?"

The Biker was more of a threat then Rex realized, something he decided to emphasize as his mech unfurled a new weapon from within its gauntlet. It had a vague resemblance to a double-barreled saw-offed shotgun, though the barrels themselves were much larger than normal, matching the size of the gauntlets themselves. Holding a sinister grin Valve took aim with his shotgun before a mighty bang released its payload.

Rex moved before he realized and brought his blade to bear, which saved him from the worse of the blow, though his ride took a great deal of the heft as well. And as Rex looked down to inspect his damaged build, he took notice of just what kind of ammo Valve was packing.

"Screws? Bolts? Nails? And… is that a corkscrew?" he pondered as he watched several metallic instruments gouged within his ride, "Is that a… junk cannon? Did you just shoot me with a Junk Cannon?!"

"One man's trash is another man's weapon!" roared the Biker, as he cocked his cannon once more, "And now you will soon join the trash heap!" he barked, firing another round of refuse.

Rex held his guard against the ballistic debris but lamented the fact that he was being barraged by trash, "This dude is really shooting garbage at me. This is literally a trashy fight. This is why it's hard to take you seriously man."

"But I am quite serious, dead serious!" he barked, letting loose with his rubbish firearm.

Rusted weapon impacted Rex's Ride with dull impacts, tearing into the build and causing it to sputter out. Realizing Valve would gun him down Rex decided to go on the attack with his own long-range gun.

"Fine! You wanna recycle your ammo, then let me show you the build that started it all!" barked Rex, retracted his blade for his buster, the Slam Cannon.

The cannon's loader popped free, claiming the street as its own and storing up a hearty supply of asphalt ballistics. Then taking aim Rex retaliated with a barrage of blacktop that flew tried and true toward Valve. The sadistic rider was forced to take the blows on the chin and though he managed to keep his balance the sheer weight behind the blows left him staggered.

"First you think you can out bike me, then you try to copy my shtick!" came Rex as he reloaded his cannon for another barrage, "I know they say imitation's the sincerest form of flattery, but seriously, do you own thing!"

Valve let loose a growl as concreted tumbled down the sides of his armor, "Well then, here is a thing you will find quite surprising!" he growled, bringing his blade to bear, "Now!"

Rex raised an eyebrow but soon had his attention torn away he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. His tried to dodge aside, though only managed to protect his body as a hefty weapon cut into his cannon. The build fell apart moments later with Rex assuaging the pain as he turned to see a familiar face.

A face Rex was none too happy to see, "You again?!" he growled, realizing it was that of the biker from yesterday, the head of Valve's lackeys.

"I told you I'd get you brat!" he barked, his heavy spear held high, "I'm gonna tenderize you! Then the boss'll finish you off, poste-haste!"

"Oh, for the love off… it's like Valve and Valve-lite." Muttered Rex at the goon's attempt at soliloquy, "Well, at least y'all ain't doing it halfway. You both square up to make two halves of a whole idiot."

At that… Rex had hit a boiling point in both men, who burning with incensed rage. A rage that they unleashed with blade strikes aplenty. But Rex would not falter, and though his ride was battered he kept up his speed as they traveled down the road; plus, he brought to battle weapons of his own.

"Come on then! Thrill me!" came Rex's call as he mounted his defense with a build in each hand, the BFS and Block Party respectively.

Their blades fell upon the boy with ferocity, but he pushed back against them with equal vigor. Be it a gilded katana that shimmered in the mid-day sun or a weighty axe that gleamed with sinister intent, the boy fought against them. Valve aimed to cleave the boy down the middle, but Rex knocked it aside with a twirl of his blade while he blocked the punishing blow of the naginata with his shield. Spinning about Rex threw the lackey off while slashing out at Valve, forcing the maniac rider back. Then with a swerve forward Rex slashed at the lackey, who blocked his slash all the same. Valve tried to mow Rex down with a hail of metal filings, but the energy shield of Rex deflected the worst of the shots with ease.

"Come on guys, I'm almost there! I might actually have to work for this!" came Rex with a half-grunt half-chuckle.

His catcall only spurred the two on harder, both of whom slashed at the boy with reckless abandon. And though Rex spun about in a haphazard road ballet, blocking and attacking in concert, the Evo boy was slowly becoming overwhelmed as the two bikers began to coordinate their attacks. As one blade would come down another would, forcing Rex more on the defense with each strike. And soon Rex found himself being pushed on either side; an axe on his shield and a blade upon his. Still, Rex defied their assault, looking practically giddy despite his precarious situation.

"Gonna skin you alive!"

"Eww man, you're as bad as him." Came Rex, "He wants to mount my head, you want to take me skin. What's next, gonna juggle my organs?" he asked, chuckling beneath the two heavy blades.

And then the sound of a new engine caught all three ears, along with, "You know something, I can never tell if you're being serious or not!" came a new player.

The group turned up to see another bike leap upon the scene, having jump across a nearby turnpike to enter the fray. And upon that bike was none other than a certain gynoid.

"Sup Carmen, decided to join the party?!" came Rex at the arrival of his Providence compatriot, who as he noticed was seated upon a very impressive looking bike, "Nice ride!"

"Thanks, a girl's gotta ride in style after all." She replied upon her bike.

It was a rather large bike in retrospect, though it held a sleek design all the same, the color scheme mimicking her own from headlight to tailpipe. It also contained some hidden gems upon its frame. For example, reaching forward Carmen pulled off a part of the bike's head, taking hold of something that resembled a shield. She affixed it to her forearm

"Now then, time to cut into this dance!" she barked, as a long double-edged blade erupted forth from the front of the shield.

Then with a smirk all her own she revved her engine and closed in to strike. Valve's lackey responded in kind, disengaging from Rex in order to attack the coming Carmen. He brought his naginata above his head, spinning it in an arc before bringing it down with all his might. Carmen though blocked the blade with a deft movement, deflecting it off the side of her shield before retaliating with a swing of her blade, cutting alongside the edge of the biker's armor.

And for Rex, with the weight relieved he was able to focus his entirely on Valve, who with some effort he managed to throw back with a combination of his sword and shield. The sudden lurch though caused Rex to fall back, with Valve now taking the forefront. The crazed rider turned so that he traveled backwards while his lackey tried to do the same, though his lack of skill forced him to just look back as he drove forward.

Meanwhile Rex and Carmen grouped together to face their adversaries down as a team.

"Having fun?" asked Carmen.

"As much as I can fighting goofs like them." Was Rex's reply.

"So, how you wanna handle this?" she queried.

"…hmm. Let's take down the second-string before we go for the main prize." Replied Rex.

"Alright then, let's go!"

Rex let loose a "Yeah!" of his own and led the way against the diabolical biker duo.

Valve let loose his own hardened cry as he fired off rounds of his secondhand handgun, but Rex's Block Party rebounded the shots aside.

"Is he shooting garbage at us?" came Carmen, bewildered expression upon her face.

"Yeah, but you know, I thought you'd see this as a light snack or something." Rex replied.

To which Carmen growled, "Don't make me stab you."

He laughed her off before getting into the swing of things, that swing being a large sweeping arc toward Valve. And though Valve's shots were relentless they were haphazard as well, which Rex was able to capitalize on and slash at the gun itself, nicking the sidearm in the process. Valve peeled off to gain some distance, but Rex's attention wasn't on him, instead he joined up with Carmen who slashed at the lackey when she got close.

He blocked the blow, but Carmen found quick assistance in the form of Rex who delivered with his own blade strike atop Carmen's. The lackey fought back but found their combined weight too much to handle and with a jerking movement they brought their blades down with all their strength. His blade was rent from his grip, causing it to clatter down the road, leaving him defenseless. This gave ample time for Rex and Carmen to jab their blades into the side of the biker's bike, cleaving metal and coils. He gave a startled cry before they pulled back out, watching as his bike fell asunder. His cries turned to grunts as he tumbled down the thruway in a painfully series of bounces.

"Good thing he's so pumped with nanites and wearing all that armor." Came Carmen, watching as the lackey eventually came to a screeching halt, "And he should be more than softened up for Providence to pick up what's left."

"Good. Now to deal with the big guy himself." Came Rex, turning attention to the recovering Valve, "It's two-on-one now man, might as well give up before you kiss street too!"

"I need no assistance to silence your lives! The Biker will ride the winds of victory over your battered corpses! And then I will hang them as warning for all to know that I am king of the road!"

"Hang our corpses?" came Carmen with notable look of disgust on her face, "What is your deal, that's sick."

"They've been saying stuff like that all day, head trophies and skinning alive and stuff." Rex explained.

"Eww, you have some weird enemies." Was Carmen's reply.

Rex let out a gruff chuckle at that, "Tell me about it."

But their back and forth was interrupted with a "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" from Valve who lunged at them with all that he was.

… unfortunately for him, all that he was, wasn't enough.

His blade came down first, aiming for Rex, but a combined pull of Carmen, along with Rex's blade stopped the attack cold. He tried to retaliate with a blast of his shotgun, but as he aimed, he was thrown off kilter by Carmen slashing at his side. He fought to maintain balance but in his lopsided spin he left himself wide open, open enough for Rex to counter. A blade became a cannon as the Slam Cannon came back on scene, and with some ammo replenished from the street Rex took aim and fired. Valve was buffeted with debris, blasts slamming against his arm that sent him flailing.

"Time to… disarm you!" came Carmen, her blade singing as it sliced through the air toward Valve.

Her slash tore through the gauntlet, rending his gun and breaking apart its holding. The gauntlet lost power and slumped to the side, pulling Valve further off balance as it hung limply.

"Nice." Came Rex as Carmen pulled back, "Clever pun too."

Carmen shrugged, "Meh, could do better." Was her reply, "Now, you gonna finish him off?" she asked.

"Gladly."

With that Rex retraced his cannon so that only his blade remained, and he revved his engine to close in for the final attack. But Valve was not one to go down easily, his rage showed that.

"I will not be defeated! I cannot be defeated! I am the will of the road itself!" he hollered, raising his blade high in the air, "I AM THE BIKER!" he boomed, bringing the blade down with every ounce of strength he had left.

"No buddy, you're done!" barked Rex, his blade coming up… with a whirl.

Sparks flew for a moment before his katana was snapped in half as Rex's sword became a saw, buzzing wildly as a whirling blade. Valve could scarcely believe his blade had been broken, but he didn't have to ponder for long as Rex lashed out again, scoring a blow across his armored chest. With his protection frayed and his weapons destroyed, Valve was left with little recourse against the approaching duo of Rex and Carmen. Realizing this the Biker decided that beyond his rage, his survival was more important. Even so…

"This is not over!" he roared in defiance, "The Biker cannot be stopped! I will ride again!"

"Yeah, to prison." Was Rex's call, "Now give up before you catch a real whooping!"

"Why don't you catch… this!" he called as he backed over to a nearby tanker truck, "Enjoy."

And with that Valve slammed his remaining gauntlet into the side of the truck, shattering a few wheels and knocking it precariously to the side.

"Ah man, come on! Not again!" growled Rex, immediately moving to stop the truck from tipping.

And with a dark chortle Valve disappeared behind the truck as it veered off, the truck taking over much of the street in the process. Carmen gave out a shrill cry as she backed off from the coming tanker, through Rex took it head on with a swap out to his Smack Hands. Metal met metal as Rex pushed against the truck, using all his strength to keep it from toppling over.

"Come on, come on, come on!" he growled, pushing ever harder against the truck, "You're not… gonna fall… on me!"

And for him, his words of self-encouragement did the trick, as he gave one last mighty push to put the truck back on stable footing. It was jostled a bit as it evened out, but a grateful driver looked out from the side window and gave the Evo boy a thanks for the save.

"Glad you're here to do the heavy lifting." Replied Carmen as she pulled up alongside him.

"Yeah but…" came Rex, trying to look beyond the tanker, "I think we lost Valve." He lamented.

"Hey, we kicked his butt and sent him and his boys packing. That's good enough for now." Replied Carmen, with a pat on the shoulder for reassurance, "You'll get him later."

"Yeah. Proving I'm king of the road is a good enough victory for now." He said, before a sudden realization hit him like a brick to the head, "The road? My road test!" he cried out, "I literally bailed out to stop Valve but now… augh! I definitely failed now!"

"Not quite." Came a voice.

To which Rex turned to spy his driving instructor making the scene as he pulled up along side of him and Carmen.

"Hey you, followed us?" Rex wondered.

"I needed to see what had you and that weird man so agitated. And I must say, I've never seen such a grand display of driving skill in all my life." Replied the instructor, "You aren't simply good, but you seem to be one with the road. Truly impressive skills I must say." He added.

"Thanks." Came Rex with genuine mirth, "Does that mean I pass?"

"Heavens no." the instructor replied quickly, dropping Rex's enthusiasm, "As skilled as you are, that was still insanely reckless and wild."

"Oh…"

"That said, it's not as if you outright failed the test." Replied the instructor, "We'll just say you're… postponed to a later date." He replied.

"Sweet. So, I can take it again?"

"Yes. Just please, make sure that if you have any prior… engagements, that they don't interfere."

"Heh, I'll try to schedule duels with my arch-nemeses at a better time."

"Well then I suppose that marks the end of today's portion of the test."

"Aw, really? I was kinda hoping to jump back into the saddle."

"I am a busy man Mr. Salazar, but I can pencil you in… Thursday?"

"That's in two days! Nice!" came Rex, "I'll see you then. And trust me, I'll blow your mind."

"I… just hope you won't blow me up." The instructor replied.

"Yeah well, you might want to sign you will just in case." Came Carmen.

Rex levied a balled fist at her, but she waved him off as she headed back over to her bike, "Come on Rex, let's get out of here."

"Right, right." He moaned, bringing his ride to bear once more, "But I gotta ask, where'd you get that thing any?"

"You biker boys set me up." She replied, "And I got a job from them."

"What kind of job?"

"Apparently the big bad biker boys get their money as big bad… delivery boys."

"Delivery boys?"

"Yeah, they got a side business delivering all kinds of things. Furniture, antiques, food, flowers, etc."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, if they can hold it on their bikes, they deliver it. Pretty swank gig too." she replied, "They're health nuts too. Use a good chunk of that money to buy organic foods." she added, "Kind of ironic considering they try to blow each other up from time-to-time."

"Wow I… did not know that." Replied Rex, a sigh of relief soon following, "That actually, makes me feel much better." Replied Rex, "Still, no wonder they didn't want to say anything about it." He murmured, imagining the extreme biker gang delivering cakes and flowers across the city.

"Guess you were right. They did turn over a new leaf." She said with a shrug.

"Yeah. Just had to be given… a chance is all." He replied, "And just like they got a second chance I ain't about to mess up mind. Gotta go prepare."

"Prepare?"

"To the arcade!" he proclaimed, earning him naught but an eyeroll from Carmen, "What? Gotta keep my skills sharp."

"Why don't you train on an actual road?" came Carmen, "Besides, now that I have a bike of my own, I can give you a real challenge."

"Please, you got a nice bike, sure, but it's takes more than a nice bike to be king of the road." Rex replied.

"Well then I guess you got your work cut out for you, huh?"

"Oh, you are so going down for that."

"Bring it."

"First one back to Providence buys lunch." Came Rex, "Since you know, you got a job and all."

"Sure. I can smell that coffee already."

"Okay then." He said, revving his engine; a move mimicked by Carmen, "3… 2… 1…"

"GO!" she cried out and in a screech of rubber she took off.

"Hey, no fair, false start!" he cried out as he took after her in haste, "You can't cheat the king of the road!"

---

Sorry for the long wait, my computer broke down for a while, so it took some time to get fixed, along with life in general getting in the way. But that hasn't stop me from writing. I do enjoy doing this and I'm plan on keeping up.