Chapter Eight: Hitting back
(In Kiev. Rex devises a plan to expose the lies and make right the wrongs.)
Nikolay did excellent legwork. After all, he lived here and knew the town like the back of his hand. And he was quick and silent, able to move through the town undetected, until he was caught and captured by Cain's troops.
But everything was still in position.
Including Rex, gasping for his breath as Cain strangled him.
Well, actually, that part wasn't exactly in the plan.
Rex had burst into the security bunkers where Cain and the other troops would be. Their main operating base was a little way off the city, a foreboding single storied warehouse large enough to bunk a light tank.
There were stacks of storage crates lined fairly neatly alongside all walls, with a couple of work desks filed in the far corner. There were only a dozen men, including Cain, and they were all taken by surprise.
Rex pulled out his big guns and did sufficient damage before pretending to slip up, letting Cain get the upper hand. Unfortunately, Rex had not counted on Cain having a weapon so lethal that it could actually kill him –Cain had used it on Rex a minute ago and it hurt like the Reaper had raked its scythe through Rex's every nerve.
Cain chortled, looking entertained by Rex's apparent idiocy.
"Well, well, well, the all-powerful Generator Rex, seems like you're still lacking in brains. Think you could take us all on, alone? Well, I've got newsflash for you."
Cain unceremoniously dropped him and touched the lethal staff to his shoulder, sending him another violent jolt. Rex writhed in pain but not from the shock since he could withstand high voltages.
"I've got a nanite disrupter, so you can kiss your ass goodbye."
Cain jolted Rex again and he screamed, feeling like every fiber of his body was being ripped to shreds.
"C'mon, Cain, that's enough. He's tortured a fair bit," one of the security officers persuaded.
Cain grunted and brutally kicked Rex a few times. Rex groaned in pain and laid in a crumpled ball, body so wounded and nanites so damaged that Rex was sure he'd be sore and bruised for days.
"Oh, I'm not through with him yet."
Cain brought the staff to Rex again but one of the soldiers stopped him.
"That's enough. He's beat up. He won't be able to fight back. Let's just put him in a cage and let Yefim decide what to do with him."
"Are you kiddin?" Cain exclaimed in ire, "Yefim's the idiot who called him here in the first place. He trusts that no good Providence. But you saw what happened that other day, didn't ya? The EVOs were under his control, defending him, saving him too. Didn't I warn you it would happen?"
"Yea, but it just doesn't make any sense. Why would Rex do all that? I've heard all the good he has done."
"Listen you –" Cain grabbed that guy by the scruff of his collar and gave a rude shake, "Why don't you grow a spine and wake up."
"Why don't you drop your quarrels and watch the door?" Rex spluttered out, chest still winded and body still hurting.
He forced a winning smile as a horde of EVOs burst in on cue, through the hole that Rex had made earlier at the steel doors.
Cain and the troops cried shouts of fury and curses and started shooting at the swarm. Rex languidly crawled away, but Cain caught his foot.
"Oh no you don't! You're mine –I still need you! The –"
Then Cain's bellows were muffled by an EVO that jumped over him and suffocated his face. Rex manically grinned to himself on that sight, then returned to a somber mood.
C'mon, guys, hurry! Get those troops out, Rex begged silently, hopping that those EVOs could somehow understand him, or at least remember to follow the plan like NoFace had earlier instructed, before Cain overpowers their mind with his controller.
Rex counted off the troops as they were dragged out the bunker, screaming for their dear life. One by one, they were gone, until Cain was the only guy left. The other dozen remaining EVOs darted around, restless and weary, acting twitchy, no doubt starting to become confused since Cain's mind control device was releasing electro waves, which disrupted the telepathic bonds that NoFace had formed with them earlier. At an EVO's ear-splitting squeal of pain, Rex pushed himself up and snatched the nanite disruptor from Cain's hand before he killed the EVO clinging on his head.
"Tell me where you kept NoFace. I know you caught him a few hours earlier because I lost radio contact with him."
Cain let out a mad laugh.
"C'mon, Cain, give up," Rex taunted in a scratchy voice from all that earlier screaming, "It's just you and my EVO army. What can you do? Raise a new one?"
"You mean, my EVO army," Cain clarified and gave a smug grin whilst the EVOs broke out into spasms that were more violent.
Then they stilled for a few seconds before advancing towards Rex, baring menacing fangs and claws at him. As expected, the switch had flipped. Rex swallowed hard and forced himself to remain calm as he surveyed the circle that had him surrounded.
"You're taking back control over them, aren't you?" Rex deadpanned, "How?"
Cain let out a cackle.
"Didn't NoFace tell you this during your little co-operation? Then I guess he must still hate you as much as before then. He can only disrupt the signals from this device-"
Cain turned a little sideways and tapped a small black contraption stuck to the side of his head, behind his ears.
"-if he is within range. Otherwise my device will overpower his telepathic abilities."
"Right, so that's why you were desperate to get rid of him. Since discovering he was immune to you and could break your hold on the other EVOs, you were worried he would hinder your plans."
"You're catching on, boy."
Cain turned his back and went off to the lockers at the far wall. He opened one of them and took something out.
"So what's your plan? World domination? Coming from a guy who hates EVOs, I'm surprised you are making them your minions."
Cain gave a bark of laughter as he returned, holding an injection gun.
"You gotta catch on faster, Rex. It's humans being used by EVOs now. I'm just joining the winning team."
"You are not making any sense –including that injection gun. Giving me a medical jab?"
Cain grinned.
"Let's just say, it's a little concoction that will make you more obedient. It contains millions of nanite controllers that will attach to your nanites, and link you with the main controller that I own."
"So that's how you activated the nanites in the townsfolk and those media guys who came down here for the international press conference. You were the one who turned them in EVOs."
"Yes, and you'll be the prize in my possession."
"Does this mean I'll be your slave forever?"
"Unless you are far away enough to be out of range. But don't worry, Rex, I'll keep you close by," Cain said gruffly and took the last step towards Rex.
"Oh, you'll be close to him, alright, locked inside Providence prison. And this time, Cain, I'll make sure you serve a life-long sentence," Yefim barked as he entered through the double doors that were half torn from the hinges –the aftermath of Rex's brutal barge-in. Yefim was followed by three dozen troops who filed into the hall.
"Statesman Yefim, what a surprise visit. I'm afraid you've confused me with your words."
"Well, you're the one who had me baffled with the EVO relapses and had us all fooled. But now we know, everything was your doing!" Yefim berated as he marched right up to Cain with a few officers at his heel.
"I'm afraid I don't' –"
Cain held back his tongue as Yefim pulled out his phone and played a video, showing both Rex and Cain reenacting their last several lines of conversation as if they were actors filmed in a thriller.
Cain's eyes balled in realization at the horrid evidence staring right at his face. Busted, he shot a death glare at Rex, eyes flickering to the tiny camera in the shape of a glossy bob hanging from Rex's neck that he thought was just a pendant.
"You! You've been filming!" Cain growled frustrated and lunged for Rex but the other soldiers quickly held him back, wrenching his arms up against his back.
It was Rex's turn to give a smug grin.
"And broadcasting it live to every billboard and TV station in town –a trick I learnt from you. I would've sent it worldwide too, but I didn't have enough resources."
Cain let out a strangled growl then said between clenched teeth, "Well, you may have busted me, but you'll have to deal with these EVOs here first before arresting me!"
Several seconds passed with Cain's face scrunched up in furious concentration as he likely tried to order the EVOs to counterattack. The agitated EVOs however, suddenly calmed like a soothing wave have washed down on them, and remained motionless. Rex snickered when Cain's pissed face turned into anguish upon realization that his commands were not taking effect.
"They won't listen to you if NoFace is close by, right?"
Cain's eyes looked like they were going to pop out their sockets as he stared straight ahead at NoFace who stood by the door. A crowd of nosy reporters had also appeared without Cain's earlier notice, jostling behind NoFace and a barrier of armed security troops, cameras rolling and flashing away. Rex wasn't surprised how quickly the media crew showed up –they were essentially like hungry vultures always perched on the ready to swoop at juicy morsels of news.
"Humph! Men, take this scum away, we'll keep him in custody till Providence troops take him off us," Yefim ordered.
"No! He's mine!" NoFace growled in a threatening tone and sprinted across in a flash, grasping Cain's thick neck with his big, bony, deformed hands.
"Deceiver. Murderer. I will have you," NoFace seethed, reminding Rex that for however much the EVO seemed to have softened, he still retained his vehement streak.
Yefim's troops aimed their firearms at NoFace, all tensed and ready to fire.
Gasps and shouts rippled across from the media crew gathered outside, adding to the tension.
"No! Niko –I mean NoFace, please, you can't," Yefim threw a hand on NoFace's long, muscular arms, "You have to leave it to Providence. This is their jurisdiction."
NoFace ignored him, tightening his grip and causing Cain's eyes to roll to the back of his head.
"Why? Why let him live? He should die for his sins, his crimes."
"Because death would be too easy for him," Rex mused aloud, folding his arms along his chest, "You remember don't you, how it was like to be imprisoned. And forever is, a long time."
NoFace pointedly turned his face to Rex and he could see all the muscles and veins at his neck were tensed and bulging in agitation. At the end, NoFace agreed with Rex and he released Cain, who coughed raggedly and took huge gasps of air like a fish out of water.
Yefim gave a sigh of relief then returned the communicator that NoFace had passed to him three days back on Rex's instructions, whilst also giving Rex a firm handshake at the same time.
"I can't thank you enough for the help you have given."
"Thank you, Sir, for taking the gamble and trusting my words –our words."
Three days back, Rex had sent NoFace to covertly hand Yefim the communicator so that Rex could share his plan. Rex requested Yefim to investigate if Cain did anything fishy to the press members who attended the conference. Rex told Yefim about his crazy plan to deliberately let NoFace be caught by the security troops as a front –unbeknownst to Cain, NoFace would later be released on Yefim's secret orders, so that he could get close to the bunkers and disrupt the hold of Cain's controller on the EVOs.
It was a damn crazy idea –but if they played their cards right, they could trap Cain in his own game –and thank god, the plan was a success.
Yefim gave a smile of relief.
"It was a gamble worth taking, since you've brought concrete evidence against Cain," then he lowered his voice, "So I should be the one to thank you, for clearing my son's name."
Then Yefim gave NoFace only the briefest of nods before he exited the bunker with half the media following him. NoFace tensed as the other half of the crowd shoved against the barricade of security troops, firing and shouting questions and shoving microphones and recorders above the soldiers' arms.
"Excuse me, coming through, excuse me."
Rex caught that familiar voice amongst the chorus of questions.
"Six!" Rex yelled and raced out to meet him, "I'm glad you're alright!"
The crowd had parted for a tall, puffy looking EVO that had two stilts for legs.
Rex laughed when he saw Six sitting on its fluffy round body. He couldn't decide which was more comical –the EVO or Six riding on something that looked like a ridiculous, overgrown cotton-ball ostrich.
"Can I assume that you've just saved the day?" Six asked in a bemused manner.
"In summary, yes," Rex announced proudly, then pointed with a backward thumb at NoFace, who had the other EVOs gathered around him like he was their idol, "But I've had help."
Six pushed his sunglasses up his nose.
"Good, but you'll need to explain further. Because when I woke up to report in to White Knight, he lambasted us, saying that we have comprised Providence. He showed me the news feed of the incident at Yefim's luncheon. It would appear that Cain had taken the tapes of those camera crew and spread the videos to other news stations."
Rex smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck.
"Well, that's probably because he hasn't watched the latest news update. I think the stunt I just pulled will only show up in tonight's news. After that, White Knight will surely have to cut us some slack."
"Hopefully," Six nodded, "And you'll have to explain why I woke up to find five EVOs trying to babysit me."
Rex guffawed.
"Let's hit the pub again and you can buy me another gin. It's gonna be a long story."
Rex thought to invite NoFace along, but he turned round in time to see NoFace busting a hole through the wall on the opposite end, before scuttling out with the rest of the EVOs as if they were terrified of the reporters who were screaming his name and pushing against the soldiers.
Six raised a brow at their epic retreat, just as the crowd stampeded down the side of the bunker in chase.
Rex couldn't help but hug his sides and laugh till his tummy hurt.
Rex filled Six in with all the happenings and findings that he had missed since he passed out.
NoFace had shared a bit of his past with Rex and how he relapsed, which was a pain to make sense of because he spoke in broken sentences. Thankfully, Rex managed to piece together enough to get a rough glimpse of how Cain started the EVO relapse.
Like what Yefim had told them, NoFace admitted that he never got used to his life in the town, instead, preferred to hang around Kiev with his old EVO buddies. Somehow many of them were able to recognize each other and they remained close because they shared the same feeling of isolation, even if they were living amongst people as cured humans.
It was during one of their meetings in Kiev, near the outskirts, when Cain rode in on a jeep and shot them with darts. NoFace was horrified to find his buddies suddenly turning EVO and was confused when they attacked him. Luckily, NoFace was able to subconsciously hold them off with his mind whilst he escaped, still retaining in his human form.
Rex surmised that NoFace didn't transform or yield to Cain's command, because he had such strong telepathic control over his nanites. But that didn't mean that he was unaffected. The serum did activate his nanites, but NoFace was somehow able to control his EVO transformation, something similar to Rex.
NoFace didn't realize that his nanites had been activated, until Cain showed up in town with dead EVOs in tow. NoFace had accompanied Yefim to see the commotion, and in a state of panic and distress at seeing the death of his friends, he transformed right in middle of the public square, exchanged a few blows with Cain, before fleeing. NoFace only figured out later, that Cain had injected them with some sort of nanite controlling serum –or in NoFace's words, a formula that controlled the 'Insides.' Since then, he avoided Cain whilst sneaking around to save other EVOs wherever he could, gathering them to a safe place.
Once Rex learnt how Cain's nanite controlling powers worked, he had a nagging suspicion on how Cain was able to inject all of the press members with the serum. So three days back, he sent a disguised NoFace in his human form –Nikolay – to seek Yefim's help to run an investigation into this.
While Yefim ran investigations, Nikolay went back to the jet to get the components that Rex instructed. With it, Rex devised new gadgets and rerouted the systems so that it could hack into broadcast programs, such as electronic billboards, TV stations and the town's own satellite station. Over the next two days, Nikolay quickly and stealthily installed the devices into billboard circuits, broadcast wirings and the like.
Meanwhile, through Yefim's secret investigations, he found out from the support troops he'd provided Cain, that right before the international press conference, Cain had subjected all the press members to a jab he claimed was mandatory resistance against turning EVO.
From there, Yefim was able to quickly put two and two together. It became obvious that the lapse in Providence communication was also caused by Cain. Yefim contacted Rex as soon as he'd pieced the puzzle, raging over the communicators about how he had been made a fool.
It was likely that Cain had taken out the Providence squadron stationed in Kiev months before, turning them EVO. Then he made those false reports and intercom replies whenever HQ checked in, while feeding stories to Yefim that Providence had vacated the premise, leaving them high and dry.
Being a prudent man, Yefim had tried to contact Providence HQ several times, only to find that he couldn't because the transmissions were jammed, no thanks to Cain. Not knowing that Cain was the perpetrator then, Yefim appointed Cain to act as bailiff to deal with the EVO relapse situation as he was the only man capable enough to put the EVO crisis under control. Unfortunately, that gave Cain better leverage and power to execute his plot.
As bailiff, Cain had access to and could by-pass many security channels.
Cain had obtained security passcodes and radio frequencies for all broadcast channels in town, which was how he was able to jam the signal every time that Yefim tried to contact Providence. It wasn't until Yefim sent tapes to Russia's biggest broadcast network did their local news reach Providence, and contact could be made through the main government office.
Cain was also the one who received incoming medical supplies for 'security clearance' and took the chance to contaminate medical vaccines with the serum. So all those people who walked into clinics thinking they were getting a flu shot, were actually given a dose of the serum.
This allowed Cain to activate the serum and turn the inflicted people EVO as and when he wanted, so long as he was in the vicinity. This explained his nightly patrols – people would still hear the EVOs' cries and crashing sounds of a fight, but it would be too dark for them to properly see when Cain has them tamed and caged and sent off for shipment.
In this way, Cain continued his hero charade while he spread the serum and caught and killed more EVOs.
Yefim's Intel shed light on how Cain carried out his devious scheme, putting all the pieces of puzzle into place. Learning that, Rex got even more disgusted and maddened by Cain's cunning and devious nature. His determination to expose Cain and bring him down for good, grew.
In irony, brushing shoulders with Cain forced Rex to play it smart, or rather, play it by Cain's methods. Everything hinged on Rex being able to force Cain to show his hand. Rex hoped that he could lower Cain's guard by letting NoFace be captured first, then having the rest of his troops dragged away from the bunker so Cain would be left alone with him and several EVOs.
Of course, those troops were unharmed and NoFace was secretly already released on Yefim's orders and stationed outside, reining in his powers to give Cain the false sense of security. With no one else around to watch him or catch his words, Cain stooped to using his EVO control device and carelessly yakked away. If there was one other thing that Rex had learnt since all the times that he'd faced Cain, was that Cain loved to gloat when he thought he was winning. And that, was Rex's ace in the hole.
"So you've succeeded –you got Cain talking and controlling the EVOs. And you recorded everything with the camcorder that you had redevised, that was small enough to not be obvious," Six finished for Rex, nodding his head.
"Exactly! Isn't that the greatest story you have ever heard?" Rex slammed his palms down on the counter, getting excited.
"No," Six replied in a flat tone and took a gulp of his drink.
Rex's face fell and he pouted.
Then Six showed a small smile.
"But I have to admit, I'm impressed. You beat Cain at his own game, exposing him and clearing Providence name at the same time."
Rex beamed at the praise, since getting one from someone as hard to impress as Six was like striking gold.
"I'm surprised that you managed to hook up the broadcast with modifications to the parts from the jet. Since when were you such the engineer?"
Rex smirked proudly.
He wasn't the scientist like his older brother, but over the years, he did become rather interested in technical stuff, like electrical engineering and gadgetry. When he wasn't on missions or goofing around with Bobo or Noah, he spent considerable time pouring through the web to brush up his own knowledge.
"Well, Six, you don't know all my talents. I've been brushing up on my electronics and mechanics since *my mega billboard prank with Bobo backfired. Besides, *Holiday has always been pretty strict on my education."
At that, Six suddenly gave what looked like an evil smirk, giving Rex a certain sense of foredoom. He nervously took a few gulps of his drink to calm himself down, immediately dreading what was coming next.
"Which reminds me, I think I have been too slack on your combat training," Six drawled in a deliberate, uncharacteristically expected manner, "We'll have to train you harder to make sure you can wriggle your way out a tight spot instead of electrocuting your team members along with the opponent."
Rex promptly spit out the drink he had in his mouth and sputtered, knowing for sure that Six was definitely going to raise the intensity and difficulty of his training.
The new jet smoothly landed, parked right next to the one which Six and Rex flew in.
Well, since Rex had NoFace dismantle several parts, the jet obviously couldn't be used. And Rex was no aircraft engineer so he couldn't fix it either. Hence, they waited another day for Providence to send in a new jet so they could escort Cain back with them.
An aircraft engineering team filed out the plane and saluted to Six before briskly jogging over to the old one to repair it.
Yefim had a full contingency seeing them off, giving Six and Rex a salute. Rex was almost embarrassed at the formal show of gratitude. He would have quickly retreated into the jet with Cain in tow, if it were not for NoFace –or rather, Nikolay –who suddenly showed up with a group of EVOs behind him.
"Nikolay," Rex waved cheerfully, "Seeing me off?"
He nodded.
"To say my –our thanks again."
Six cast a glance at the EVOs in acceptance of their thanks then turned to Yefim to give a final handshake.
"Thank you for assisting us in our mission, Statesman Yefim. Rest assured, we will recover those missing EVOs who had been shipped off by Cain. Providence will also come up with an antidote to plurge Cain's serum. We will return once we have the solution, so no one can cause any more relapse or mind control them again."
Yefim gave the heartiest laugh Rex had ever heard.
"That's good, we will await your good news. But in the meantime, I think no one will dare to try. Nikolay will be protecting the EVOs well."
Rex smiled, relieved at the outcome.
Yefim made a speech the day before, addressing the public and introducing a horde of EVOs up on the podium. People were stunned and amazed to discover the EVOs were docile. Since Nikolay could 'talk' with their nanites, he was able to calm them down and enabled them to retain some semblance of conscious control.
Rex then spent the rest of the day curing most of them –without the interference of Cain's controller, he could cure them easily, much to the joy and relief of the townspeople. Many gave their thanks and apologies, making Rex feel the lightest that he had in days.
Only a handful of EVOs opted to remain as they were, including Nikolay.
The black haired man who bore striking facial resemblance to Yefim, shook his head slowly. Nikolay closed the few steps to his father and held his gaze.
"No, not as Nikolay, but as NoFace."
Yefim's smile got cut off his face.
"What do you mean by that?"
"This is the last time, Father, that I will be Nikolay. The last, you will see me. Then I will be Nikolay, no more."
"B-but you're not making any sense!" Yefim stammered, flabbergasted, "You're like Rex –you can change your appearance-"
"I cannot forget the bad dream. But when I woke from it, I wished to return, for the bad dream became the better life. The old home beckons."
"You can't mean that," Yefim snapped, looking indignant, "You'd rather sleep outside, in that broken, run down place that haven't been restored?"
"Please, Father. Accept," Nikolay begged, brows twisted upward in agony.
He picked up his father's hand and clasped his own over it.
"It is hard for us. I do not feel 'home'. I returned a stranger. I cannot fit in."
Yefim looked thoroughly crestfallen and sighed heavily.
"If you are sure of this decision, I won't stop you. I just want you to be happy, my son."
Then Yefim stroked Nikolay's face with his free hand.
Nikolay gave one last sad smile before he transformed, losing all features on his face.
"Thank you, Father. Do not be sad. You will always be with me. And I, with you."
The tender, heart-wrenching scene was more than Rex could handle. It was like every tear-jerker episode of all ten seasons of his favorite Spanish soap opera combined. Rex blinked back his tears then quickly dapped his eyes with his jacket sleeve so no one would see that they were wet.
Then Yefim quickly turned away and retreated to his car like he couldn't stand to be close to his son in case he changes his mind.
NoFace silently followed Yefim with his face as the car pulled away.
Rex laid a hand on NoFace's arm and looked up at the tall EVO.
"Tough choice, huh?"
NoFace turned and faced down on him, then quietly looked away. Rex mused inwardly that even without a proper face, he could still tell that the EVO was brooding.
"Hey, why don't you join me? I still have an EVO monkey and I'm an EVO myself, so I'm sure you'll fit right in."
NoFace jerked his head in surprise then turned to regard the other EVOs that were still waiting for him.
"You can bring the rest along," Rex added and cast a questioning glance at Six.
Six only cleared his throat in answer and went up the jet, pulling the handcuffed Cain with him.
Rex cleared his throat as well, realizing he had asked without thinking. How was he going to get it past White Knight?
Oh well, I figure it out somehow.
But NoFace shook his head slowly.
"We are happy to be invited. But we wish to remain here. We know our old home the best."
Rex smiled and nodded in understanding.
"Then I'll come back and look for you when I have the chance."
NoFace let out a laugh that resonated deep from within his chest.
"We will be waiting then."
Rex was in high spirits on the jet ride back to Providence. He kept whistling, stretched out on the row of seats opposite Cain.
Six, who would by now have raised an annoyed brow at Rex for not being able to remain quiet, also seemed to good spirits, as he paid Rex no mind.
But trust Cain to spoil the mood, suddenly erupting into fits of maniacal laugh barely an hour into the flight.
"Quit it, you're freaking me out, weirdo," Rex snapped and sat up, swinging down one leg to the floorboard.
"You're rejoicing too early, Rex. So I can't help but laugh at your stupidity."
Rex stared at him crossly.
"Excuse me, but you were the one who played into my hand. Or is your memory failing at the thought of rotting in jail?"
Cain let out a rugged chortle that seemed over-exaggerated. His shoulders shook and he rocked back and forth, creaking the thick leather belt that Six had clasped over his body to the chair, so that he had no chance of escaping.
"Don't be daft, Rex. You won't have the luxury of bringing me back to Providence before I die. So you lose."
"The hell I'll let you die!" Rex snarled, shoulders tensed, stomping both feet on the floorboard now.
"Rex, just ignore him, he's trying to rile you up to annoy you," Six advised from his seat at the corner, along the same row as Cain.
Rex grunted, but continued, "I'll make you rot in Providence cell for the rest of your life. And make you talk on how you created the serum and where you sent those missing EVOs. Only then, you can die."
Cain suddenly calmed, remaining motionless, crazy grin wiped off his face. Rex stared, bewildered at his swinging reactions, never seeing him appear so deranged before.
"Who said you get to choose? It's the Rise's call. You won't be getting anything out of me –not the Remote EVO Activation Serum nor the missing EVOs."
Cain sounded solemn, weary and defeated.
"Remote EVO Activation Serum," Rex repeated, "That's a mouthful. I doubt you're the brains behind this –tell me, who's the one who concocted the juice?"
"Who is the Rise?" Six asked immediately after, arching a fierce brow.
Before Cain could answer, his head suddenly blew up, splattering mess everywhere, painting the cabin in crimson blood mixed with sordid pieces, sending a horrified Rex reeling back on his seat with bile rising up his gut.
Rex and Six spent the rest of the flight holed up in the pilot's cabin, neither able to stomach remaining in the cabin with the revolting scene. Rex had seen plenty of gut-revolting mess in his life, but that probably had to take the cake.
Feeling sick to his gut was an understatement. Rex hugged his stomach and cupped his mouth all the way, praying that he wouldn't hurl a Niagara fall of half-digested, acidic grossness from his stomach. He sagged against the side window, so he could quickly smash it open and spew out his vomit if he couldn't keep it in.
Six seemed to hold out better, or at least, good enough to be able to give White Knight the latest grotesque report. Rex felt more sick on remembering and stared down the tiny structures dotting the landscape that rolled by. Skydiving would have been less vomit inducing by a mile.
As they passed by the familiar, bronzy, barren cliffs and valleys, Rex was able to breathe better on the prospect of abandoning the plane with that headless body at the back. Providence HQ rose from the dusty, sun-baked, cracked soil like a glistening sword of white –a shining beacon to Rex's nauseating prison ride. He never felt so relieved to see it.
As they neared, he noticed patches of dark specs moving around a way off from the skyscraper, on the left of the main entrance. However, it seemed sort of cloudy down there so he couldn't quite see clearly. He was going to alert Six to it, but thought better against it, afraid to open his mouth least he hurls.
Instead, he wordlessly raced out the pilot's cabin and leapt right to the door, not caring that he kicked it open and sent the metal flap flying away. Hell was going to rain down on him before he touched the gruesome bloody floor with his sneakers. His jacket, unfortunately, got messed up, and he'd warily rolled it up inside out, tucking it under his arms. He was going to have to scrub it a million times when he got back –he'll be damned if there remained any bloodstains.
Rex was unsteady on his Slyder, but he went slow so it was still manageable. Having escaped from the plane, Rex suddenly felt better, like he could breathe normally again.
He dived down lower, hearing the mooing cries first before he was close enough to make out hordes of cows and bulls, each one separated by criss-crossing, bluish light –force shield cages.
Rex frowned, confused as he continued surveillance on his way down.
Some of the animals seemed pretty agitated, galloping around and around in their tiny confined space, kicking up clouds of dust.
On spotting that familiar, shining golden blonde hair and red top hat, Rex quickly zipped the rest of the way down.
"Noah! Bobo!" Rex called as he recalled his hover board, "What's with the dairy farm?"
"Rex, You're back! I heard from White Knight you went back to Kiev. How's the Bug Jar?"
Rex frowned, immediately seeing through Noah's forced smile and knowing when his friend was deliberately ignoring his question.
Rex looked to Bobo instead, who pointed at Holiday, who was approaching them.
"What can I say? The Doc misses our Petting Zoo. Decides to open a Petting Farm instead," Bobo replied in his usual joking tone.
"Okay, weird…" Rex trailed off, spying something that made him feel queasy again.
He stared at the bull right at the closest cage that didn't have a tail.
"That one –I recognize it," Rex deadpanned, raising a shaky finger towards it, "I think I was the one who chopped off its tail."
Rex looked up to see Holiday stopping right in front of him, her grim expression confirming his worst nightmares had come true.
"That's right, Rex, Your brother and I separately discovered abnormalities returning to the blood specimens recovered. We had a conference call a few days back and confirmed our findings matched, so we had to acquire all the cows from that farm –and it was good timing too. A few started turning EVO so we had a little trouble with the transport and getting them all into cages."
"Yea, too bad you missed all the fun. Noah and I had a blast playing rodeo –"
Noah drove his elbow into Bobo's side, shutting him up.
Rex was lost for words with chaos rummaging his mind, staring off blankly into space.
"Oh Rex," Holiday laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry this happened. But I heard from White Knight that the Bug Jar relapse cases are a dud."
"Yea," Noah added softly, "At least those people didn't succumb to relapse on their own –Cain had instigated the whole thing and messed with their nanites, right?"
"That's right," Holiday nodded, "So far it has only happened to animals on this particular farm and nowhere else. So there could be other factors causing it."
Rex knew that they were trying to make him feel better and usually, he'd perk right back up, since he was naturally sunny and optimistic.
But this time, their words brought him cold comfort. He'd cured the cows only a few weeks back, so why were they relapsing again and so quickly?
He felt sickening bile rise to his throat.
My cure isn't permanent.
Rex promptly pushed out of their way, and vomited.
Author's Comments:
So, how do you find NoFace? Love him? Hate him? XD
If you wanna know, I've turned him into a good character here, mainly because I always held a soft spot for him. I thought he was just an angry, sullen guy who was venting his anger onto the world, and onto Rex. After all, being abandoned is such a terrible thing, so one could forgive him for misplacing his anger.
Besides, I thought it'd give him more character depth to show how he has acknowledged his mistake and come to terms with Rex. I liked to think that NoFace comes to feel gratitude towards Rex for freeing them from the Bug Jar and curing all of them. It feels poignant. *v*
Footnotes:
*Rex's billboard prank with Bobo :
Go and re-watch "Guy VS. Guy," it's a damn funny episode. XD
I couldn't stop laughing. Rex and Bobo tried to pull off the stunt of the century to prank Noah. But their plan horribly backfires on them because they messed with Holiday's equipment, stealing her stuff for their prank! XD
Anyway, I thought it would be cool to make it a lesson that sparked off his interest with gadgets and electronic engineering.
*Holiday on Rex's education :
"Without A Paddle" is another funny episode to watch. One of my favorites, actually. ^_^
Besides the crazy fun tennis match and Rex's rise to fame as a tennis star, I cracked up at the last part when Holiday was reviewing his grades.
It was super funny when she said she was going to start teaching him. Though we never saw that happen in the rest of the cartoon, I'm keeping it as assumption that she did so. Lol.
