The Usual - Chapter 3

Black shoes skidded on the concrete flooring in the training arena as Rex held off against two EVO-strong robots, and several devices that'd decided to dislodge from the wall and start smashing at him. The clad-in-orange teen could feel his machines slowly becoming weaker as they were slowly torn and dented by the barrage.

Finally, they gave way.

Rex felt a torrent of split-second pain as his machines, the Smackhands, completely disintegrated, leaving his regular arms in a shielded pose. With a cry, he flew backwards from the force of the impact. The EVO teen hit the ground at a sharp angle and skidded on his right shoulder, eventually coming to a stop.

Rex gulped and stood up, breathing hard. His arms felt sore, and his shoulder definitely didn't feel right. His arm hung at his side, and when he tried to move it, he got no response except for -

"Ow!" Rex left hand flew to his shoulder. He bit his lip.

The other training devices rushed forward, one of them lashed out at the teen, who jumped off to the side just in time to dodge an attack. The attacker-robot smashed into the glass, and got temporarily stuck in it's cushiony-effect.

Rex dodged another bot's attempt to flatten his skull, and activated the B.F.S in his right arm - with difficulty. He put on his goggles with his left hand and looked from Six and Bobo, to the menacing robots.

"Sorry, Six, but your toys gotta go!"

The teen pulled the handle on the 'hilt' of the sword and the top split into two parts, converting the whole sword into three huge blades. There was a small click, as the mechanics in the sword connected and spun, the once-still sword becoming an active buzz-saw. Rex leapt and weaved through the machines, slicing and dicing anything that came into contact. He made sure to support his arm with his left. Rex figured there's no fun in making an injury worse.

Smoke and crackles of sparks and electricity filled Rex's 'path of destruction' as the old robots and apparatuses were deactivated. As Rex saw his handiwork, he returned his whirring buzz-saw back to a regular arm. He walked, slumping over a little, back to the door, which'd popped open as soon as the last of the equipment was demolished.

As soon as Rex walked out, Six had grabbed his good shoulder, and was leading him out and up the stairs.

"I'd say your training's done for the day." The green agent stated, staring straight ahead as he led Rex out.

"Oh, thanks, Six. Where're we-"

"Holiday's lab. You need to get your arm looked at."

"I told 'im dat several weeks ago!" Bobo piped up, chuckling a bit. "Ya did good there, chief. You've gotta knack for destroyin' Providence property."

The chimp only got an angry glare from Rex as they approached Doctor Holiday's lab.

Six opened the door, only to have Holiday run straight into him and Rex. There was silence as Holiday realized what'd just happened.

"What happened now?" She asked, slightly annoyed.

"Kid here hurt his arm durin' training." Bobo strutted into the room, perching next to the patient's sitting table.

"Ugh, Rex. Come into my lab and take off your shirt. I know how to take care of your arm. Six, you wait outside until we're done." She shuffled a few files she had in her arms and walked back into the room.

Rex smiled and looked off at Six as he turned to enter Holiday's lab.

"Score." He gave a toothy grin and waltzed inside.

The door shut, and the green agent heard talking on the inside. It was muffled. Several minutes later, there was a very loud crack, followed by an even louder cry of pain by Rex.

Six walked in. Rex already had his shirt back on and was lying on the table groaning in pain. Holiday looked up at him and smiled.

"Dislocated shoulder. I had to snap it back. He'll be fine."

She glanced over to Rex, who had seemed to calm down, and was testing his arm to see if it still even moved right.

"You can leave, Rex. Six and I have to talk."

The teen looked up and put on his jacket.

"Gladly. Of course, doc, you and I can talk, too. Perhaps over lunch or-"

"Go, Rex." Holiday completely turned around and pointed to the door, a stern look on her face.

"Okay, okay. We're leaving. C'mon Bobo." He motioned for the chimp to follow as he straightened his jacket and closed the door, leaving the agent and doctor alone.

"What happened with this training of his? A glitch in the system?" Holiday had crossed her arms and leaned against her work table, giving Agent Six 'the eye'.

"The glitch-" Six started, but was interrupted by an outburst by Holiday, who threw her hands down onto the table with a loud bang.

"We don't have glitches in our system. The robots may be old, but as soon as the console's off, they shut off. Six, you purposely tried to hurt him!" She was furious at the agent, who showed no signs of caring or surprise.

"I wasn't trying to hurt him. I had the full intention of his survival."

-Outside the room, Rex'd remembered that he'd wanted to ask Six a question, and turned around, heading back to the lab. Bobo went back to Rex's 'room'. As the teen approached the lab door, he stopped. He put his ear to the door and listened.

They're...arguing?

-Back in the room, Doctor Holiday showed no signs of calming down, and Six looked as calm as ever.

"You nearly gave him a concussion as well as a broken arm in your little stunt! What were you thinking?"

"Rex has to learn that the unexpected can happen during battle, and that even when the situation may seem controlled, he has to be on his guard." Six stuck his hands in his pockets, looking straight at Holiday.

"All you Providence agents are alike. Just as long as training gets in, you don't care about what happens to your train-ee." She'd switched from angry, to just under cross. Six adjusted his glasses.

"You need to leave me to do my work, Doctor Holiday. You deal with Rex your way, I'll deal with him my way." He headed towards the door and opened it, revealing the teen leaning cooly against the wall. Six raised an eyebrow.

"Cute little stunt, Six. Fun stuff in there." Rex's sarcasm was so thick, that one could taste it.

"It isn't polite to eavesdrop, Rex. What do you want?" The agent replied and frowned ever-so-slightly.

"Ignoring the fact that you almost killed me...." Rex frowned. "Can I have Noah over?"

Six looked back at Holiday as he exited the lab, closing the door.

"No." He started walking down the hallway, his face stoic.

"And why not?" Rex was fairly ticked at the agent.

"Because your knowledge of him working for White may-"

"That's a lame excuse and you know it, Six. Can I have him over or not?"

There was silence. Agent Six stopped walking in the hall.

"Fine. But you have two hours." Six turned down the hallway to the right and left Rex.

"Sweet!" Rex ran down the way to his room, opening up the door with gusto.

"Why da hurry? We aren't gonna go on another "vacation" again, are we?" Bobo raised a brow-ridge and looked over at the teen.

"Nope. Gotta call Noah." Rex picked up his cellphone and dialed.

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"Providence has a SECOND base?" Noah exclaimed as he parked his bike along the side of the building. He looked over at Rex.

"That's what I said!" He waited for Noah to lock his bike before he walked in.

"I still haven't explored the whole place, but I know most of the main areas." Rex motioned over to the left. "White's office. And down the hall is Holiday's lab." He gestured over to the left. "That flight of stairs leads down into a training facility. It's pretty..."  He paused, thinking of the right word.  "...fancy."

They continued walking, heading towards Rex's room. They passed Six. Rex said nothing, but had an annoyed look on his face.

"What's with you and Six?" The blond asked, pointing backwards towards the green agent.

"He tried to kill me with the training 'bots. Lied and said it was a 'system glitch'. He claims that it was "All part of the training." or some nonsense."

"Ouch. That's brutal."

Rex shrugged and opened the door to his room.

"Man. It's really small. I would've figured it to be as big as your other room."

"I'll only be here for a couple more days, so it's not so bad." Rex handed him a controller and sat down, turning on their favorite video-game.

After a while, they started to converse.

"So Rex. Why d'ya think Six always wears those glasses?"

"I dunno. With my five years of being here, he's never taken them off. He's protective of them. It's kinda weird." Rex stuck out his tongue and mashed buttons on his controller. "He's probably some nutzo EVO or something, and he's hiding the effects on his eyes with his glasses." He chuckled a little bit.

"Good theory. What about Holiday? She doesn't seem like the Providence type to work here. She must be newer."

"Yeah, she's a new recruit. She came here probably about three years ago. You should've seen the look on her face when she realized she'd been assigned a little kid who could control his nanites as a project." They both laughed.

"And White? What's his problem? He treats you even less like a human than Six does."

Rex paused the game at the mention of his boss's name and looked at Noah.

"I think he's scared of EVOs, like they're going to transfer their 'faulty' nanites over to him or something. That's why he's always in a sterilized office."

"That's messed up. He's a pretty big jerk."

"He's paying you to be with me. You can't call him that." Rex gave the blond a half-frown.

"Well I-"

The door opened, and the stoic green ninja-agent aggro-nanny stepped in.

"Rex. Your friend has to leave. Your time's up." Six said, his face as straight as ever. He adjusted his glasses.

Both Noah and Rex chuckled at that, and they both stood up. Rex said his goodbyes, and Six escorted Noah out of the building.

Rex sighed and leaned against the wall.

"What's the problem, chief?" Bobo asked, looking down at the teen from his perch.

"Bored."

"Go an' explore or sometin'. It'll give ya sometin' ta do." the chimp waved his hands motioning for Rex to leave. The teen got up, stuck his hands in his pockets, and boredly walked out the door.

So this is an old government base...I'm sure they have some secret rooms.

Rex smiled and slid down the railing on a flight of stairs, he turned around a corner and did the same down another set of stairs. The room he was in was lit by an old-fashioned fluorescent bulb, which flickered as soon as he walked in. The teen looked around, and seeing an old, wooden door, he tried the handle.

Locked.

Theories are...that nanites are in everything...

He grasped the handle and closed his eyes, concentrating. After a few seconds, there was a shifting sound, and then a click.

"Oooh. Who's the ultimate lock-picker?" gloating always helps a situation. Always.

Rex pulled the handle, and opened the door. Dust flew out and into his face. He coughed and cleared the air with a wave of the hand. As soon as the door opened, there was a strange noise similar to that of an old television set turning on..only louder.

There, in the middle of what seemed to be an old and abandoned broom closet, stood a peculiar machine. It was about of wait-height at the very top. Its base was a regular box-shape, but the apparatus that stood on top of it looked strange. It looked like a large glass, hollow pedestal, and at the top, it formed out in the shape of a perfect ball. Inside the ball, was a pale-yellow gas that gave off a soft light.

For some odd reason...he had to touch it. He reached his hand out and-

"Rex! Don't touch that!" Someone's white-cuffed hand flew out and grabbed Rex's wrist.

The teen jumped and pulled his hand backwards, looking at the other.

"Six - I swear. Do you stalk me or something?"

"It's my job."

"Aggro nanny."

"I prefer 'green ninja'."

Rex took his wrist back from Six's grasp.

"Do you even know what that device is, Rex?"

"..No."

"That little machine can power you down for days or longer if you touch it. It deactivates EVOs on contact, but it's effects are only temporary."

Rex blinked. "So it's like a mini me!" A big grin formed on his face. "I'll call it..Rex Junior!" Six frowned.

"EVOs are attracted to it's light." He shut the door. "Don't go near it."

Agent Six grabbed his upper arm and started leading him out and up the stairs. Rex looked back at the open closet.

That..yellow....it's....

Six caught his look and yanked him forward, causing the teen to trip up the stairs. He landed poorly on his face. With a growl, he continued up the stairs.

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Night fell upon the second base as it did in the first one.

Labs bright, hallways dark, and the teen EVO in his bed. Only this time, snoring could be heard coming from Rex's room. At around three in the morning, his eyes opened. With half-lidded eyes, he stepped quietly out of bed and opened the door with a touch of the hand.

Rex, was sleep-walking.

He dragged his feet groggily down the dark corridors and turned down the flight of stairs, turning again, he went down the second set.

That room. This time, nothing lit the small space. Nothing but that yellow. He could feel it...

Almost in a hypnotic trance, he grabbed the door-handle and it clicked open, just as before. When the door opened, no dust plummeted outwards towards him. The only thing was that yellow. He had to touch it...It looked so warm and inviting...

With a sleepy smile, Rex moved his right hand to touch the glass, the un-gloved hand centimeters away from contact. The glass brushed his fingertips.