The Trade
Authors: Barry Hutchison
First published in Great Britain 2011by Egmont UK Limited
239 Kensington High Street
London W8 6SA
Cartoon Network, the logo, GENERATOR REX and all
related characters and elements are trademarks of and
© 2011 Cartoon Network.
Written by Barry Hutchison
ISBN 978 1 4052 6101 2
eISBN 978 1 7803 1095 4
Printed in Great Britain
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher and copyright owner.
Table of Contents
FLUUUB!
H
IGH ON A GRASSY VERGE
in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, something was growing. It was a man. At least, it
had
been.
His arms and legs were swelling, puffing up until they were several times their normal width. His whole body bulged, growing larger and more bloated with every second that passed.
Other park visitors began to scream and wail and run for their lives, as the man's skin became slick and gloopy and his limbs were drawn into his now bus-sized body.
Inside him, microscopic machines called nanites were altering his molecular structure, turning him from a human being into something new.
And into something
revolting
.
Rex yawned. He was curled up on a chair inside a Providence tank, wishing he were still in bed.
âEight a.m.?' he groaned. âSeriously? Who goes to the park at eight a.m.?'
Over by the door, Agent Six jabbed a series of buttons. âHalf of San Francisco,' he snapped, âso we need to keep civilian casualties to a minimum.' He turned and glared at Rex through his sunglasses. âWhich means I need you awake.'
âI'm awake!' Rex protested. He stood up, stretched, then yawned again. âBut seriously â
eight a.m.
? Someone needs to teach these Evos how to tell time.'
Agent Six flicked a final switch and the door slid open. The sound of screaming and gunfire immediately filled the inside of the tank. Six stepped aside. âBe my guest,' he said, motioning for Rex to lead the way.
âEw,' Rex winced as he stepped down from the tank, âwhat stinks?' He looked up and spotted the giant slug-like monster squirming on the grass just twenty or so metres away. âOh. Yeah. Forget I asked.'
Gunfire roared around them as a squadron of Providence Agents opened fire on the Evo. The Agents' bullets passed through the creature's jelly-like body, before emerging harmlessly on the other side.
A woman in a white lab coat stormed out from within the tank. âTell them to stop shooting,' Dr Holiday barked. âThat thing's unstable. Hit it in the wrong place and it pops like a balloon, then everyone here gets covered in nanite soup.'
Six raised an arm. The sound of gunfire immediately stopped.
Dr Holiday sighed with relief. â
Thank
you.'
âLooks like it's all down to you, kid,' said Six.
âSo, what's new?' Rex asked. âAnything special I need to know?'
âDon't get killed.'
âThanks,' replied Rex. âI'll bear that in mind.'
With a
whirr
and a
clank
, he put the nanites within his own body into action. Two enormous robotic fists grew from Rex's arms. He clanked them together a couple of times, testing them, then ran closer to the wriggling slug-beast.
âHey, Gloopy,' Rex cried. He pointed to a small “
KEEP OFF THE GRASS
” sign sticking out of the ground. âCan't you read?'