A/N: This is a continuation of Love, Question Mark. If you haven't played the original Deus Ex and Deus Ex: Invisible War, this might be a real nail-biter for you. I've done my best to make this canon compliant, so if I got anything wrong/impossible, kindly inform me.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Deus Ex games. If I did, I wouldn't need to write fanfic.
He created her because he wanted to be perfect. Well, the official reason was to further the goals of the Illuminati (and later, Majestic 12), but really, he wanted perfection. He wanted to be a God, and to bestow his perfect vision on an imperfect world. She was practice for the new nanotechnology, as were the two units before her, and things were looking good. Maybe less good now that JC and Paul had deserted UNATCO and set out to put a stop to him, but that was nothing he couldn't handle.
Though, there were still a few kinks to work out before he used them, himself. After all, the perfect man needed the perfect augmentation if he wanted to create perfection.
Bob Page smiled to himself. He would be this world's new God, and it was almost the epoch he'd worked toward for over two decades.
Twenty-five years together. Holy shit, thought Frank Pritchard, jogging down Main Street in Old Chicago. He and Jensen had moved here when it looked like New York was getting dicey a few years ago, what with Page Industries and UNATCO gaining more control. Somewhere quiet, but where Adam could still keep an ear out for Sarif.
Not that Sarif was a big player, anymore. Augmentation had ceased being trendy with the populace, and they mostly just designed for rich eccentrics looking to enhance themselves. But the CEO always hoped for a comeback, especially with the new nanotech Page had developed and released to the government. Unfortunately, regulations had soared on how much and how quickly they could install new tech in their clients, stifling business a significant amount.
The raven-haired man rounded a corner on to Orange, slowing when he noticed a small body slumped against the library wall.
"Hey, kid, you alright?"
The child looked up at the older man from under a mess of black hair. "I'm waiting for my mom."
Pritchard noted the girl's dirty clothing and fetid odor. "Get up, and I'll help you look for her."
"I'm not supposed to go with strangers," she replied, but stood up anyway.
"What's your name?" the writer asked, leading her into the building.
The girl was quiet for a moment. "Alex. I'm five."
The ex-hacker smiled. "Well, Alex who is five, if you don't see your mother in here, I'll take you up to the local police station and see if they can't find her."
When they finished their tour of the building with no luck, the child took Pritchard's hand and looked at him, searchingly. Frank forced himself not to pull away at the feel of blood caking her fingers. Was that what the stains on her shirt were, too? "Some mean man took my mommy, and he told me she'd be right back, only, it's been a whole day, and she was crying when he took her."
A sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach, the ex-hacker tried to remain calm.
"Pritchard, our anniversary was a week ago. You didn't need to get me another child sacrifice."
Frank glowered at the younger man. "Shut up, you'll scare her, you..." he glanced at the girl before looking back to the cyborg, "...butthole." Ruffling the messy girl's head, he reassured her. "He's joking, and he's not funny."
Adam cringed at the wrath of his husband. "Right, right, sorry." The ex-cop looked at the child. "Sorry. Um, hi, I'm Adam. And I only look scary and make bad jokes."
Shy and quiet, she moved to hide behind Pritchard anyway.
"This is Alex. Alex, can I ask you to stay in the other room for a minute? I need to talk with Adam. Just go on down the hall and look around, okay?" She nodded and sped off down the corridor. "Look, I think this girl's parents were murdered. We dropped by the police station and they hadn't heard of anybody looking for her, but they're running a search for them. But she told me some man dragged her mom off and it doesn't sound good. Rather than stick her in some sort of government agency, I thought it'd be best to let her stay here."
The cyborg crossed his arms. "We've talked about kids before, Frank."
"I know. But you can't expect me to just leave her on her own. I'll assume full responsibility."
"I couldn't even keep my dog alive. They euthanized him when I nearly died."
Pritchard sighed. Some wounds didn't simply heal with time. He leaned in with a warm hug, kissing his husband softly. "I know."
"Of course she can stay, just don't expect me to turn into some sort of super-parent," Adam smiled. "Though, I have to say, I enjoy watching you in protective daddy mode."
Frank swatted him playfully on the chin, rolling his eyes before walking off to find Alex.