With the smoking gun still clutched in his hand Connor stared at the deactivated deviant android as he slumped to his knees near the end of the corridor, a growing puddle of his own Thirium forming beneath his body as the dark blue blood seeped from the gunshot wounds that tore through his form. Dark brown eyes turned black as an opaque blue cataract formed over his irises upon his deactivation, his hand going limp and his grip falling slack as the semiautomatic weapon he had drawn and aimed at the nearby police officers, F.B.I. agents and C.S.I. personnel fell from his motionless appendage.

Having neutralized the threat Connor lowered the gun he had taken from the closest F.B.I. agent and returned the weapon to its rightful owner. Glowing L.E.D. cycling in yellow Connor studied and scanned the deactivated deviant as Lieutenant Hank Anderson, his temporary partner assigned to him by the precinct, walked up beside him to examine the scene of the shooting.

It only took three perfectly aimed bullets to end the confrontation before it began.

Helping another officer back to their feet Hank complimented the android detective's decision. "Nice shot, Connor."

Lowering his voice Connor lamented on the situation at hand as his yellow L.E.D. cycled back to blue. "I wanted it alive."

"You saved human lives." Stepping partially into Connor's line of sight Hank emphasized the importance of the moment and his overall appreciation for what his android partner had just done as Connor watched him from the corner of his eye. "You saved MY life."

Turning to give Hank a silent look for just a moment Connor proceeded to approach the previously offensive deviant, his white dress shirt torn open and exposing the bloody blue wound in his upper abdomen, to resume his investigation of the mysterious message by the deviant leader of Jericho. The infiltration of the Stratford Broadcast Tower was more important than his own damaged body; damage that CyberLife would frown upon learning that their most advanced prototype had sustained during its mission.

Watching as Connor went about his business Hank and the other nearby officers just watched silently as the android, the very being they had initially believed to be a threat to mankind, just saved every human life on that floor without any worse for his own condition.

There was something about the way Connor moved. The way he talked. Even the way he looked Hank in the eyes that spoke volumes of someone being for more than they appeared. There was something inside of Connor, something almost human, that made Hank think that maybe there really was something to deviancy and the pleas for equality.

Maybe deviants really are alive after all.

It was then Connor's comment echoed in Hank's mind like a call for help: "...I wanted it alive."

Alive.

Did Connor see the deviant as a living being? Did he see himself in the same way?

Watching as Connor retracted the artificial skin from his right palm to begin an analysis on the deactivated deviant Hank noticed that Connor was moving with a slightly slumped posture. A more human and less machine posture. Even as Connor crouched down to press his exposed palm to the deactivated deviant's right hand he could see more human motions; his posture less than perfect, his eyes warmer and full of life, his expression an indifferent mask of disgust and his every motion of his hand was like someone attempting to pick up a flower without harming its petals.

As the android detective set about the analysis Hank finally saw the exposed and partially bleeding wound in Connor's chest. Seeing his artificial skin torn away and the white plastimetal frame exposed beneath was eerie. A white frame, like the white bones of an organic skeleton. The blood was blue but it flowed and dripped just as it would if it were red.

"Connor?" Approaching the android detective from behind Hank lowered his voice and crossed his arms over his chest. "Are you hurt?"

"No. I am not hurt, Lieutenant."

"You're bleeding."

Pausing for a moment Connor's blue L.E.D. flashed to yellow as he ran a quick self diagnostic on his current status. "I'm losing Thirium due to the damage to my chassis. Androids don't bleed."

"Could've fooled me."

"I merely suffered minor damage during my initial confrontation with the deviant while interrogating it in the kitchen. It's not serious and my self healing program will remedy what damage I have sustained within the next four hours, nineteen minutes and twenty-two seconds."

"Uh-huh... Then why are you acting like you're in pain?"

"I assure you I am not in any pain. Androids don't-"

"I know, I know." Giving Connor a stern glare Hank cut the stubborn android off before he had the chance to begin. "Androids don't feel pain. Or emotions. Or anything for that matter."

"Correct."

"Then answer this; why are you grimacing and struggling to breathe?"

"Androids do not breathe, either. We ventilate."

"Same fuckin' thing. Why are you struggling to 'ventilate', then?"

Double checking his system's diagnostic Connor was given the clear and confirmed that his system was functioning at one-hundred percent capacity. There was no reason for him to be struggling. "...Unknown."

"Alright, that's enough." Hooking his right hand around Connor's left bicep Hank pulled the android detective back up to his feet and then pressed his right hand to the back of Connor's left shoulder. Pushing him back toward the elevator down at the end of the corridor Hank urged the android to take his leave of the tower. "Let these F.B.I. assholes have their crime scene."

"But I'm not-"

"I said move." Barking his orders Hank directed Connor over to the elevator and practically smashed the 'call' button through the panel with the side of his left fist. "Fuckin' stubborn piece of plastic."

The elevator doors parted and Hank practically shoved Connor inside the vacant elevator car ahead of himself.

"I can walk without your assistance, Lieutenant."

"Then walk faster." Pressing the button for the ground floor of the tower Hank sighed to himself as crossed his arms back over his chest. The doors shut again and allowed Hank to his and Connor's reflection on the shiny reflective doors. Eyeing the wound in Connor's exposed abdomen through the reflection Hank caught sight of Connor's blue L.E.D. briefly flickering to yellow then back to blue. "So, uh, need me to drop you off anywhere?"

Furrowing his brow in confusion Connor turned to look at Hank as he gave him an awkward stare. "...Pardon?"

"You're hur- damaged. Where do you need to go to get patched up?"

Pausing for a moment Connor's L.E.D. cycled once in red before going back to blue. "I will summon an autonomous cab to take me to CyberLife Tower."

"Or I can drop you off."

"...Why?"

"Why are you acting like it's such a huge deal?" Turning his eyes from the reflection and directly to Connor standing beside him Hank's instincts as a detective told him that Connor was trying to hide something. "You saved my life and the lives of the other cops up there. The very least I can do is spare you five bucks in cab fare."

"It's unprofessional of you to go out of your way to accommodate my needs while you still need to work on the case."

"Bullshit." Facing Connor fully Hank pointed an accusing finger at the android like a father scolding his child. "You're trying to hide something from me, but I ain't buying it. What the hell's going on?"

"I..." Unable to lie as doing so would go against his programming: Establish a working relationship with Lieutenant Hank Anderson, Connor had no choice but to answer honestly. "I merely wish to avoid reporting to CyberLife."

"Why?"

"I am... damaged."

"Right, I can see that."

"CyberLife technicians disapprove of the notion of their most advanced prototype suffering any form of damage while in the field." The elevator reached its destination on the ground and let out a low 'ding' as the doors parted a second time. Walking with Hank at his side Connor pulled the lapels of his gray jacket over his exposed abdomen to hide the damage from prying eyes as he and Hank crossed the reception area to leave the tower. "If I report to CyberLife while damaged they will replace me."

"Replace you? They'll send a new android to work on your case all because you got a little scratched up?"

"Not exactly." Stepping through the automatic doors and onto the sidewalk outside Connor's arms absentmindedly tightened around his chest to not just hide his damaged abdomen but to stave off the building cold as autumn turned to winter. "There are other 'RK-800' models with my exact likeness and functions currently in stasis at CyberLife Tower. If I became damaged then they will upload my memory into another 'RK-800' and... dispose of this current body."

"Whoa, whoa... What?" Pulling Connor toward his parked car along the street Hank gave the android a truly confused look. "They're going to destroy you?"

"They will deactivate me and analyze my programming to understand why I failed."

"You didn't fail, Connor. You were wounded in the line of duty. You're a detective, that shit's expected."

"Not to CyberLife. I'm meant to be flawless." Staring at the sidewalk beneath his feet Connor's L.E.D. began cycling in red. "If I'm not flawless then there must be something wrong with my programming."

"No. You were attacked by a deviant who pulled a gun on a bunch of cops. There's nothing wrong with your programming."

"I doubt your assessment will hold any merit with CyberLife, Lieutenant."

"Fuck 'em." Opening the passenger side door of the car Hank pushed Connor down into the seat and stared at the android through the opened door. "You're going to stay with me until you heal, alright? I won't let those CyberLife creeps throw you in the garbage because you got a little banged up doing what they told you to do."

"...I'm not sure how to respond."

"Try being quiet for a while and let your, uh, self healing thing work."

Watching as Hank closed the door Connor pressed his left palm over his wounded abdomen and ran another self diagnostic. The damage was minimal but due to the nature of the attack; the vital biocomponent being torn from his body as opposed to be properly extracted, it would still take an extended period of time to heal properly.

Joining Connor inside the car as he opened the driver's side door and sat down behind the steering wheel Hank looked over the android with a worried gaze as he finally got a good look at the wound. "What happened up there?"

"I was interrogating the three androids in the kitchen to try to deduce which of the three was deviant. I successfully located the deviant, who then attacked me before I had the chance to react." Lifting up his left hand Connor showed Hank the second wound, the stab wound from the knife entering his palm and pinning him to the countertop during the assault, he told Hank the truth about the incident. "I was overcome and the deviant forcibly removed my Thirium pump regulator from my body."

"Your what?"

"The Thirium pump regulator. The Thirium pump is the android equivalent to the heart, and the regulator controls the heartbeat."

"Wait, that deviant attacked your heart?"

"Just a portion of it."

"Holy shit. Why didn't you ask for help?"

"...I did. My voice failed to carry through the kitchen doorway and into the rest of the tower. The walls of the tower are all aligned with soundproofing to ensure a clear and concise broadcast which in turn muted my call for assistance."

"Oh. Uh," the two wounds made Hank grimace where he sat. "is there anything I can do to help you?"

The offer was unexpected and Connor wasn't sure how to respond. "...No, Lieutenant."

"You lost some of that Thirium shit. Need some more?"

Hesitant to accept the offered help Connor paused for a moment and considered his options. Saying 'Yes' could be seen as a sign of imperfection in his programming, but it'd aid his mission of gaining favor with Hank. Saying 'No' could prove detrimental to his recovery and anger Hank in return. Saying 'Nothing' was simply not an option.

"Connor? Do you want to be deactivated."

"No." There was no hesitation in the answer and he sounded entirely sure of himself. "I do not."

An android afraid of death...

"Then do you want me to get you some Thirium so you can heal faster?"

"...Yes." Making his decision Connor agreed to accept the offered Thirium. "Thirium could help."

"Okay." Pulling his car keys from his pocket Hank turned over the engine and pulled the car along the street. "I know there's a CyberLife store two blocks from here. I'll get you some Thirium while you stay in the car."

"Once I ingest the Thir-"

"Ingest?" Cutting Connor off with an audible disgust in his words Hank gave the android an odd stare. "You drink that shit?"

"Correct. It's the most effective way to restore my Thirium reserve."

"Gross..."

"As I was saying," resuming his initial explanation Connor looked down at his damaged palm again, faint blue sparks erupting from the damaged plastimetal made him wince slightly as he spoke, but he brushed it off casually. "once I... replenish my Thirium I will need to enter stasis mode to allow my self healing program to function at full power."

"So you need to sleep?"

"That is essentially correct, yes."

"Cool. You sleep it off and I'll get some lunch. That's a damn win-win in my book."

Unsure of the human turn of phrase Connor just sat back in his seat and neatly folded his hands atop his lap. Refraining the urge to file his report with Amanda regarding the investigation Connor chose to instead to omit certain memories and conversations to ensure that once the report was filed Amanda wouldn't be displeased with his actions at the tower; or worse, remove him from the case.

The odd afternoon gave way to evening and Hank preoccupied himself with his phone as he waited for Connor to reboot and awaken from his stasis mode as his body healed. The artificial skin had regenerated around the wound in his left palm, and the Thirium loss had finally stopped altogether. By all account Connor was simply sleeping in the seat beside Hank; with his arms crossed over his chest, the blank expression on his face and the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he remained in stasis mode made Connor appear as any young detective resting between his shifts.

Glancing up from his phone Hank looked over at Connor and noticed that his L.E.D. was cycling red in his right temple, the light reflecting off the side window created a crimson aura over Connor's face as he slept. In a way Connor looked peaceful but the contrastingly aggressive color made Hank feel edgy.

A little curious as to how deeply androids really slept while in stasis mode Hank called out to the android in a level tone of voice. "Connor?"

Despite the recognizable voice and being directly addressed by Hank the sleeping android remained asleep.

"Hey, Connor?"

Putting his right hand to Connor's left shoulder Hank shook once and watched as Connor's arms fell limply away from his chest and down atop his lap again. Peering at Connor's chest Hank could see that the wound had healed and the bleeding had stopped, but the artificial skin was struggling to regenerate over the repaired biocomponent.

"That can't be right."

Shaking a little harder Hank tried to get a response but Connor remained quiet as he slumped in his seat and fell to his right against the door beside him.

"Shit. Now I KNOW this isn't right..."

Returning to his phone Hank did a quick search on android maintenance to try to figure out what was happening to Connor, but his results were minimal if not completely nonexistent. There was nothing Hank could do for the android at the moment.

"Fuck!"

Dragging his left hand over his bearded chin Hank looked around at the street they had remained parked along and tried to think of a solution to help Connor without taking him to CyberLife Tower for maintenance. Unsure of what to do or where to go Hank caught sight of a humanoid figure stumbling out of an alleyway, and bumping into trashcans and struggling to remain upright.

"Oh, great." Dealing with a potentially dangerous stranger on the street was more important than waking up a sleeping android. "Now what?"

Opening up his door Hank climbed out of his car to check in on the person stumbling around in the alleyway. He was expecting to see a drunk fool struggling to find a place to throw-up or lay down and was already ready to call in patrol to take him to the drunk-tank to sober up.

"Hey, buddy? Are you-" Instead of encountering a drunk human the senior detective found himself standing before a blond haired deviant android covered in his own Thirium, and sporting a single gunshot wound to his lower chest. Scared and on edge the android turned around to face Hank and quickly pressed his back up against the brick wall of the alleyway he was trying to venture down, but was unable to move much further. "Holy-"

"Stay back!" The android lifted up a gun and pointed it directly at Hank's face, his finger hovering precariously over the trigger. "Let me go!"

"Easy, easy... I saw ya' stumbling and thought you were drunk." Raising his own hands into the air submissively Hank showed the clearly deviant android that he wasn't a threat. Nodding at the deviant's bloodied chest Hank gave spoke to him in a calm voice. "You need help."

"I got help!"

"Not from where I'm standing." Thinking quickly on his feet Hank took a single step backward away from the armed deviant to keep some space between them as much as possible. He knew the deviant was wounded, desperate and possibly dangerous. "Look, I got some extra Thirium in my car if you need it."

"It's a trap, you're trying to trick me. You want to deactivate me!"

Like Connor this android was afraid of death as well.

"No, I'm not. Look," pointing with his thumb over his right shoulder Hank motioned for his car parked a few feet away and took another step back. "I have an android I work with at the precinct. He got hurt today and I'm waiting for him to heal. I bought some Thirium for him and I have one pouch left. If you want it you can have it, but you need to get rid of the gun first."

"You are NOT going to take my gun."

"Right, like I said." Stepping even further back Hank kept his cool as he spoke to the deviant android in a calm voice. "I work at a PRECINCT. I'm a detective and I'm already armed. Besides, I said get rid of the gun; not hand it over."

The blond android's hand began to lower the gun toward the ground as he realized that Hank wasn't going to harm him.

"I don't care who you are or where you came from. It's my job to protect innocent people and I can tell you been through some rough shit and need help." Lowering his hands slowly Hank turned to head back to the car. "Take it or leave it, I don't care. I need to check on my partner."

Unable to go any further down the alleyway and unwilling to turn down the free Thirium the blond deviant slipped his gun into his pocket and limped out of the alleyway behind Hank. Leaning up against the alley wall the wounded deviant looked about the street and noticed that the man who had revealed himself as a detective had opened up the passenger side door of his car to check on his android partner. From the distance the blond deviant watched the human reached his left hand down to push the other occupant back against the seat and away from the opened door.

"Connor?" Trying again to rouse Connor from his stasis mode Hank spoke to the android in a louder voice and put his right hand to the middle of Connor's chest to shake him awake. "Wake up, Connor."

Limping over to the car the blond deviant observed Hank warily and kept his distance.

Noticing the blond deviant watching him Hank opened up the glove box in front of Connor to retrieve the last pouch of Thirium and tossed it over to the deviant to have. "Here. Drink that and take off."

Readily catching the Thirium the deviant quickly opened up the pouch and began to drink quickly.

"If humans see a wounded deviant walking around after that broadcast at the tower you might not make it to see the sunset."

"...Why do you care?"

"Who says that I do?" Returning his focus to Connor still motionless in the car Hank patted the side of Connor's face twice to try to get a response. "Connor, open your damn eyes. If you don't wake up then I'm gonna' have to take ya' back to the precinct and file a report. I don't think they'll look the other way on CyberLife bullshit like I will."

Stepping a little closer the blond deviant eyed Connor warily and noticed that Hank was genuinely worried for the unresponsive android. "...What happened to him?"

"He was attacked. He said he just needed some Thirium and sleep it off, but he's been out for two hours now and I can't wake him up."

"...Maybe I can help."

Giving the blond deviant a righteously skeptical stare Hank stayed beside Connor and continued to try to shake him awake. "Why would you help him?"

"Why'd you help me?"

"Fair point." Standing up slowly Hank watched the blond deviant very closely. There was no sign of the gun but Hank knew better than to let his guard down for even a second. "If you can get him to wake up then go for it. I don't want to have to take him to a specialist."

Nodding a little the blond deviant finished off his Thirium and put the empty pouch in the nearby trash can out of sight. Approaching the car he stared at Connor's face and was stunned by the facade of the unconscious android. "...Did you say his name is 'Connor'?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"I've never seen android like this before. I'm unfamiliar with his model."

"Well, he's special. That's why he's my partner in the field."

"Partner?"

"We're both detectives. Now," crossing his arms back over his chest Hank put himself between the two androids and the curious eyes of the public. There was a small protest group forming outside of the CyberLife store and that meant any android in the area had a limited amount of time to get to safety before bigoted humans tried to make a move on them. "can you help him or not?"

"I can try." Putting his exposed left fingertips to Connor's red L.E.D. the deviant ran an analysis on Connor's processors for only a few seconds before he jumped back from Connor as if his hand had just been burned. "...He works for CyberLife."

"Yeah, I know."

"...He's supposed to be locating and destroying deviants. He's... He's hunting us."

"Whoa, easy. Yeah, he's going after deviant androids, but-"

"I can't... No. I won't help him!"

"Fine, you don't have to. Just know that he hasn't harmed any deviant he's chased."

"I think the deviant he shot in the broadcast tower would beg to differ."

"Hey! If you know about that then you also know it was in self defense!"

"Connor provoked him with his questions."

"He was doing his job." Noticing that the blond deviant was wearing one of the same uniforms as the other androids working inside the Stratford Broadcast Tower the keen-eyed detective realized that the deviant was one of the four who infiltrated the tower, and had been wounded during their attempts to deliver the message of peace. Ironic. "Connor didn't ask for this assignment, he's just doing-"

"I'm sorry." Turning to face Hank the blond deviant backed away from the car and prepared to bolt away from the two detectives out of fear. "I won't help an enemy to our cause."

Self preservation. This deviant android wanted to live.

Unwilling to argue with the terrified deviant Hank kept his tone civil as he let him go. "Then go and get out of here. I won't stop you."

As the blond deviant took a step away from the car and returned to the alleyway where he had been initially seeking shelter he stopped for just a moment and gave Hank a passing comment. "...He's stuck in stasis mode. Pressing your fingertips against his L.E.D. for six seconds to wake him up."

"...Thanks, I guess."

Watching as the wounded deviant android limped back into the alleyway out of sight Hank sighed and closed the passenger side door of the car before crossing in front of the vehicle to open the driver's side door. Glancing over to the CyberLife store he sighed with irritation as the cowardly bigots protested the store's existence after the broadcast aired.

"Fuckin' assholes. What a waste of time and energy."

Opening up his driver's side door Hank sat back down behind the steering wheel and gave Connor a worried glance. Reaching out his left hand he gently pressed his left fingertips to Connor's glowing red L.E.D. and held pressure until he felt something 'click' as if he had pressed down on a computer key.

"This better work..."

Counting to six in his head Hank retracted his hand and watched as the red L.E.D. cycled in the three primary colors before settling back on yellow. Slowly Connor's eyes fluttered open and his posture straightened back up.

"Connor?"

Turning to face Hank his yellow L.E.D. turned back to blue as he locked eyes with the senior detective. "Yes, Lieutenant?"

"You good?"

"Yes. I am functioning." Pressing his left palm to his abdomen Connor noted his fully healed injury and proceeded to rebutton his white dress shirt to cover himself. The blue Thirium that had soaked into his shirt had evaporated and the white fabric was left untouched by the blue tint. "Thank you for your assistance."

"Did you have any glitches or some shit?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"You took a few minutes to wake up."

"Curious." Closing his eyes for a moment Connor ran another self diagnostic and confirmed that his programming and software were all operating at full capacity as necessary. "My system hasn't detected any anomaly that would interfere with my stasis mode."

"So you're good to go back to the precinct?"

"Correct. I'm fully functional."

"Alright, then let's head back."

"Very well. I can-" Pausing for a moment Connor's blue L.E.D. cycled to red as he noted the group of protestors standing before the CyberLife store and wanted to end the protest before it began. "Shouldn't we do something to break up that protest group?"

"No. We're not on patrol and we're already behind the clock on our own case." A curious thought popped into Hank's head as he turned over the engine and pulled the car back onto the street to head to the precinct. "Let me ask you something. When you refused to go after those other deviants in the past and refused to go to CyberLife, is it because you don't want to kill anyone or let yourself be killed?"

"Androids aren't alive. There's nothing to kill."

"What about at the tower when you said you wanted to take that deviant alive?"

Connor's brown eyes dulled for a moment as he realized what he had said and why he said it. "I... It was a figure of speech."

"Oh, really? Speaking in metaphors now?"

"Adapting to human unpredictability is in my programming." Reminding the senior detective of their previous conversation Connor tried to dismiss the comment as nothing more than his software adapting as it should. "The android has been deactivated. Not killed."

"Yeah sure." There was something about the way Connor was behaving and responding that had begun convincing Hank that the android was acting more deviant than he could ever admit. Behaving more... human. "Whatever you say, Connor."

-End of Scene-

Author's Note: This kind of bothered me in the game. Markus/North refers to Connor as the famous "Deviant Hunter", regardless of how aggressive or peaceful you play as Connor, and there's really no context for such a nickname. I gave it my best shot to come up with something