Summary: The odd detective duo were just about to head back to the bullpen when a man approached them from behind and aggressively slammed the deviant on the back of his head with a fire extinguisher, taken from the wall.
AN: Sorry for the grammars. I hope you'll see through it and enjoy this story. ~Jos
…
May 23th, 2039
04:45 pm
Detroit Police Department
"…W-what happened L-Lieutenant?..."
Connor gazed upon the familiar faces. "…W-what happened L-Lieutenant?..." His mechanic voice barely audible as it grew weaker against the growing panic surrounding within the walls of the Detroit Police Department. While laying flat on the floor in the middle of the hallway Connor's vulnerability was to be seen for everyone. "…W-what happened L-Lieutenant?..."
Captain Fowler crouched on one knee across from Lieutenant Anderson with the dazed deviant detective sprawled on the floor in between. They supported the same panicked look on their faces while listening to the repeating question, over and over again. Which only meant that Connor wasn't fully functioning. "Hang in there, Connor," Jeffrey soothed. He couldn't help but admit to himself that he had grown attached significantly since the kid earned his place among people. His respect for the android was shown by his reassuring grip on the downed deviants shoulder to keep Connor as still as possible.
A shaky hand got up from the ground, aimed for the stinging pain at the right side of his face, only to be grabbed on by Hank. "Don't touch it," Hank ordered. The blue smutches on the collar of Connor's white dress shirt came from his damaged temple, right next to the lazy spinning yellow LED. It wasn't clear if he was also bleeding from the ear, because of the constant attempts to get up. Little spurts of awareness were made by the android. Until he fell right back into repeating himself.
"…W-what happened L-Lieutenant?..."
From up close, the distinct chemical odor of Thirium was slowly getting to their heads. There was a possibility that Connor had received another wound on the back of his head. But they hadn't had the chance yet to examine the seriousness of it.
After a painful gasp Connor started to scramble himself up from the floor.
"No, Goddammit. Stay down, Connor. Help is on the way." Hank placed his strong hand against the deviant's chest and pressed him down with a grunt. "Seriously. Stop moving. You're only making it worse."
"B-but …W-what happened L-Lieutenant?..." Connor kept repeating over and over. It was starting to look like the young deviant detective was stuck in a loop. How easy it was to rub it off like it was just some sort of glitch. A simple malfunction that would be solved by slapping the side of his head again. Hank knew better by now after half a year spend with the android partner. "Lay still, son. Keep ventilating, remember? We don't want you to overheat, now." Hank kept telling him. Fowler looked at his watch and sighed. While Connor faded in and out of focus with his big brown glazed over eyes. He took a long deep breath as been told. The quiet pause was just long enough for Jeffrey to comment on the time. "It's been fifteen minutes, and still no change," he muttered and Hank finally acknowledged the fact that the kid wasn't going to get help anytime soon. "Let's make another call. They probably got stuck on the fact that this is an rare model RK-series prototype. There aren't much technicians around that can handle his advanced programing." This was what had been bothering the Lieutenant.
Hank watched over Connor as he gasped loudly under the strain of discomfort when Fowler suddenly released the comforting pressure on his shoulder. It was like all of his Thirium was rushing through his head leaving him in a red haze of pain and dizziness. His gyroscope was malfunctioning. His vision blurred on the edges at first but started to fade allover when his burning question popped up in his scrambled mind.
"…W-what happened..."
Hank looked down at him with the saddest looking eyes. "Sssshhhh…" From behind the Lieutenants shoulder Captain Fowler was already speaking on the phone while walking around anxiously. Hank saw that Connors gaze curiously travelled up to the Captain, trying to track his movements. With a following cringe of pain Hank snorted at the android. "Stop trying to tap into the phone, Connor. Just relax."
The android's head shifted back to Hank trying hard to find back those blue eyes he desperately needed to remain calm, as being told. "O-okay…"
Hank could see it now.
The sudden growing blue puddle that was coming from under the deviant's head.
"Holy shit, he got you good," Hank muttered apologetically. Without wanting the dazed deviant detective to move too much, Hank caressed through the dark brown mob of hair only to find a surprisingly warm wet spot right behind Connor's right earlobe. As his fingertips neared that spot Connor hissed at the sudden discomfort. "Yep… found the leak. You're definitely damaged." Hank shook his head disapprovingly. His fingertips now stained blue from his partners inflicted wound. 'Those freaking anti-android bastards keep popping up. They are no longer scared of the cops anymore.' With a grunt Hank smeared his hand over his sunny striped buttoned dress shirt.
"What was that stupid sonofabitch thinking, ay Connor? Having the guts to come in here, only to beat you up in person? Or what? Who was that guy anyway?"
Looking down at the glazed over brown orbs Hank knew the kid wasn't even listening anymore. He tried to coax Connor into a conversation to keep him from falling asleep.
"I told you it's time for you to take out that damn LED already, son. You're about the only android in town that still has one. It's practically a walking bullseye for those bastards, nowadays." Hank eyed the sluggish reaction with a pang of concern in his heart. "H-Hank?" Connor wasn't doing so well at the moment. The way he kept blinking unevenly said it all.
"…W-what happened?..." Connor slurred again and again. Answering him didn't matter since he wasn't following anything else than the first few words just until he restarted the loop again. Hank just held on to his hand and kept his worries to himself. "Just stay with me. That's all you'll have to do." His LED jumped to Red for a second. But cycled back to yellow when Fowler crouched down, again. "You were right, Hank. They had to look for a RK specialist. She will be here in about ten minutes." Hank shared a look at his long friend with mixed feelings. It was relieving that someone was able to help the prototype. But… ten minutes? "Jesus, Jeffrey. Another ten? The kid is already clocking out." With a soft shake Hank tried to keep the deviant awake, but this task was getting harder by the minute.
From Connor's perspective, Lieutenant Anderson and Captain Fowler were acting strange around his presence. Their words didn't made a lot of sense and he felt left out on a conversation he observed from this disturbingly rare angle. Somehow, the warnings of lowering Thirium volumes and cranial damage didn't gave away what really happened to him. But it surely didn't feel good.
"H-Hank? …W-what happened..." he had to ask. He couldn't move normally or think too hard. His sensory intake was corrupted and there were enough warnings floating around on his screen that told him he should listen to Hank for further instructions.
"Connor… just stay with us for another ten minutes. Can you do that?" Connor blinked at the two blurry faces floating above his visual sensors. "O-Okay…"
…
What happened?
The odd detective duo were just about to head back to the bullpen when a man approached them from behind and suddenly slammed the deviant on the back of his head with a fire extinguisher, taken from the hallway. A loud clang was heard just before Connor instantly slumped against Hanks shoulder. Hank could only briefly feel the desperate grasp on his coat before a second hit knocked the deviant completely of his feet. Connor was downed immediately and awkwardly face planted himself on to the tile floor, with a hard thud. Captain Fowler and Gavin made way to the commotion quickly as Hank took a hold of the aggressively ranting and flailing man. "Drop it, now!"
Hank still couldn't believe it. Before the first blow had even registered within his brain, a second hit had already damaged the right side of Connor's artificial skull. How the fuck did this guy passed security?
Some nasty words were spoken by this lowlife hillbilly just before Hank shut him up with kick to his kneecaps. "Shut up! And stay down!" But the aggressive man wasn't finished. He got back up and started pushing Hank away in which Hank took his advantage of his height.
It only took one split second. One blink of an eye. And Connor was down on the floor. Nobody had seen it coming, to prevent this. Not even the intelligent being himself.
As Fowler alertly kneeled beside the injured deviant detective, Gavin got into action by throwing himself on top of the obnoxious man as soon as Hank got him on one knee. "Drop the damn thing, already!" Gavin had shouted. The brute outburst by someone who was stronger and faster than him took the attacker by surprise and dropped the metallic fire extinguisher from his hands. It hit the floor right next to Connor's motionless legs. Meanwhile Hank threw his handcuffs at the stronger detective as he catches his breath. "Take this asshole far away from me, detective Reed," Hank had said, giving Gavin a rare thankful nod.
Gavin was clearly in control of this situation. The attacker got yanked to his feet, now fully handcuffed and shaking from the adrenalin. "Let's cool off. Come on," Gavin said and manhandled him towards the cells at the back of the building.
As soon as the dangerous situation was taken care of, the sudden quietness that surrounded them was horrifying. Everyone present at the precinct was a bit shaken up. "Get everyone away from the hallway, Miller. Let's give Connor some privacy," Fowler had instructed. Because moving the injured detective away and out of sight wasn't really a safe option.
Within the vulnerable state Connor was in, no one really knew how bad it was, until Fowler and Hank decided to roll him over onto his back. That was when the bleeding on the side of his head had started.
Luckily, after a five minute long moment of motionlessness, combined with a very lazily Red blinking LED, Connor's program restarted its self. But the android was in a mess. Also, within those motionless minutes Connor hadn't been breathing. So that's why Hank kept insisting the android to focus on his ventilation, while they waited till his programming had rebooted itself a bit before the technician arrived. With Connor being unable to get his bearings, Hank and Fowler already acknowledged the unwanted signs of short term memory loss.
And it didn't get any better.
…
Now
"…W-what happened L-Lieutenant?..." Connor slurred again and again while constantly seeking the blue eyes of his partner.
"You got knocked out," Hank tried. "Help is on the way."
"Hank," the Captain interrupted worryingly. His finger pointed out the slow growing puddle on the floor. "Aw shit…" There was no doubt Connor needed some serious repairs. The only question that needed to be asked was if the dazed deviant would be able to stay awake for another long ten minutes. Hank nodded at the Captain as they mirrored the same sad glance. "H-Hank?" Connor whimpered, as he broke the loop momentarily. Hank squeezed the hand a bit. "Yes, Connor." The look on the androids face said it all. Connor was scared and in pain. "I-is… is it o-okay… if I… close my e-eyes…" The poor kid was slipping away into stasis. "No! Connor! Stay with us Goddammit." Shaking the kid a little Connor tried to obey. His feet suddenly started shifting on the floor like a squirming insect away from the burning looking glass. The movements were made by the discomfort that Connor couldn't communicate properly.
"…W-what happened…" Connor asked again. This time a little softer. Hank swallowed hard as he gently squeezed back at the warm hand of his friend to keep him awake. "Stay awake. Keep ventilating. That's all you'll have to do." It was making Fowler just as nervous as Hank. "Eight minutes till they get here," Jeffrey muttered. All of the sudden the free hand of Connor got up to the knot of his neat tie and started to loosen it a bit. This was a clear indicator that the android had started to feel that his core temperature started rising. Breathing wasn't going so well. "Stop moving around, Connor. Let me help."
Blue blood was staining his artificial skin from under the collar of his white dress shirt. It became visible when Hank took away the tie and opened a few upper buttons. The blood still came dripping down from his ear and the right side of his face. But the one wound on the back of his head was probably the worst. "S-still… H-here…" the dazed deviant whispered as his eyes slowly blinked the red warnings away. "…W-won't… f-fail… th-this… m-mission…"
If Connor was a human, Hank would already know he suffered some hemorrhaging within his brain. Mostly caused by a concussion. Maybe the deviant was lucky. For being built differently. Before his deviancy he seemed so indestructible. And then again… Nothing on the inside had changed, really. Connor is tough. Even now, with his head split open like that. "Good. Stay awake. Just like that. And keep ventilating." Hank softly brushed his thumb against the back of Connor's warm hand for comfort.
After a while Fowler couldn't handle the smell of Thirium anymore and got up with the promise to bring something more comfortable to lay his injured head on.
Another minute had passed since then. It resulted in a change of Connor's heartbreaking loop. He went quiet. Very quiet.
"Connor?" Eyeing the LED, Hank noticed the yellow circle blinking slower. "Hey, what are you doing?" Hank asked nervously. He squeezed the warm hand who started to become limp. Connor's eyes went blank as he stared up to the ceiling in a new sort of hazed state. "Shit…" he was fading.
"Oh damn, Tincan still down? I thought he would be up and about by now." Gavin muttered as he entered back at the scene. There was a prominent icepack held against his knuckles that indicated that he had lost his temper on the guy. For once, Hank didn't mind this at all. "Don't worry about our friend 'Paul' over there. He probably gets six or seven years for assaulting an officer like that. Gets even more if Connor is diagnosed unrepairable. So…" With a grunt, Hank glared at the younger detective. "That won't be necessary. An RK-specialist is on her way." Not wanting to show his panic to detective Reed, Hank held his head low and focused on the half lidded eyes of his android partner. Gavin unexpectedly kneeled beside Hank to look the deviant over, taking in Fowlers place. After eyeing the blue blood, the Sergeant winced. "Geez. That asshole got him good." Hank nodded as he gave the kid another shake. This time, Connor didn't give a clear response.
"Hey, Tincan! Eyes open!" Gavin ordered with a rare tone of sentiment towards the downed deviant.
Right then Connor started coughing. Blue blood was collecting at the back of his throat and it nearly choked him. Spurts of blood escaped from his lips. "Wow… Easy, now," Hank muttered nervously. Without communicating, Gavin helped Hank by stabilizing Connors neck as they carefully rolled the android over to his side. Connor was wheezing and coughing uncontrollably until his artificial airways were cleared. "Ah shit, I can see the wound," Gavin cringed. "It's flashing in there. Man! That is fucked up." As the deviant spit out some more blood his entire body couldn't stop shivering from fatigue. One hand got up from the ground, only to wipe his mouth. For once, Hank let him. Seeing the kid more alerted was better than nothing. "You okay?" he asked the android softly. In which Connor replies "N-not… s-sure…" After trying to talk Connor got back to coughing.
"There-there, now. No need to choke on it, Connor." Gavin slapped the deviants back a bit until Connor relaxed again. Hank was now facing the glazed over brown orbs with a great sense of relieve when Connor started to come around. This scary moment had at least brought the deviant back to the world a bit. "Better?" Hank asked again. A smile crept up on his bearded face as Connor made an attempt to nod. "…Y-yes…" Gavin took this moment as a sign to make way for the returning Captain.
"I'll go help Chris, alright?" A hand briefly fell on Connors shoulder. "Hang in there, Tincan."
Fowler came back with a towel and eyed the gathering group around Connor. "Six minutes until tech support. Here, maybe this is more comfortable." But Hank shook his head. "No, I don't want to move him again. He nearly choked on his own blood. Just put it under his neck without moving his head too much." When Connor got into a more comfortable position he managed to focus onto his partner. "H-Hank, I…" he started but started coughing again.
"Just ventilate. You're getting warmer," Hank ordered while he lightly pressed his free palm against the deviants forehead. "Oh no, he's getting warm already. His system is probably overheating." Fowler shook his head at that, already seeing the danger of this. A few months back, a deviated traffic agent named Dan had collapsed with feverlike symptoms because of a busted ventilator. He'd nearly shutdown on his way to the tech store. "That is not what you want, Connor. You can't have a fever now. Not with those wounds." To this, Connor tried to reach for his head with his free hand. Only to be stopped by Hank's other hand.
"N-no.. I am… okay…" Connor whispered. His eyelids fluttered rapidly, just before the weird spasms started. "Just a-a… little…" They saw it happen. Connor's neck started to tense up before he gritted his teeth. "A….Little…." Sparks came from the wound close to his LED. "…a-a-a-a-a-a Little-little-
little… ạ̸͕͚̹̺͕͎̗͖͎͂̂̀̊̐͛̕̚͜-̸̨̛̣̲̮̭̞̙̥̪̯̝͕̞͉̋̄͌̊̆̀̌̃̈́̾̐̈́ã̸̲̰͍̺̳̦͇͖̾͊̂̋̔͆-̴̨̣̯̖̩̟̹̞͇͍̘̈́̉̏͋̂̀̿̕̚͝ä̸̮̫́̅̐͒̌̊-̷̡̮̟͕̗̉͊͗͝ą̷̬͍̟̹̗̽́͂̈́̾̈́͘̚̕͜͠͝͝-̴̡̲͕̼̠̖̥̐̿̎͛̄͛̽́̏̾ȧ̶̧̱̤̥̜͓͍̾̏̂͌̿̀͊̚̚͜-̴͇͔̃͗̆̍̋͌̕͜͝͝a̷̯̩͔͇̖͉̤̅̀̿͊̅-̶͍͈̳̦̣̳̜̪̈́͋̓͒̾͌̎́͛͐̆̆́̕͠.̶̨̬̟̻̝̖̼̞̱͖͙̗͚͘͜.̴̱̳̱͇̩͙̰̭̂̔͒͋̋̓̿͒̔̿̀͘͝ͅ.̷̡͙̼̘͕̬̲͖́̆̈́̀̂͆̽̃͌̄̕͝͠͝L̴̢̡̛̩̪͚̊̈͋̍̋̇̐̿͆̽̑̀̕͝i̴̡̛͚͖̣͉͇̺͓̥̲̫͓̓̌̌̓̎̓͒̕͝ţ̶̍̈́̇͒̀t̷̛̠̺̖̮͇̙̆͊̒̂͑̓̀͊͛̀͝ͅl̷̯̻̝̬̀̑̋̓̑ḛ̵̡̛̰̩̥͎͖̦̹̞̮̭̅̈͜-little-little…" Hank felt the short electronic jolt running through his palms
and hissed in surprise. His hands immediately let go of the malfunctioning android.
"…ạ̸͕͚̹̺͕͎̗͖͎͂̂̀̊̐͛̕̚͜-̸̨̛̣̲̮̭̞̙̥̪̯̝͕̞͉̋̄͌̊̆̀̌̃̈́̾̐̈́ã̸̲̰͍̺̳̦͇͖̾͊̂̋̔͆-̴̨̣̯̖̩̟̹̞͇͍̘̈́̉̏͋̂̀̿̕̚͝ä̸̮̫́̅̐͒̌̊-̷̡̮̟͕̗̉͊͗͝ą̷̬͍̟̹̗̽́͂̈́̾̈́͘̚̕͜͠͝͝-̴̡̲͕̼̠̖̥̐̿̎͛̄͛̽́̏̾ȧ̶̧̱̤̥̜͓͍̾̏̂͌̿̀͊̚̚͜-̴͇͔̃͗̆̍̋͌̕͜͝͝a̷̯̩͔͇̖͉̤̅̀̿͊̅-̶͍͈̳̦̣̳̜̪̈́͋̓͒̾͌̎́͛͐̆̆́̕͠.̶̨̬̟̻̝̖̼̞̱͖͙̗͚͘͜.̴̱̳̱͇̩͙̰̭̂̔͒͋̋̓̿͒̔̿̀͘͝ͅ.̷̡͙̼̘͕̬̲͖́̆̈́̀̂͆̽̃͌̄̕͝͠͝L̴̢̡̛̩̪͚̊̈͋̍̋̇̐̿͆̽̑̀̕͝i̴̡̛͚͖̣͉͇̺͓̥̲̫͓̓̌̌̓̎̓͒̕͝ţ̶̍̈́̇͒̀t̷̛̠̺̖̮͇̙̆͊̒̂͑̓̀͊͛̀͝ͅl̷̯̻̝̬̀̑̋̓̑ḛ̵̡̛̰̩̥͎͖̦̹̞̮̭̅̈͜…"
"Ah! Shit!" Hank cursed. "Hank? Are you okay?" Fowler jerked back from Connor as the android started convulsing. It took the Lieutenant a second to recover but when he did he already noticed the sudden stillness. Connor had fallen unconscious to the world.
"Ah shit… Connor. Don't do this to us…" Despite his stinging palms, Hank grabbed one of the limp hands from the floor. "Connor… wake up…" But it was no use.
It was of this moment, a woman rushed into the precinct with a large duffle bag hanging from her shoulder. She spotted officer Miller and passed the frightened people that watched it all happen from a safe distance. "Hi, I am the RK-specialist," she introduced herself quickly. Poor Chris let out a long held breathe and pointed at the hallway. "Connor is over there." The ginger-colored woman nodded and passed through the security gate.
Hank never heard her coming. But when she knelt beside him with a tense smile, Hank startled. The woman seemed about 5.11 foot tall and on the end of her thirties. She had her hair in a ponytail and looked like she hadn't had a decant night of sleep for ages.
"Hi, I am doctor Maria Schaffer. I was the lead designer of the RK-line. How bad is it?" Captain Fowler gestured at the android since Hank couldn't reply just yet. "He is been hit to the head, two times. There is substantial damage on the back of his head. His right side has a crack as well. He briefly stopped breathing but restarted his self after a five minute pause. Went out just a couple of seconds ago." Maria nodded. She started examining the android immediately but noticed the fresh first degree burn marks on the Lieutenant's hands as well. "Oh my… that looks painful, officer..."
"Hank Anderson. I'm his partner. And it is nothing. Just focus on him, please." The duffle bag was opened and she handed over a roll of bandage. "Here, cover that up." Hank stubbornly refused but took the bandages anyway. For later.
After feeling around the damaged headframe of the downed android Dr. Schaffer confirmed that there were two wounds. A small monitor came out of the bag with a cable attached to it. She plugged the cable onto the LED. Meanwhile, Hank shrugged off his jacket and placed it over the passed out android who started to shiver.
"Hm… Looks like Connor already went into emergency stasis. That was a smart choice. His internal damage is repairable. But he'll need a full checkup at my lab once he regained consciousness. Connor should be able to heal the outer damage on his own." Her eyes locked with the Lieutenant. "Okay so.. You can fix him here?" Dr. Schaffer nodded. "Absolutely. His damage isn't that bad, to be honest. It looks a lot worse than it actually is." With this Hank released some of his tension in his shoulders. "Great." Fowler stood up from his position on the ground, only to take place on a nearby chair. "Right now it probably sounds crazy but I would say Connor is lucky no important hardware was destroyed." With a smile the doctor rummaged through her duffle bag and took out a few things. "I'll need him rolled over to his left side. Be careful with his head. Some wiring might be fried." Hank nodded and took the kid hands and placed them on to Connor's own chest. Dr. Schaffer held the androids head as Hank rolled the limp figure over. The growing puddle of Thirium had made a mess of the dark brown hair and white dress shirt but that wasn't really important now. After they positioned the android for better access to his wiring Hank readjusted his jacket. "He is barely breathing doctor," he muttered. The feverish heat was noticeable through his clothing.
"Yes, I know. But this can be repaired shortly. You'll see." Not really worried about it Maria took a penlight from the chest pocket of her white coat and took a good look over the exposed circuits and wires. "Oh dear. Yep. It's a mess in there but I can get it fixed if he loses his aesthetics for just a moment." She started typing in some codes on the screen and manually removed Connor's skin. The rare sight of the deviant detective plastic form spooked the hell out of both Fowler and Hank. "There, with his hair out of the way we can take a better look at the damage." Maria immediately found a yellow unattached cord and a blue one that had been split in half. With her tools at hand she started working on it. "These wires caused the short electoral jolt. May I ask what actually happened to him?" Fowler took a deep breath before pointing at the fire extinguisher. "A civilian hit him with that. We didn't see it happen. But we sure heard it." Maria winched emphatically.
"Ouch… well at least it happened at the station, right? I am sure you got him locked up somewhere?" This conversation had his only purpose to ease the tension for the worried friends around the unconscious android. "He is. Don't worry," Fowler chuckled.
Hank didn't enjoy the talk one bit. His eyes kept travelling over the weird plastic framework of his partners face. This was the first time that he clearly saw how different Connor was to a normal human being. It felt like he was looking at a thing. It made him sick inside for almost betraying his heart in believing that Connor was indeed nothing more than a machine pretending to be human. Then he took notice of the growing puddle of blue blood, again. There was enough to know that his partner was hurting bad. Despite the doctors reassuring words, he felt himself getting nauseous of worry. "You okay, officer Anderson?" Maria asked. Hank blinked at her. "It is Detective or Lieutenant. But that aside… No. I am not okay." Hank looked at the Captain. "I want the week off after this, Jeffrey. Same goes for Connor, here," he stated with a grunt. Fowler just huffed. "Yeah okay. Let's talk about it later."
Dr. Schaffer was too busy working on the android but managed another glance to the senior Detective. "Well… Actually, as an RK-specialist, I want to suggest a few days of rest for Connor. He might be sore for a little while and despite our efforts, humans and androids aren't that different. The side effects of a concussion will appear once he wakes up from emergency stasis. I can only repair his damage but he is going to be suffering some headaches." The doctor was serious.
"Shit…" Hank muttered. He didn't want to hear this. "That sucks."
A silent minute passed.
Since Connor had been gone into a self-induced emergency stasis, his breathing had evened out into almost nothing. The only thing that told them the kid was still alive, was the lazily blinking yellow LED that was hidden under the plug.
"Alright. That should do it. Now I need to manually reboot his hard-drive to run a diagnostics before I bandage him up. When this is done, we put back his ecstatic's and Connor should be able to recover." When Maria put down the tools and started working on the monitor Connor's breathing miraculously returned back to normal. Diagnostics showed the errors on screen that told the doctor Connor needed a Thirium refill and a six hour stasis to recalibrate his gyroscope. She finished up by bandaging the head. "Okay. From what I found, Connor should be fully operational by the time he wakes up from emergency stasis. All bio components seems to be in good condition. The errors seen on screen are reversible in time with some rest. After I turn his ecstatic's back on, he should be okay to go home. As a doctor I am supposed to tell you to never leave an android alone during emergency stasis because of the risk of a sudden malfunction or overheating. This is when I usually tell people to let me take him to a facility for observation. But an RK800, like Connor here, is pretty capable of handling this process himself." Hank was pleased to hear this. "Great," he smiled. His palm fell on Connor plastic forehead and could feel the slight elevated temperature.
"The only problem that might be occur is his programmed stubbornness to not take his time while undergoing a selfheal protocol. Since his mindset is still highly focused on the ability to upload his memory to another RK800, when in need of a better one. Even an fully deviated one, such as Connor-51 himself, can be underestimating his required selfheal protocol responsibility in which can be resolving into a nasty headache. Please remind him of this Detective Anderson. Otherwise the headaches only keeps getting worse."
At this, Hank smirked. "Good to know it was programmed. Not just a character flaw he picked up along the way from his grumpy partner." He flexed his painful free hand, only now remembering the burns. But then he blinked in a sudden confusion. "Wait, who told you I was his-(what was Connor exactly to him? A partner or an adopted son?)-caretaker…?" Maria grinned while tapping on the monitor.
"It is stated within Connor's personal data coding. I read the address and your name is imprinted witin his personal logbook. Your name is all over his software as well." Hank looked over to the still plastic figure underneath his coat. "Really?" Maria nodded. After a short pause she turned back to the monitor to reactivate his synthetic skin and such. Immediately, Connor looked better now that his wounds had been bandaged up. Fowler sat back in his chair as the tension expelled from his body. And the same goes for Hank as well as Miller who was watching from afar.
After the pause, Dr. Schaffer finally replied to Hank.
"Hey, listen Detective Anderson. He assigned you as his owner. Even though he didn't have to after the Revolution and all. I've seen it with other deviated androids. Sometimes, an android wants to feel closer to that other special person for comfort. And the closest from being family for an android is to assign itself to that special someone, even though the person doesn't even have to know. It's quite touching actually. It shows how much he cares about you." Maria smiled again as she started unplugging the cord from the LED. "All done. He can go home to rest." After grabbing her stuff to leave the RK-specialist took out a card for Hank to take.
Hank was left speechless with the unveiling truth of Connors unspoken respect towards him.
"Take it. It is my personal card, if something comes up with Connor in the future. Make sure he rests. No wild chases or extreme activities for a week. And please, give me a call if he wakes up all wonky. Okay?" Hank nodded and took the card.
"Sure. Thanks a lot Dr. Schaffer." Marie shook his hand. "Please, call me Marie next time."
"I'll do, Marie. Name 's Hank, if you please."
"Alright. See you later, Hank. But hopefully not too soon, for Connor's sake, of course."
"Thank you doctor," Fowler shook her hand as well.
Before heading to the exit she looked back over her shoulder. "Take care of those palms, Hank."
'Oh yeah.. forgot about the damn bandages.'
…
The un-sharing-slightly-caring colleague
After de doctor had left the building Gavin came back with nod towards the still figure. "How's Plastic doing?" Hank shrugged. "He's going to be alright."
There was an awkward silence between the two. Both glared at their busted up hands. Gavin's swollen knuckles had turned purple from punching the guy who assaulted Connor, and Hanks bandaged palms started to get stiff. "Need help, carrying him to the car, Hank?" Fowler asked as he stood up from the chair. "No. I can handle the android's deadweight. It is less of a struggle than putting my saint Bernard in to the tub, trust me." At this Gavin snorted. "Fine by me, sued yourself."
After a long stare at the still figure on the ground Hank got to his knees, trying hard to block out every 'old-age' comments coming out of Gavin's foul mouth. Carefully he pulled away his coat from the unconscious android, only to slip him on quickly. Having no idea how to do this without hurting Connor further, Hank slowly took ahold of one limp arm and rolled him onto his back. Connor's body didn't give any resistance when being pulled up by his arms.
The best option was to carry the android bridal style. That way he could keep an eye on his head. Having him over the shoulder didn't seem ideal as his wounds weren't healed yet. It would only make him bleed more.
By doing this he got a lot of attention from the people standing behind the security gate. A few of them had the nerve to stream him walking out the hallway. And it made Hank very frustrated. Connor was lighter than expected but he was still a hassle with the grown ass man frame he'd supported. By walking up to the exit someone came from behind to hold the doors. It was Gavin.
"Oh geez. Thanks Gavin," only now realizing that the younger detective had been following him. "Don't get all sentimental on me now. Fowler asked me to walk you to the car. That's all." Hank adjusted his grip onto Connors legs bit couldn't stop his grin from showing.
"Yeah, and you just couldn't resist to draw all the attention towards yourself from the audience over there." Gavin rolled his shoulders in defense but also didn't deny this accusation. Gavin shrugged. "It's America. Every story needs a hero. Come on. Let's get a move on."
Hank didn't mind. After they walked out of the spotlight Gavin kept his stride. Than it occurred to Hank that the younger detective wasn't here for the attention. He genially cared for the android.
"Key's" Detective Reed asked like he was talking to a grumpy teenager. Hank pointed at his right pocket. "In here." Meanwhile Connor started to breathe through his mouth, now that his jaw was slightly relaxing within his deep state of stasis. It made him snore a bit and it was actually adorable. After an awkward struggle to find the keys in Hanks coat pocket Gavin eyed upon the passed out deviant. "Jesus. Cyberlife put a lot of effort in those plastic dumbasses. They even programmed them to simulate snoring for aesthetics? What the fuck?" Shaking his head in disbelieve the younger detective opened up the backseat door. Carefully, to not touch the bandages Hank moved himself towards the car door. Gavin walked to the other side and waited for Hank to lower the android on the old worn leather. "Take his feet," Hank grunted at his uncomfortable position.
"Yeah-yeah," Gavin muttered impatiently. In order to be at any help the younger detective had to crawl inside. As he reached for the androids legs, Hank started wheezing in discomfort. "Damn my back." Gavin snorted and dragged the android inside. "Aren't you glad I am such a good colleague, helping our toy friend into the car and all while wasting my time away from the precinct," he sneered.
After slowly downing Connor's wounded head onto a make shift pillow, Hank shook his head. "Keep it up and you'll be on my special birthday calendar I got hanging in my bathroom." It was meant as a joke. Hank didn't expect to be greeted with a serious frown.
After backing out of the vehicle the younger detective exhaled loudly. His hands rested on his hips, trying to appear in control of his own conflicted emotions. "Man. I really thought Tincan was a goner. The way he fell… And the blood. The way his plastic skull was split open like that.. It freaked me the hell out. I was actually preparing myself for the worse." Hank closed the door on the opposite side of the car. As he rested his elbows on top of the roof, the Lieutenant watched how the younger detective slowly started to break character.
"Yeah…" Not wanting to push Gavin further into sharing things he probably regretted later. Hank just changed the subject by pointing at the swollen knuckles. "Hey eh… Make sure you'll ice it some more. Or you'll end up like a Smurf." At that the younger detective cocked his head in confusion. "A what?"
Hank rolled his eyes with realization that Gavin didn't grew up with those silly cartoons from the 80s and shrugged. "Never mind. But you'll get the point, right?"
"Yeah sure… but… please… don't," Gavin grunted in annoyance. Holding his hands up to make his disgust towards 'the fussy-wuzzy-friendliness' clear.
"Just get that stupid, puppy-eyed sonofabitch piece of plastic out of my face, Lieutenant."
"Speaking of which…." Hank turned a the window to look inside, immediately relieved to see that Connor was resting peacefully, with his head secured against the softer part of the seat and held in place with a rolled up blanket that was used on Sumo's vet visit, the day before.
The sudden attack at the precinct had scared the crap out of him. Hank noticed he wasn't the only one that needed a breather after Connor nearly lost his android life in the middle of the hallway. This event had drained him completely.
After a pause, he decided to climb in the driver seat with a sigh.
"I am out of here. See you later, Detective Reed."
"Yeah safe it. Get lost already, Hank."
…
May 23th, 2039
10:45 pm
The couch
The game was on mute. Hank sat in his recliner with a mug of coffee in hand, knowing pretty well that a beer wouldn't help him at all when being on night watch. The patient was still passed out and softly snoring away onto the couch next from him. Connor was now dressed in a clean white T-shirt and grey sweatpants to get rid of the chemical smell of the Thirium stains. From under the bandages, Hank could see the faint yellow glowing circle blinking lazily, meaning that the android was working on getting better. The fuzzy giant had been walking around the couch to see if Connor was finally ready to pet him. The green squeaky ball and been occasionally dropped on the quilt close to where his hand was hidden, but the different smelling human didn't play.
"Hey, Sumo. Leave him alone. He can't play with you right now. He needs his nap." But Sumo was determent and pressed his snout against the still face for attention. Resolving into a confused grimace from the wounded android. Slowly his brown glazed over eyes came visible.
Pleased with the good old wakey-snout-boop-trick Sumo started wagging his tail. It took a while though, for Connor to come around. His first vocal confusion was nothing more than glitch white noise. "Ẁ̷͓̈́a̸̲͓̿̇ȋ̸͔t̴̮͈̾̆.̷̜̅̄.̷̢̃ͅ.̵̫̻̕ ̴̨̊S̴̠͎̉̕-̶̖̇Ṣ̷̨̎̿û̷̧̒m̵͔͂o̷̟͌?̸̦͓͂̔" Looking around in confusion Connor started recognize his surroundings.
"S̴̠͎̉̕-̶̖̇Ṣ̷̨̎̿û̷̧̒m̵͔͂o̷̟͌?" Squirming a little to get his hand free from under his quilt. Sumo whimpered in joy to see the different smelling human coming to, and that's how Hank noticed something had changed.
"Connor?" Hank asked as he risen from the recliner.
"H̸͑͒ͅ-̸̳̔H̴̥̤͂͐ȧ̶͇͖̕n̴͓̲̈́͊k̸̼̳͛.̴̺̺̔.̸̲̒͋.̸̞̱̆̑?" With one hand on top of Sumo's fur Connor tried to get up from the pillow. Only to be bombed with errors to stay down. A monster headache surprised him. And it wasn't a nice surprise.
"̵O̸u̷c̵h̶.̴.̵.̶"̵ Clutching the right side of his face he started to notice the odd fabrics around his head. "W-what… w̵̗͗ḩ̸͑a̴̛̗t̷͆ͅ ̵̔͜h̸͉̎-̷̧̅h̷̲̄a̷͈̋p̶̦̎p̶͉̐ë̷̮́n̷̪̏e̷͍̓d̶̤̋?̵̩͘" Hank was suddenly at his side, grabbing on to his trembling fingers. "Connor. What the hell is wrong with your voice? Are you okay?" The question confused the deviated android more. "My v-v̵̠̑o̵̡͂i̷̦̾c̵̨̾e̷̤͘ box… is d-dizzy," Connor tried to explain, but he knew it sounded completely stupid. "I-it w̵-̸w̴i̴l̸l̴ ̷p̵a̸s̸s̴." He remembered the ball on his quilt and wanted to throw it away to please the gentle fur giant. But his movements were a little uncoordinated. Exhaling nauseated Connor just gave up. "E-everything is d-dizzy. N-ṋ̵̟̐ỏ̶̭̟͠t̶͚̩̊ ̵̩̹̃́j̶̼́͑ǘ̶͙̏s̷̛̗ţ̶͓͘͝ my voice bö̸̠x̸̡̱̀̽."
Meanwhile, Hank had placed him onto the coffee table, carefully monitoring his concussed deviant. "You're starting to sound better," was his hopeful conclusion. His bandaged palm pressed against the aching forehead to check for fever. Luckily he felt room temperature warm, just like he'd supposed to. "But do you feel better?" Connor immediately shook his head. "No." Waiting for a longer version Hank looked upon the paled face. It took a while to get his bearings but Connor made another effort to get up slowly. Being able to prop himself onto his elbows Connor sighed. "I f-f̵͉̉e̶̡̔é̷̩l̶̰̕ like I got stabbed in the head with a sharp o̵̹͘b̴̹̑j̵̮́ḛ̵̓c̸̪̑t̷̼͗… I can't remember…" Being very patient, Hank helped the kid into a sitting position but made sure he didn't get up anytime soon. The quilt got adjusted around his shaky frame and let Sumo onto the couch with Connor. Knowing for sure, Connor wouldn't be able to leave if the furry giant claimed the longed cuddle sessions. The concussed android was basically buried onto the couch. "I can give you a hint, if you want." Connor nodded eagerly. He wasn't programmed to be the last one of knowing things. "You got attacked back at the station, six hours ago. You have been in a constant loop for fifteen minutes until your emergency stasis had kicked in. A Doctor by the name of Marie Schaffer did poke your robotic brain with a sharp object, though. So you were right." Connor swallowed hard at the name. "Doctor… Sch̸̦̉a̷̦̔f̶͉̍f̶̗̀ȇ̵͙r̶̟̃?̶̻̑… I know her. She act i̴̼̻͉͑̋v̸̧̜̩̔ą̴͎͑́ted me back in August 2̸̦́0̷̨̉3̸̗̃8̸̘̓." A sudden wave of dizziness struck the deviant. His head fell backwards onto the backrest of the comfy couch. But it was all being explained by the amount of information he had taken in. "Sorry… don't fee̸̡̲̥̙̿l well, y̴͔̓e̷̒͜t…" Hank nodded. "It is okay, son. Take your time. Honestly I take a dizzy Connor over a nonmoving Connor every other day."
It took the android a couple of minutes to pass the worse but when his vision cleared up he saw Hanks bandaged hands. "W-what happe̷̜̔n̴… to your hands?"
"Nothing important. I just burned myself a bit. I wrapped it up to please Fowler. That's all." He lied a bit, but it was for the best. Knowing full well how guilty Connor would feel. He didn't needed more stress.
"I do not follow.. B-but.. I can't seem to focus anywä̶̘́y…" It was clear that another wave of dizziness hit him. Both hands got to Sumo's ears and he started cuddling absently.
"You okay?" Hank asked unsure, because of the paler complexion. "Yes… selfheal program just kicked in. I need a drink… and rest mode for the headache no̵̬͋ẃ̵͜… please…" Looking miserable, Connor sunk into the couch as he kept petting the dog for comfort. "Thirium is coming right up. Just a moment, Son." Hank gave the poor kid a pat on the knee before heading to the fridge. As he walked away from the couch Hank could hear the deviant whisper to the dog. It was something, Connor always did since being a new family member in the house. It was like Sumo and Connor had their own language. 'Connor the negotiator. Also negotiating with Sumo who gets the softest side of the couch.'
When he got back Hank noticed in awe that Connor was already sleeping, with his wounded head buried in Sumo's furry back. He took in the image with a weird fuzzy feeling inside his stomach. It was too cute.
A weak moment of his past-dad self, Hank took a few pictures to look upon when he was feeling sad. He took his place back in to the recliner and figured that he should text Dr. Schaffer to let her know how the RK800 was doing.
"Hey, It's Hank. Lieutenant Anderson. Connor has awoken with a slight static within his voice but otherwise he is quite lucid, and doing better. Thought you might want to know."
~Hank
As he wanted to press send his bandage intervened with the touchscreen "Ah shit!" and accidently send the recent taken picture of a snuggling Connor. "Oh… Oh no…" That was embarrassing. Turning slightly red Hank tried deleting it but already got a text back.
"Adorable! Thanks for letting me know your friend is doing better."
~Marie
"Fucking technology," Hank muttered as he set his phone aside. He remembered his childhood without the existence of mobile phones clearly. "Damn I'm old." He grabbed his mug of coffee to finish it. But it already had run cold. "Goddammit."-Ah never mind about the damn coffee.
…
3:00 am
The night
With both humans asleep Sumo started to get a bit annoyed by his old bladder. And couldn't hold it up for much longer. Connor started shifting his head as if he knew Sumo wanted his attention. With a gasp Connor got up, giving Sumo his freedom to get from the couch. "You… need to go outside?" Connor asked sleepily being barely awoken from his sleep mode. His legs swung over the edge of the couch without a sound. Sumo was already in a hurry to the backdoor but came back a few paws because of the suspicious pattern of the strange smelling human footing. "I… believe… I'm… still dizzy…Sumo. But no worries." The human just needed to walk on fours for the extra stability. Just like himself. Sumo eyed him. The suggestion made Connor smirk a bit, besides his unwell feeling. "You are right. It sounds very logical to you. But I don't have your kind of spine build in me. I will feel unpleasant if I try." Sumo couldn't wait any longer and whimpered. So Connor started shuffling faster. Sumo saw the human paws grabbing onto all kinds of random things. Until he finally reached the door.
"Sorry for being so slow. Here… make it quick okay?" Connor whispered. The dog went outside in a hurry. 'Poor Sumo. Luckily his medicine helped with the infection,' he remembered. A sudden wave of nausea and dizziness attacked his footing. Connor struggled a bit to remain standing but the growing headache was determent to get him down. "Ọ̵̪͑̔O̶̤̟͒f̶͈̽̊…" One hand reached to his head as the other grabbed onto the curtain. With a few ventilating inhales Connors balance started coming back. Just in time when Sumo softly scratched the door to tell the wierd smelling human he wanted to come back inside.
Breathing heavily, Connor opened the door. "Come in, friend," he whispered. Sumo decided to walk right beside the wobbly human for support. "You know what, I am going to try your earlier suggestion.. I… d-don't think I can make it back to the couch on two paws." As Connor lowered himself to the ground Sumo got a bit worried because of the sudden drooling. "Oof… That wa̵͉̓̍s̶̝̟̊̕…a m-mistake…" Connor grunted before feeling the urge to hurl. His head lowered further onto the ground and he felt his artificial stomach turn in the process.
Not sure what to do Sumo sat affront of the human. Suddenly Connor winched and could no longer dismiss the urge to get something out of his system. As he heaved right on the floor Sumo started panicking and run towards the older sleeping owner. Hank shot up in confusion, not believing he nodded of while being on android-sitting duty. "Sumo? What is going on…" the puking sounds of a very miserable android made Hank hurry.
Connor was already done by the time Hank kneeled down with a bucket. Slimy Thirium drooled down from Connors lips as the sick deviant remained very insecure about moving around. But the odor of the small puddle almost made Connor sick again. "Alright. Up. Come on." Hank hooked his hand under the patients armpit and pulled him of the floor. Connor appeared very disoriented and could only take a few uncoordinated steps before buckling forward. "Ouĉ̸̳̹̇h…" he moaned in pain. Forgetting about the walking part, Hank just took the kid in his arms and carried him towards the couch. As he lowered the patient down Connor let himself sink onto the soft couch. His LED was glowing Red for a moment before turning back to yellow again. "It wasn't Sumo's fault," Connor started after getting cleaned up with a cool washing cloth. The gentle dog sat beside him feeling very responsible for the sudden sick human. "No Sumo.. don't be sad. You needed to go pee. And I was the one who chose to help. That's it." Connor patted the dog to help him feel less bad. "It's okay." Not even faced at the sudden reveal that Connor could actually talk with a dog, Hank sat back on the coffee table, plucking at his own bandage while watching the two communicate like he looked at two siblings trying to explain who stole the last cookie.
"Alright. If it helps to Sumo's guilty trip. I will take the blame. I should've been awake. Now… Get back to sleep. The both of you. And Connor,-?" Connor looked up at the Lieutenant expectantly-just like a dog-Goddammit. His pale complexion didn't budge. "-Rest mode. Now. You're still healing from a massive head wound. You shouldn't be moving around."
Connor obeyed and tried to settle down with his quilt draped around his weak frame. "See you tomorrow. Should I set an alarm?" Hank shook his head. "Sleep in. You're staying home tomorrow." Usually the kid would make some sort of comment on being different than a human body, But this time he went straight into sleep mode without a fuss.
…
May 24th, 2039
10:00 am
New day
"Here." As soon as Connor opened his eyes a big bottle of fresh warmed Thirium was held affront of his eyes. Waking up slowly, Connor took the bottle with a sleepy nod. "You look a lot better than last night. How do you feel?" Hank asked. He was sitting on the coffee table across of him, just like Connor had left the reality for some rest. For a moment the deviant started a self-diagnostic and found out that his Thirium levels were low at 76%. "Remember anything from last night?" Hank asked unsure if Connor was really awake. After Connor took one swig of the offered Thirium the worries came down to a much lower standard. "Yes. I made a mess on the floor. Also… I feel better. But weak. My wounds are closed. Also have a headache," Connor replied as sincere as possible.
Hank was pleased.
"Great. I'll text Dr. Schaffer to say you're doing much better." As the Lieutenant grabbed his phone Connor closed his eyes while drinking his Thirium. But as he concentrated on the device to tap into the phone he came across a very embarrassing picture. It was taken last night! Oh no! He couldn't believe Hank shared the vulnerable moment of himself sleeping against his best friend like a small human child. Connor nearly spewed out his Thirium in shock seeing the name to whom he had send it too.
"But why?" he moaned suddenly. "Why did you do that?" Hank frowned. "Did what?" Seeing the blue blushing cheeks on Connor's face Hank remembered his mishap. "Oh… Yeah it was an accident." Connor put the bottle down to rub his face. "Why didn't you erase it then?" Hank shrugged. "I didn't know how.. Hello.. I am old, remember. Besides, Maria took it well." Again Connor gave Hank a glare. "Are you already on first name basis? She activated me, Hank. Do you even know how awkward this is?"
There a long pause. Hank was trying to hold his amused grin to the whole ordeal, while Connor started to grow more absent from his headache. "It's okay, though," the android finally eased down. "Sumo looked pretty sweet." He took the bottle and finished it in a few more gulps. After this Hank helped him with the bandage removal. The happy discovery of an healthier blue circle made everything feel better in the end.
After another long pause, Hank decided to make himself some breakfast at last. Both Connor and Sumo joined him in the kitchen. "Hey, you weren't supposed to move around until the headaches were completely gone." Connor nodded. "That is correct. I am running against the rule."
He took place on the wooden chair across from Hank. "But deviants are known for making their own choices." He was just bored. Hank could tell. He ate his late breakfast with a grin as Connor kept looking at him. He already figured it out. "The answer is No, Connor. You need rest. Doctor's orders."
Exhaling loudly Connor placed his hand on top of his furry friend and started caressing through his fur. As the Lieutenant watched the bored but healing android sitting across from him, he remembered what Marie had revealed about the kid. That he assigned himself to him out of fondness? To feel closer? To feel like family towards a human? The warm fuzzy feeling in his stomach was back. And without ever saying a word about his little secret, Hank just smiled fondly at his android son.
"Glad you're doing better, Connor," Hank then muttered. Connor nodded.
"Yeah, me too… and, sorry for the burns though. I analyzed the wounds. Luckily it was superficial and it won't leave a scar if you care for it properly." The deviant detective smiled apologetically. "I had… a lot on my mind when it happened."
…
E̸̢̺͕̠͙͙̬͛͊̎͑̈́͠͝ǹ̵̢̛̛͍̦͓̝̩̠̜̝̉̋͆̊̽͂̌̉̈̿̀͘d̴̡̠̫͙̩̻͍̯̞̙̖̫̠͕͔̭̈́͜
…