A/N: The intention with the fanfic up to this point was to create an au with tiny bits of character divergence and different character interactions from the original while mirroring the original plot of DBH and reworking some of the plots in creative ways. This is the part of the fic where we ignore that and I diverge a little from the story to add more content that isn't in DBH. In case it isn't clear up to this point, more OCs are going to be added though a big portion of them are gonna be NPCs. This is also the point of the fic where the choices really diverge from DBH. All choice divergences will be added to the end notes with the corresponding chapter that has the alternate ending if they change a part of the plot significantly to avoid spoilers.

Chapter 15:

Kara settled down alongside Luther and Alice. Besides the amounts of people in makeshift beds, others were gathering around barrels of fire.

Luther and Alice had insisted on settling down by one of the fires.

"Hey."

"Hey," Luther greeted in return. "Never thought Jericho was located on this side of the city."

"You're heard of this place?"

Luther glanced at her and smiled.

"Of course, you told me about it. Still you never told me this Simon guy was hot."

Kara shrugged.

"I was just as clueless as you were."

Luther frowned.

"So you admit he's hot then?"

"Hot is one word for it. Almost enough to make him steamy."

"Steamy?" Luther inquired.

Kara grinned.

"Yeah, y'know when you cook up a sweat because a guy is so hot it feels like the room is steamy."

"Yeah," he muttered.

'I wish she'd talk about me that way.'

He wasn't exactly hot though was he? Kara had never expressed interest in home before any of this. Luther had been fine with it at the time allowing Kara to adjust to the idea, hoping that with time she find look at him with a different light. Kara had never had made the first move however. Perhaps he was always fated to be in the friend's zone.

You know who's steamy?" Kara asked, glancing at Luther with excitement.

"Who?"

"You."

Luther coughed and sputtered.

"Y-you're teasing me."

Kara chuckled.

"I couldn't resist. You had such a frowny face and you looked like you needed to lighten up."

Luther snorted.

"I wasn't frowning."

He grinned.

"Not anymore. Your savior, Kara saved the day."

Alice chuckled.

Luther looked away with a smile plastered on his face.

"I suppose you did."

"So you mentioned quiting the police force before. That officer, Connor seemed to know you from before."

"How did you know about that anyway?"

"A woman that claimed to be your sister visited me earlier that day."

"Oh? She did, did she?"

"Yeah so spill the beans. What's the deal with Connor?"

"He was my partner before I quit the force."

"What kind of person was he?" Kara asked.

"A hardworker, uptight and too stubborn for his own good," Luther said. "Whenever we'd work on a case he'd always dive head first into danger even though we're actually supposed to call in for backup. He's almost got killed several times from not following police protocol."

"He sounds very dedicated to his work."

"Yeah, he'd always insist on working alone especially on the more difficult cases. Connor can be very cold when he tries to protect those he cares about. He always tried to push me away and always thought he might make me leave for good. I think he was counting on it."

"Did you leave because of him?" Alice asked softly.

"No, I didn't leave because of him. There had been a series of serial murders within the last three years concerning unidentified corpses in large garbage cans throughout Detroit," Luther explained. "We were told to ignore it by the police but Connor kept investigating into it. Eventually I started receiving anonymous threats that if we continued to investigate either me or my partner would die. I thought the whole thing was odd but then something really clinched the deal for me. I saw Reed set fire to the computers that held the case files and that's when I knew something shady was going on."

"So what'd you do then?"

"Nothing so I left the force and never told Connor a thing."

"Why?"

"I know Reed. Even if he suspected Connor knew the truth, he's confident enough to know the law can't touch him without any solid evidence."

"He wasn't upset?"

"Nah, Connor's never been one to hold grudges," Luther said.

'That explains why he didn't shoot Ralph. He's a better person than I would be.'

"I could tell," Kara said before getting up.

"Where are you going?"

"I going to talk with Simon and catch up on a couple of things."

Luther reached out to grab her arm.

She turned to him softly.

"There's no need to look so worried. I don't intend to do anything spicy. I just had some questions to ask him."

Luther sighed and released her.

Kara walked around looking for Simon finally finding him leaning against a set of boxes.

"Simon..."

He glanced at her with a pensive smile.

"What is it, Kara?"

"You said we knew each other right? Luther told me he found this note with my belongings," she said taking the folded envelope from her jean's pocket and handing it to Simon.

He smiled slyly.

"Luther huh? Is he your new boyfriend or something?"

She sighed.

"I wish."

"Never knew he was your type."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Every time you mentioned him it was more in a friendly kind of way. I just never got the impression you two were an item."

"I must have been blind if I friendzoned a hot guy like that."

"What makes you so sure that you weren't?" he asked, smiling smugly.

"Still even if I was interested, I don't even think he likes me."

Simon chuckled.

"Then I guess you were totally oblivious when he gave me the stink eye."

"He did what?"

"That guy is totally infatuated with you. He was jealous when we were talking with each other."

"I thought I just imagined it."

"Guess that means you still stand a chance."

Simon looked at the envelope.

"It looks this envelope is addressed to my brother's android."

"Did you know about this?"

"You did tell me something about it but you never said who it was addressed to. Can I open it?"

"Yeah."

Simon opened the envelope and took out the letter to read.

"I see."

"What is it?"

"The reason it was addressed to my brother's android. This is information on the entire operation behind Cyberlife and their whole entire underground collaboration with the president. My brother's android happens to work for the press. With this story, Cyberlife would have enough of their dirt exposed that they'd be shut down within a matter of months."

"So how do we get ahold of her?"

"You seem determined to give it to her despite the dangers. That letter could be the reason you are being pursued by Cyberlife."

"I don't think they even know. They are more interested in that little girl than with me."

"She's not your daughter?"

"No, her father told me to take her and hide her. I think they were afraid of the information she might have received from her mother."

"If that is the case, I might be able to get the information into her hands without anyone knowing. I'll see what I can in the meantime relax. You should be safe here for the time being until we can solve this once and for all."

Kara headed back overhearing Alice talking with Luther behind some objects they were sitting on.

"Luther, do you know when Kara is coming back?"

"She should be coming back soon."

"You seem to know alot about Kara, don't you?"

"We went to school together. I got to learn about her interests and hobbies, the kinds of foods she liked."

"What'd she like to do?"

"She used to love to draw outfits in her spare time, always wanted to make clothes. Then she started drawing kids clothes. I think it was because she knew at some point she wanted some kids."

"So why don't you two go to together?"

"Throughout school, people often thought we were. Kara really hated the rumors though, always tried to shoot them down. I'm sure she was opposed to the idea."

"Why?"

"She always thought romance got in the way of friendship. That romance really shouldn't matter if the friendship was truly strong enough. She made more friends after that and the idea never really popped up after that."

"So? Why don't you ask her out now?"

Luther chuckled.

"Alice, right now we have more than enough troubles on our plate. Now's not the time to be discussing about any relationship I might have or could have in the future."

"What was she like before?"

"You mean before now?"

Alice nodded.

"She's stubborn, loud, overly talkative, paranoid but considerably loyal at heart. She's also really compassionate but never really noticed that before now. The only person she has is me. Me, a tall, jealous idiot who is doting on her like a lovesick puppy."

"A steamy lovesick puppy," she said.

Now Kara was interested in seeing his face.

"Alice!" Luther reprimanded her.

"What? It's true," Alice said. "She said so herself."

"I said what now?" Kara asked.

Alice and Luther turned.

"Kara, when did you get here?" Luther asked.

"Just now. I finished talking with Simon. He says we should be safe here for the time being," she said.

Luther smiled with relief.

"That's good."

Later in the evening, a young brown-skinned man walked up to them wearing a hood and a green coat.

"You're Kara right?"

"Yeah," Kara said.

"Simon told me to inform you when Gary was serving dinner."

Kara glanced at Alice before gazing back at the man.

"Where do we go?"

"Most of us usually line up in front of the serving area where Gary hands us our plates. Are all three of you going to eat."

Kara glanced at Alice in question.

"It's okay. I'm not hungry," she said softly. " You two get in line I'll stay right here."

He lead Kara and Luther to a long line that hung from where there was a makeshift kitchen. Inside Kara could barely make out the man in the back wearing an apron and serving the food on paper plates.

"So what's your name?"

"Me?" the man asked. "I'm Adam."

"What did you do for a living?"

"Me? Me and my mother used to run a farm with my father before we got separated. After the whole deviancy operation, I decided to get another job. Turns out TE-600s are not only programmed to operate farms but are also good with handling animals so I got a job at the zoo," Adam said.

"You're an android?" Kara asked.

Adam chuckled.

"Yeah, you just figured it out?"

"If you're an android why are you lining up to eat with us?" Luther asked.

"Gary doesn't just serve humans food. He's also responsible for giving androids thirium if we need to restock our tank. I got in a bit of a scuffle before getting here so I need the blue blood."

"So I take it your job at the zoo didn't last long then since you're here."

"Unfortunately some coppers caught me with some red ice. Apparently there was some investigation going on about drug smuggling. They figured an android was responsible for the entire thing and the police had intended to send me to Cyberlife to dismantle me luckily my mom stopped it in the nick of time. She sent me here to escape the law."

"I see."

Once the three made it to the front of the line, Gary gave Adam a canteen of blue blood.

"Hey Gary."

"Hay is for horses, you can't keep running into trouble like this. We already have limited supplies for any humans that stay here but we have even less supply for androids so you can't afford to be taking hits like this."

"I know. I didn't drop by for the lecture."

"Maybe one day it'll sink in."

"Yeah, yeah."

Adam left leaving Kara and Luther next.

Gary glanced at them in surprise.

"Never seen you two before. Are you new here?"

"Yeah."

"So why're you here for?"

"Government conspiracy."

Gary rolled his eyes.

"What else is new? Something's clearly up with Cyberlife and all these androids running amok. Guess I'm not one to talk being an android myself. Are you androids too?"

"He's human and I'm human too last I checked," Kara said.

Gary sighed and turned serving Kara and Luther their meals on paper plates. It consisted of rice and some kind of stew.

"Where do you get the food?"

"Usually Simon stocks our supplies. We don't hunt humans like most of the people down here."

"Good to know, I guess."

With that the two made their way back to Alice who was joined by Simon.

"Hey Kara," Simon said.

"Did you need to talk to me about something?"

"Nothing per say," he said. "There's something I want to ask both of you."

Luther glanced at Kara in confusion.

"That can wait after you've finished eating though."

He glanced at Luther.

"I should take a look at your wound."

"I'm fine," Luther said shortly.

"Don't be so stubborn. There could be major damage to the muscle surrounding the wound."

He flinched when Simon tried to reach for him.

"Don't touch me."

Simon sighed and dropped his hands.

"Fine, if you insist."

While they were eating, Simon continued.

"What are you going to do once you get in contact with Caroline?" he asked.

"I guess give her the information and then return to Jericho. We can't exactly return to the city with Cyberlife running amok."

"You're bringing that little girl with you?"

"She can't stay here, can she? You said so yourself, this is a safe haven for everyone who lives her. There are alot of falsely accused people here but there are also alot of criminals. It's no safe place for a child to remain on their own.

"There is no guarantee I can protect you after you leave Jericho. Meeting Caroline will put you in danger especially if Cyberlife is desperate enough to track you there. Even if you return there is no guarantee it'll be completely safe especially if Jericho ever becomes compromised."

"We don't really have a choice though do we?"

Simon smiled.

"Theoretically you do. You can have Alice stay here. I can protect her."

"Out of the question," Luther said. "Your name and face is all over the news, you have a target written all over you. It's just as dangerous leaving her in your care."

Simon smirked smugly.

"Who says I'm going to care for her? I simply offered to protect her. You are correct that I'm in no position to care for her which is why I'm not."

"Who did you have in mind?" Kara asked.

"North can take care of her in the mean time."

"Who is North?"

"She was the woman who was traveling with us earlier."

"You trust her? How do you know she isn't a criminal?" Kara asked.

"I never claimed she wasn't. Does it really matter if I can trust her with this kind of job?"

"How well do you know her?"

"She's not a rapist and she's not a thief so you don't have to worry about North hurting her."

"But she is a killer?"

"That's not for me to say but on the off-chance she is, do you think I'd really let her take care of a child if she was going to kill her?" Simon asked.

"He does have a point," Luther said.

"I trust North enough to know she won't harm the child. She can be really loyal when you get to know her. You don't have to make up your mind right away. I'll agree with whatever you want to do but it is an option."

Kara had two options.

She could let Alice stay with North and Simon

or

she could bring Alice with them.

"Fine, we'll do this your way but she's only listening to you. If she's uncomfortable with North I trust she can rely on you to help her."

Simon smiled softly.

"Of course, Kara."

Kara turned to Alice.

"Are you fine with that, Alice?" she asked.

She leaned closer to Kara and nodded.

"You think you can listen to Simon and be a good girl?"

Alice nodded.

"Then I'm counting on you."

After they finished, Kara inquired about the question that was on her mind.

"So where do we sleep tonight?" she asked.

"Most of the rooms are filled so everybody sleeps in here. We got plenty of sleeping bags though Alice can stay with the other kids in the room above us. There's only one kid that slept up there. Solomon usually stays up there but we've had to keep an eye on him after he was having trouble breathing. There should be a spare bed up there if you need to get some shuteye."

Alice nodded before climbing the ladder to the upper room leaving Luther and Kara alone with Simon.

"So what did you want to discuss?" Kara asked.

"I was talking with Josh earlier. I figure if you're intending on giving that letter to the press then you must have some motivation to put an end to Cyberlife for good."

"Still I don't intend on being more involved than I have to be."

"You're already involved a lot more than you realise. Cyberlife won't just stop when the situation boils over. They are always going to have you in your sights unless we put a stop to them once and for all. I figure since you've already dived face first into it, you might want to get involved with my plan."

"No way," Luther said.

"You didn't even hear what I had to say."

"I don't need to hear it to know it's dangerous. You wouldn't be asking us otherwise."

"It might not be as dangerous as you might think. If all the chess pieces are put into play."

After Simon left, Luther winced as he clutched his shoulder.

"You should have had Simon check the wound," Kara said.

"I'm fine. I'll be fine I just don't want him touching me."

End Notes:

Choice divergence: she could bring Alice with them.

Chapter: Not yet written. Will be added later.