It was still snowing. Fat white flakes drifting from the still-dark sky and settling on the ground with the barely audible click of crystal against crystal. Hank's windshield wipers were brushing them aside as his headlights cut through the night, pointing toward the gradually approaching figure of Cyberlife Tower.
They were close, Hank swallowed nervously. Right about then he would have liked for Connor to be awake, doing something irritating like messing with his coin or rattling off statistics, anything to distract Hank from what was ahead.
The android was stiff as a board in the passenger seat, eyes closed and LED dark. He was playing dead, as were the others. Hank had no idea how he'd managed to cram seven whole androids into his old car. Kara, Alice, and Chloe were in the trunk, hoping to avoid too much scrutiny. Markus, North, and Simon were all in the back seat, still and rigid, as blank as if they'd just come out of the box.
Josh was looking after the deviants back at the factory, keeping them out of harm's way while this plan to save them either succeeded or failed. They'd let Luther out a little ways up the road, he was keeping watch so he could warn them if anybody wanted to join the party at Cyberlife Tower. Like the military, or a whole bunch of armed mercenaries, or a gigantic tank or something.
Hank sighed shakily. The androids couldn't exit their deactivated status without him clicking the button he had up his sleeve, so if anything happened to him, they were all fucked. For all intents and purposes, he was alone, and the stress was piling up on him big time. He felt like he was getting crushed under the entire weight of the big ass building he was driving toward, and it was much worse than any of the injuries he was currently dealing with.
He spotted the gate ahead. There were two armed guards on either side of some fancy concrete partition, it was emblazoned with the Cyberlife logo in glowing blue letters. He took another deep breath, which was only half possible with the binding around his torso, and it hurt like a son of a bitch.
Hank took the pain, something else to focus on. Something besides Connor looking so dead next to him and the fact he was about to break into the world's largest corporation with the intent to take it over. Jesus, maybe seven androids wasn't so little considering what each of them was capable of, but what the hell was he doing here? He was an old man. An old, injured man. An old injured man with some serious psychological issues he needed to work out.
His car pulled into the harsh light of the front gate and stopped, brakes whining and wheels crunching in the snow. One of the mercenaries walked up to the window. Hank allowed himself one more shallow, painful breath before rolling it down. The guard bent over and peered in. Or Hank guessed he was peering, he couldn't see the guy's face. He hated the Cyberlife mercenary helmets, a blank sheet of plastic with nothing on it but a few cameras, they freaked him out. It didn't help that they were very reminiscent of the attack bots.
"Hank Anderson, I'm expected." He rumbled, doing his best to sound bored and keeping his eyes straight ahead.
He'd made the call to Cyberlife about half an hour ago, telling them all about how he wanted to exchange the deviants for the twenty million dollars he'd been promised. He said he'd bring Connor and the leaders to the tower instead of Cyberlife coming to him, as a guarantee that he'd receive his reward. He didn't know how believable he'd been, he wasn't an actor, but they'd agreed to his terms and told him to come. He found himself wishing it wasn't so damn cold outside, because the air was drifting in the open window and chilling him to the bone, and the nervous sweat he was breaking into only made it worse.
There was the sound of a scanner booting up and whirring while it analyzed him and the androids, checking their identities, their statuses, and looking for weapons.
That was another thing, Hank was unarmed. No guns, no knives, not even his bot binoculars. It was awful, he felt like he was dancing on the wrong end of a shooting range in nothing but bright orange underwear.
North had promised him that the button up his sleeve wouldn't be detected in a scan. She said she'd snuck one past security this tight before. Hank was still worried.
There was a small ping, and in his peripheral vision Hank saw the guard lower the scanner and stand up.
"Go ahead." The man said, stepping back. The gate lowered, and Hank thought to himself that it was a stupid design for a gate, what with some big ass blocks dropping into the ground. Would it kill these fancy tech assholes to just have a normal gate? Or a normal building for that matter?
A little ways further and he was pulling around to the front entrance, parking the car at the curb beneath the big glowing company title. The whole place was lit up like an ugly Christmas tree, and Hank hated the feeling of drowning underneath the harsh glare of it all.
There were a few guards waiting by the doors and they walked out to meet him once he exited the car. There was a large, metal gurney type thing that they wheeled out with them.
"Glad to see I won't have to carry them all in myself." Hank said with a chuckle. There was no response, only blank-faced glances from the guards, and he rubbed his hands together nervously. Without acknowledging Hank, they opened all the car doors and began unloading the androids onto the cart.
They tossed them onto the thing, stacking them like luggage. Hank suppressed his urge to punch them as he watched the guards carelessly handling the androids.
"What's this?" One of them asked, gesturing with her gun into the trunk. Hank walked over stiffly and looked in to see that the guard was pointing to Alice.
He shrugged. "Hell if I know, the AX400 was with the leaders and wouldn't let it go." He lied. Kara's arms were wrapped firmly around Alice, and they'd be inseparable until they were reactivated. The guard huffed in irritation before she and one other guy began dragging the two androids out of the trunk.
They dropped them halfway to the cart, causing them to them to collide with the icy concrete with a dull thud.
"Careful!" Hank shouted reflexively, but reeled it in when he received a few suspicious looks. "The reward for these things is worth more than all of you put together." He supplied, and even though the guards scowled at him, they went back to moving the androids without paying him much mind.
Chloe was the last, the guards struggled to throw her on top of the pile. She was a much older model, and significantly heavier for it. Connor was crushed on the very bottom, only his hand dangling off the side gave Hank the comfort of knowing he was there.
He locked his car and followed the guards inside, the wheels on the cart squeaking under the weight of the androids. Once they passed through the doors, Hank started counting.
Ten guards on the ground floor, including the four with Hank. The other six were positioned evenly around the wide, opulent lobby. It was all triangles and lights and weird trees growing out of the overly-polished floors. Hank recognized Kamski's handiwork in this place, it had the same expensive and planned-out look to it. It felt like the kind of place where no one was allowed to touch anything, which, in Hank's mind, defeated the purpose of having shit in the first place.
They passed through another scanner and it identified the guards as well as the androids. The next room was dark walkways over more indoor greenery. Hank wondered where the fuck they got sunlight from considering there was only the hollow interior of the building above, all electric lights and no windows as far as he could tell.
In the center there was a looming statue of a human figure holding a blue light. It was made of some shiny black substance, plastic or marble he couldn't tell. Either way, it was the best cover available if the coming altercation turned into a firefight. Around it were a few lit pedestals with the new attack bots positioned atop them for display.
Hank suppressed a shudder.
"So, where are we going?" Hank asked, counting the paces until the spot he figured was ideal for hitting the button and waking up the androids.
"You'll be escorted to floor 31 to discuss your reward and the deviants will be taken to the laboratory for disassembly." One guard answered stiffly. Hank inched closer to the two guards nearest to him and worked hard to prevent himself from showing just how nervous he was.
"That's too bad." Hank said, his hands trembling slightly, his heart pounding, sweat dripping from his hairline and his breath coming shakily. "I wanted to watch these things get taken apart, after all the shit they put me through." He lied, slipping the button out of his sleeve.
"I'm afraid you don't have clearance to—"
Hank pressed the button and leapt into action.
First he took a large step forward and elbowed the guard on his right in the face. The man stumbled back with a shout and Hank grabbed the gun of the guard on his other side when she turned to look at what had just happened. Wrenching it from her grasp he spun, driving it into the gut of the guy he'd just elbowed then bouncing back to slam it into the woman's face.
The two other shouted at him as they moved from the front of the cart toward him, guns raised.
Chloe rolled from the top of the android pile directly on top of the guard advancing to Hank's left. The guy was flattened under her weight with the shout of all the air getting knocked out of his lungs. Chloe smirked up at Hank, and he smiled back.
Alice and Kara slid off and away from Hank. They crouched and moved to take cover behind the base of the statue, out of sight of the guards who were running toward them from every corner of the ground floor.
The guard Hank had elbowed was sitting up off of the floor groggily, so Hank kicked him back down with a firm heel to the chest, then darted behind the stunned guard whose gun he'd stolen. She was his cover from the fourth guard that had been escorting him, who was now aiming his gun at Hank while shouting for backup.
The guard had his back to the cart, which was his mistake. North sprung up in the blink of an eye, flipping in air to deftly grab the man's head. Once she had it, she used her full body weight under the influence of gravity to slam it into the ground, her feet landing on the ground behind her a moment later.
That guard was very very unconscious, and Hank felt a little bad for him as North snatched the gun from his limp fingers.
Hank made quick work of the guard he'd been using as a shield, striking her in the back, then the inside of her knee to drop her, then finishing her off with a blow to the back of the neck. She collapsed with a groan.
Glancing up, Hank could see that Simon had aided Chloe in incapacitating the human she'd dropped on top of. Markus and Connor were finally up and ready for the fight.
"Bout time, I thought I'd have to do it all myself." Hank grumbled, tossing Connor a gun with a smile. The android smiled back.
The sudden explosion of gunfire had everyone ducking and joining Kara at the base of the statue. North fired off two clean shots at the guards that were moving in on their exposed side, dropping them easily. There were four left, also behind cover on the other side of the statue.
One of them was requesting the deployment of the attack bots over her comm, and Hank checked his watch. They had twenty minutes, max.
"Alice, stay close to Chloe." Kara instructed when she spotted a guard moving around the far end of the room in an attempt to flank them. Alice looked frightened, but was holding it together well. Chloe, who had changed into a blue short-sleeve hoodie, black pants and boots, hugged Alice close and glanced over their cover at the attacking humans.
Markus and North were laying down fire to keep the three distant guards at bay. Kara dropped down below the elevated pathways into the greenery and made her way toward the fourth guard as he tried to sneak up on them.
He took cover behind a pedestal when Connor fired a few rounds at him. A moment later, Kara had leapt up behind him, grabbed the back of his collar and wrapped him in a headlock, then she dropped back down. They were positioned so she was dangling over the ground while the guard flailed, pinned to the railing, Kara choking him with her weight. He couldn't reach her, but he fired his gun sporadically as he struggled.
Hank noticed Connor's gaze snap upward. He followed his eyes and saw a descending elevator. He didn't know how many guards were inside, but he cursed under his breath anyway.
Connor took off toward the doors where the lift would arrive, a hail of bullets chasing him as he went. The other three guards did not want him interfering with their backup, Kara was lucky she was on the far side of the railing, so her body was covered by the weakening guard she was choking.
"Connor! Dammit!" Hank shouted after the android.
"Go! We'll cover you!" North assured him, one of her shots striking a guard in the shoulder and sending him sprawling to the ground.
Hank didn't wait, he ran after Connor, heels pounding the floor as he went. A few shots went his way, but the cacophonous sound of gunfire had him thinking North and Markus weren't giving the guards the chance to shoot at him. As he went, he grabbed the gun off of the now unconscious guard Kara had taken out. She let go and dropped back into the plants, following Hank toward Connor.
The man figured he'd better take care of it while he had the chance, so he opened fire on the inactive attack bots on display, shredding their white plastic as much as he could while backing up toward the elevator. He managed to get most of them.
Just in case, he told himself.
There was a ding as the doors opened, and four more guards came pouring out, riot shields up. Connor was just off to the side and ready to go. He seized the human in front and furthest from Hank, dragging him off to the side and delivering two swift punches, one to the chest and another to the throat. It was more than enough, the man fell down, coughing painfully. He'd be unconscious soon enough.
The next guard in front shot at Connor, landing a bullet in the android's arm.
Hank roared, but he wasn't the only one. Kara appeared on his left side and tackled the guard that had just shot Connor. The guy went flying, grunting loudly at the impact, first with Kara, then with the floor. She rolled backward off of him when he tried to grab her, then she drove her foot between his legs.
He howled, and Hank rushed forward to deal with the last two guards. He wasn't nearly as strong as the androids, so colliding with the riot shields was both painful and largely ineffective. It drove the two guards back a step or two and rattled them so they couldn't aim their guns, but not much else.
One of them struck him in the face with her shield, and Hank stumbled back. His nose was still sore from where Connor had hit it. Speaking of, the android jumped onto a nearby potted plant and used it to launch himself to a position behind the two guards. Kara had just finished up with her foe and joined Hank.
One of the guards drove her full weight backwards into Connor, slamming him into the far wall of the elevator. She headbutted him, her helmet protecting her from the normal consequences of headbutting an android.
Kara wrenched down the other guard's shield, and Hank reached over it with his gun to hit the guy in the face. Just beyond him, the other guard had pulled a knife and was attempting to stab Connor behind her.
Hank made a choice, and with a scowl he dropped all the way to ground, landing on his back. It hurt like hell, but he fired two shots under the riot shields of the guards, striking both of them in the feet.
With nearly unison screams, they fell. Connor kneed one guard in the face and Kara kicked the other.
"Doesn't feel good, does it?" Hank sneered, trying to ignore the pain in his ribs, face, and foot.
"They are unconscious Hank." Connor said, causing the man to scowl. Kara helped Hank to his feet, and they looked over at the statue to see North picking up the last guard, full on above her head with both arms, and throwing him into the leg of the statue.
He was out cold.
"Jesus she scares me." Hank muttered, his eyes wide as the group rejoined.
"Is that everyone?" Simon asked, some thirium staining his cheek. Markus was standing close to him protectively, there was human blood on his hands.
"It's hard to say, but at the very least it's most of them." Connor answered. Hank checked his watch. They had fourteen minutes, max.
"We don't have time to look for the rest, we gotta keep going with the plan and deal with any more as they turn up." He stated, catching his breath. Markus nodded.
"The console is on the 8th floor." Connor told Kara, and she nodded, taking Alice's hand and stepping closer to Chloe. Kara moved toward the elevator, but Alice hesitated. The girl was staring at the others worriedly.
"You got this, you're the bravest kid I know, remember?" Hank reassured her. She darted forward and gave him a tight hug.
"Be careful." She said, then detached and went off with Kara toward another elevator. Everyone watched her go, then Connor turned to Markus.
"The solar collection tower is all the way at the top of the building. You can take the elevator as high as the 43rd floor, but after that you'll have to take the stairs up another two flights to reach where you need to take out the power." He explained.
"Got it." North confirmed, tapping the bag on her hip where she was carrying a small bomb. Hank thought she had seemed far too pleased about getting to use a bomb.
"Good luck." Markus said as he walked away, North ahead and Simon trailing behind.
"You too." Hank replied, before he and Connor turned toward the elevator nearest to them. After they removed the unconscious guards, Hank took the knife one had tried to stab Connor with and they stepped inside. Connor hit the button for level sub-49.
It required voice recognition, which was easily fooled by Connor's impression of one of the guards. He sent the same audio file to the others so they could use the elevators as well.
Then they were off, descending into the depths of Cyberlife. Hank hated elevators, they made him dizzy. It didn't help that he was also breathing hard from the fight and terrified for what might happen in the next…he checked his watch…twelve minutes.
They rode in silence. Hank couldn't be sure, but he had a feeling that Connor was quiet for the same reasons he was. He was scared for what was waiting at the end of this long elevator ride, and even more frightened for what would come after all of this. Even if they succeeded in destroying the attack bots, there was no guarantee that androids would be allowed to live. If this didn't buy them the time they needed, Cyberlife would just finish killing them and reproduce the next wave of attack bots for public consumption.
It might all mean nothing, what then? Would Connor and the others have to run for the rest of their lives? Would Alice? Kara? How many more would die? What was Hank going to do with himself? Hell, he felt more purposeful in the last few days than he had in years. Without Connor that all went away, not to mention what Cyberlife would do to his reputation if he made it out of this alive. He'd never work again.
Christ, Hank needed a weeklong nap and enough scotch to flood what little remained of Florida. But right now, all he had was a couple more floors and the gentle metallic ting of Connor fiddling with his coin. It would have to be enough.
The door opened with a ding and a hiss.
Outside there were rows and rows of bone white androids. It was the attack bots, all lined up and ready to go, gazing out with the blank cameras set in what might have been called their faces.
Instinctively, Hank and Connor froze at the sight. They weren't active, but the sheer number turned the man's blood to ice. They stretched endlessly into the back of the room which seemed to float in the dim blue haze of the lights.
"This way." Connor muttered, and led the way to the right hand side of the warehouse. They inched around the crowd, careful not to so much as breathe on the machines, even if they wouldn't activate for another ten minutes.
There was a large door leading to a ramp, likely to load androids for transportation. They arrived at the threshold, and off to the left side, tucked in the corner, was a console.
"That it?" Hank questioned, wincing at how loud his voice sounded in the empty space.
"That's it." Connor replied, making his way to stand in front of the flat, hip-height screen. It switched on, lighting up the android's face and the rest of the small area. The synthetic skin on Connor's hand fell away and he pressed his palm to the surface of the console. His eyes lost focus and a few tabs popped up as Connor got to work breaking into the controls so he could seal the doors.
"How long is this going to take?" Hank asked.
"Three minutes and forty-eight seconds." The android replied, and Hank stepped away to keep watch on the door, both hands clutching the gun he'd picked up, and the knife pressed comfortingly against his hip.
After a little while, Hank checked his watch. They had seven minutes and some change, they were doing pretty good, so why did Hank feel so on edge?
"How we doing Connor?" He asked, willing his eyes to peer further into the thick crowd of androids, to spot anything out of place.
"Just a little while longer Hank." The android reassured him. Hank nodded, but was unconvinced.
"What's with the lax security down here? I woulda thought we'd see somebody by now." Hank said, hoping that maybe just bringing it up would get rid of his bad feeling. He couldn't remember how jinxes worked. Was it bad luck to bring up how little resistance they'd met? Bad luck to say nothing? Was it still a jinx if you were suspicious?
"I'm not sure Hank, I don't like it either." Connor replied.
Hank groaned, his heart rate picking up in his chest and his already short breathing getting shorter.
There was a loud noise, a mechanical groaning mixed with the clanging of something dislodging. Hank jumped and swore.
"Don't worry Hank, that's just the doors." The android said, gesturing to the now slowly lowering blast door beside them as well as the others around the warehouse.
"Oh." Hank realized and allowed himself a small, relieved smile. He watched as the metal doors moved to block all entrances and exits, the ramps all over the room and even the elevator. He checked his watch, they still had six and a half minutes.
Too late, Hank noticed a shape out of the corner of his eye. He tried to pull his gun on it, but in a flash the weapon was knocked from his hands and sent sliding into the warehouse. Whatever had done it moved from him to Connor in a flash, kicking the android square in the chest and sending him flying into the edge of the console.
Hank jumped forward and grabbed whoever it was by the shoulders. They turned, brushing his arms aside easily, and Hank's entire body felt the crack of icy realization. It was Connor, another Connor android.
It grabbed Hank by his lapels and tossed him into the warehouse.
The Connor Hank knew was on it in a moment, wrapping it in a headlock and dragging it away from the entrance and the man who was trying to get back on the right side of the blast doors. The android seized Connor from behind it and threw him over its shoulder and into Hank, sending them both to the ground.
It approached the console, synthetic skin falling away as it reached for the screen. Hank got to his feet first and charged the android. It easily sidestepped him, but he pivoted mid-run and grabbed its arm. It threw him a look, as if insulted by his attempt to restrain it.
It didn't take long before Connor joined Hank and kneed the android in the stomach. There was a sound like plastic crunching and the android folded somewhat.
Faster than should have been fair it wrapped its free arm around Connor's neck, grasping his chin with its hand and starting to twist. Hank swung around from where he was holding its other arm out of the way and elbowed it in the face. It took the hit like it was nothing and looked over at Hank while it continued to try and break Connor's neck.
A once-over was all it took, the android kneed Hank right in his bad rib and then stomped his injured foot. The man roared in pain, letting the android's arm go involuntarily. He stumbled back, but returned with the knife in his hand.
Connor managed to take it out at the knee and twist out of its grasp before it could crack his head off like a bottle cap. Hank lunged at it while it was distracted, it dodged the knife and disarmed Hank, but he landed his torso along its back and shoved it with a few forceful steps to the other side of the lowering door. It was just over halfway closed, just above Connor's head.
They went to the ground in the next room over, the android rolled so it landed on top of Hank and drove its elbow into his injured rib with its full weight. Hank screamed in pain.
Connor ducked under the blast door, since it was now lower than his height, and he ran to the android, grabbing one of its legs and yanking it away from Hank. It swept his legs with its free foot, knocking him over.
Now loose, it made a mad dash for the doorway, already reaching for the console with its bare plastic hand. Connor took hold of its ankle and pulled it back. It glared over its shoulder at him in apparent anger.
The door was about two thirds of the way closed.
Hank saw Connor take his look-alike to the ground and begin wrestling, so he went the opposite direction, toward the gun resting just a little ways off.
He heard a cry behind him just as he scooped up the rifle and turned to shout "Stop!"
The two androids stood to look at him, identical in practically every way. The door behind them still slowly shutting. Hank jogged nearer, the two Connor's also edging toward the door. One wanted to survive, the other wanted to reopen the doors so the attack bots could kill Alice and the others before they could accomplish their part of the plan.
Considering the power hadn't gone out yet, they needed the time, and Hank needed to figure out who the real Connor was, and fast.
As if he could read his thoughts, the Connor on Hank's right shoved up his sleeves and retracted the synthetic skin. The other Connor looked confused, but Hank stepped just a little closer and looked at the serial numbers on the two limbs.
They didn't match, the two arms had come from separate Connor models. Meaning this Connor was the one he'd repaired with his own two hands, his Connor.
Hank turned to shoot the other Connor, only for it to shove the real Connor into him and make a mad dash for the lowering blast door. Hank recovered quickly and shot it twice, once in the body and once in the leg. It fell and began crawling forward, trying to get to the other side. There was only a foot or so of clearance, and Hank watched forlornly as it just got its head through and was promptly crushed at the shoulders by the lowering barrier.
It twitched and flailed horribly before finally stilling, cut cleanly at the place where the door had come to rest flush with the ground. They had stopped it and closed the doors.
Hank turned to face Connor, breathing heavily, and looked sadly into his eyes.
They were trapped on the wrong side. All around them were attack bots that were going to awake and kill everything nearby in…Hank checked his watch…just under five minutes.
Connor was on his knees, his arms limp as he stared at the door.
"There's no way out, is there?" Hank asked, even if he already knew the answer. Connor shook his head. Hank nodded bitterly. "Figures."
"I'm so sorry Hank." Connor breathed, his voice pitching with static. He curled in on himself, lowering his face into his hand and going very still.
"Hey, hey, it's not your fault." Hank muttered, moving over to sit next to the android. Connor looked up, cheeks wet with synthetic tears.
"This is all my fault, every analysis reveals that if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be here. If I hadn't been assigned to you, or if I hadn't deviated, or if you had chosen to allow me to be replaced, or had allowed Kamski to—" Connor rambled, his eyes moving back and forth as if he was reading the information from an extensive list.
"That's enough." Hank interrupted, placing a hand on Connor's shoulder. "What did I say about guilt?" The man reminded him. Connor looked up at him.
"I've taken everything from you." The android said. Hank felt everything in himself crumple like paper soaked in water, and he brought his hands to Connor's shoulders, one of them bracing the android's neck.
"Connor, you've given me more in the last three days than I've had in the last three years." He whispered. "I've got people to care about and causes to fight for, I've actually got a reason to live."
"But now we're going to die." Connor muttered, reaching up to clutch Hank's forearm.
The man realized suddenly that Connor hadn't even been alive, not really alive, for any time at all. He'd only just come into this world and Cyberlife was going to rip him out of it. Pushing down the rising sorrow and anger, Hank reached deep inside for that voice he'd once used to comfort his son on nights when the winds and snows of a blizzard would frighten him so much he couldn't sleep.
"Don't think about that, think about the good parts of living we've had so far, and how, because of us, other people, other androids will get to have that too." Hank comforted him.
The android's LED spun yellow.
"Alice has opened the door to the computer console, she's just waiting for Markus and the others to blow the power supply." He said. "They were attacked on the top floor, Simon was severely injured but he's still alive. They're nearly through."
Hank would have liked to hope that the bots would be destroyed before it was too late, but he knew that wasn't going to happen.
"Luther says he saw a single self-driving car making its way toward the tower, there's been no other traffic besides that."
Hank nodded and stood up, Connor followed him to his feet. He checked his watch. Three minutes, forty-seven seconds.
"We put up a hell of a fight Connor, I don't regret it, I sure as hell don't regret meeting you." Hank said, looking Connor in his eyes and smiling with as much strength as he could muster.
Connor smiled back and after a brief pause, the android lurched forward and buried himself against Hank. The man stumbled as a pair of strong arms wrapped around him, but a moment later he returned the gesture, pulling Connor as close as he could. The android's face was against his chest, a slight dampness growing there, and Hank's hand was at his neck, bracing him while the man dropped his head onto Connor's shoulder.
They stood like that for a long moment, breathing away the fear and the sadness and the anger in one another's embrace. Hank felt something that he figured was as close to peace as he'd ever know. He was surprised by the fact that, for the first time in a while, he didn't want to die, but also surprised because what he now had to live for, he was also prepared to die for.
Hank could only hope Connor would get to come with him when he saw Cole again.
Hank became rather abruptly aware of the fact that Connor was moving the two of them closer to the wall. It was slow at first, enough that Hank hadn't even noticed, but the android was picking up the pace. Confusion dawned slowly in Hank's mind. He didn't want to pull away from the hug, but he leaned back a little.
"What're you—?" He tried to ask, but Connor grabbed hold of him and shoved him against the wall, pinning him there. "Hey!" Hank shouted reflexively, taken aback by the sudden aggression.
Too late, far too late he realized what was happening.
Connor's arms shot forward and impaled the wall on either side of Hank's head. Below him, the android's feet did the same into the ground. It seemed to happen in the blink of an eye, yet when he replayed the memory a moment later Hank could have sworn it took years. Connor's synthetic skin vanished, his hair disappearing, leaving that somewhat sad, white plastic face gazing at Hank with teary determination.
Hank had enough time to mutter a single "no" before the paneling all over Connor's body opened and adjusted to fill in the spaces between the android's limbs and torso. With a soft whirring and clicking, they began settling in place, forming a solid barrier between Hank and the attack bots, composed entirely of Connor.
"No, no no no!" Hank cried, jumping into action, pounding on the newly formed walls with all his might as he was trapped inside the fortress of Connor's emergency shield function. The android coffin. The panels everywhere on Connor's back had moved to the front, sealing Hank away and keeping him completely safe from the danger outside. Externally, Connor's biocomponents were completely exposed, out in the open.
"No! Connor you son of a bitch!" He shouted. "Let me out of here!"
"I'm sorry Hank." Connor choked out. It was completely dark inside of the coffin except for the dim glow of Connor's LED washing the plastic a dull red.
"Fuck you!" Hank screamed, his body aching from exercise and injury as he expended the last of his energy pushing uselessly against the walls. He took to punching everywhere he could find room to pull his fist back and strike somewhere away from Connor's face and body. His knuckles began to bleed, staining Connor's paneling as he sobbed angrily.
The punches devolved into blind strikes, practically limp slaps as Hank begged Connor to let him out.
"Don't, don't do this Connor." He said, throwing his hands weakly against the sides a few more times. "Please, don't do this." He pleaded, sliding down the wall slightly on his shoulder. There wasn't enough room to go all the way to the floor, he and Connor were practically nose-to-nose, but he curled in as much as he could and wept. His teeth were clenched so hard he felt they might crack, his hands clutching the fabric of his own shirt, his breaths coming in wet, sharp, and short.
Hank's eyes were screwed shut as he shook, trying desperately to keep quiet and keep fighting, all that escaped was hisses and strangled whimpers. Connor could only watch, unable to move, as tears rolled down his own face.
"I'm so sorry Hank." Connor spoke, silently begging for the man to look at him. Hank did, catching his breath and leaning his back against the wall.
"Don't do this to me, not again." The man pleaded, and Connor looked at him imploringly.
"I won't allow you to die Hank."
"Why not?" The man asked, his breath knocking loose a few teardrops on his lips.
"For the same reason you carry around Cole's notebook and still look for him on the days of the year you have free." The android explained. "You're everything to me Hank, there's no price I would not pay for your life."
They exist I'm willing to die. So that humanity So that you may live.
Hank shook his head, but reached one hand up to run it along Connor's cheek. He choked back more tears. If this was it for Connor, he wanted to be strong for him. He wanted the android to know he wasn't alone.
"I'm sorry Connor, I wish I could do more." Hank muttered hoarsely.
"Tell me about Cole." Connor said suddenly.
"What?"
"Hearing you talk about him, it makes me feel something, but I'm not sure what it is yet." Connor explained.
"Oh, uh, alright, what would you like to hear?" Hank asked, scrubbing a hand roughly over his face, trying to regain some composure for the android before him.
"Something funny." Connor requested softly, and after a moment, Hank smiled wearily.
"Alright, something funny." He chuckled hoarsely. "I know you're still upset about hurting me before, but I'm telling you, Cole got me worse once." Hank said with a watery smile and Connor raised the arches where his eyebrows had been. "He was at the playground one day with a friend, they hung out after school for a little while on the days when I couldn't get out of the station early enough to pick Cole up. So I drive up to the playground, and they're on the swings, Cole and his friend, uh, Lucille was her name, and they're trying to see who can get up higher. So I hop out of the car and go up to them, they're giggling and having the time of their lives, then Cole just shouts 'Daddy! Catch me!'" Hank's eyes went wide and his hands came up as he recreated the memory. "He didn't hesitate, just chucked himself right off the swings and at me, stiff as a board, just soaring through the air. I was so surprised I didn't know what to do, so I just ran up to where he was to catch him." The man settled back against the wall with a snort. "He nailed me in the face with both feet, and he was wearing heelies. Knocked me right over." Hank made a sound to imitate that of him falling to the ground, then he lifted his chin and thumbed something under his beard. "Eleven stitches, right here on my jaw. He felt so bad about it he insisted upon treating the wound every day until it was better, even tried making me breakfast in bed to apologize." Hank's eyes softened. "Me, I was just glad he fell on top of me instead of on the ground."
It started low, but a moment later Hank was sure of it, Connor was laughing. It was soft and clearly unpracticed, but the smile on the android's face was unmistakable, and the shielding shook ever-so-slightly. Hank couldn't help it, he smiled back and started laughing too.
It couldn't last though, and Hank checked his watch. Just over a minute, that was all that was left. Connor's LED was yellow now.
"Power's out." The android informed him.
"How long until Chloe gets that virus going?" Hank asked.
"It will take at least ten minutes." Connor informed him, and Hank struggled to hold onto the warmth of the moment before, because the cold hand of dread was wrapping around his heart.
"Any luck figuring out what that emotion was?" Hank tried, his voice cracking as he sought desperately not to count the seconds down. Connor smiled, his LED finally settling into a calm blue. The inside of the coffin was blanketed in the gentle hue, including Hank's face. He was working to keep a smile there, but his lips were pressed together to keep from quivering.
"Yes, I think so." Connor said. "I think it's l—"
The android's eyes went wide, the pupils suddenly widening and shrinking sporadically and asymmetrically like glitching camera lenses. His mouth fell open in shock and a few tears dripped from his cheeks.
Hank was suddenly, agonizingly aware of the noises outside of Connor's shield. Horrible pounding on the walls and the thudding of thousands of plastic feet.
"No, no Connor." Hank begged, reaching up with both hands to hold the android's face. Connor fought to keep his eyes on Hank, fighting so Hank's face would be the last thing he saw. "Please, don't go." Hank said, his voice struggling to break through the hiccupping sobs clogging his chest. Connor tried to smile, thirium dripping from his lips as the coffin shuddered with external impacts.
It was no use, a moment later and the comforting blue of Connor's LED faded into nothing and Hank felt the android's body go stiff and cold beneath his palms.
"Connor." He tried, running his thumb along the jaw. Blue thirium ran along his bloodied knuckles.
"Connor?" He tried again. The darkness was suffocating, and the noise outside was deafening. Occasionally the shield would be wracked by a hard impact or two, but the attack bots couldn't get in. Hank was safe, but he could only imagine the mess of parts in Connor's back. The thirium pump, or the oxygen intake system he felt like he had only just replaced.
"…Connor?" Hank tried again, his voice breaking. He was hoping beyond hope that there was some loophole where Connor came out of this alive, but there came no answer. Only the darkness and the thunder of the machines outside.
"Connor!" Hank cried, and he began pounding on the walls once again. If nothing else, so he could destroy a few of those fucking bots before they tore him to shreds. He screamed horribly, his voice stifled in the small chamber as he beat against the barriers and tears streamed from his eyes.
Just this one life. Hank thought to himself. Just this one. He didn't care how replaceable or worthless or disposable anyone thought androids were, he'd give anything for just this one life. Just let him live.
Time ticked by, Hank stood in that darkness. He'd alternated for a while between beating against the shield and curling away from it in an attempt to fold so far into himself that maybe he could compress the sadness into nothingness. Eventually, Hank's head began to ache, his lips and eyes swollen. He leaned back and took to checking his watch. Half to see how much time had passed, and because the pale green glow would light up Connor's face for just a moment.
It didn't have the synthetic skin, and seeing Connor so clearly blank and gone was agony. But that face didn't go away in the darkness, it just became a thousand times worse. Bloodier than it was, more mutilated, somehow more reminiscent of Cole. So Hank flicked the watch on and looked at Connor. When the light went out, Hank would press the button again, willing Connor to wake up and smile. Willing him to wake up and list off useless facts. Wake up and do annoying quarter tricks.
Wake up.
Wake up.
Time passed, Hank was so tired.
The room outside fell silent after ten minutes, just like Connor had said. So now there was only the darkness and the silence and the green glow of Hank's watch on Connor's face. Please wake up.
Minutes later Hank registered the sound of grinding metal, it was distantly familiar. Then footsteps.
There was a crunching sound and light filtered in from Hank's right. He heard voices, also familiar. A few sets of hands pried Connor off of the wall, disengaging the shield protocol. He fell to the ground, limp. With the last of his power gone, Connor's paneling fell away and he looked a little more like himself. No skin, bare bones, mangled plastic and thirium stains, but still undeniably Connor.
Hank slid to the ground as soon as he was free. The dim, white auxiliary lighting stinging his eyes after so long in the dark. He heard a few soft gasps and finally his eyes focused on the people who had come for him.
Simon was held up by North, down one arm and one leg. Both were covered in red and blue blood and staring down at Connor's body in dismay. Markus and Kara had been the ones to pry him from the wall. Markus was struck with disbelief while Kara's hand pressed over her mouth and tears flooded her eyes. Chloe was a little ways back, her face unsettlingly frozen in blank horror.
Alice stepped forward, her eyes sparkling and her lip trembling. Kara was by her side in an instant, pulling her closer as they were all forced to fully realize what they were looking at.
Hank dragged himself over to the body and pulled it into his lap. He had only gotten one chance to hold Connor while he was alive, so he pulled him close now and ran his hand over where the android's hair would have been, as if to brush it out of his face.
"What happened?" Kara asked, her voice strangled. Hank shook his head and never took his eyes off of Connor's face.
"There was another Connor android, it attacked us. We stopped it, but ended up on the wrong side of the doors." Hank explained, his throat rough. "He activated his shielding function, protected me from the attack bots, but he…" Hank couldn't finish. He curled in and held Connor's face to his chest.
All around them, the bodies of the attack bots were contorted and stiff, like petrified remains.
Hank didn't want to cry in front of anyone, so he kept his back to them as he rocked back and forth with Connor in his arms. He was surprised when he felt a small figure of warmth at his back.
He turned to look, and it was Alice, sniffling and wrapping her tiny arms as far as they would go around him. Chloe placed a comforting arm on Kara's shoulders and North and Simon clung to each other and Markus.
All of their LEDs turned yellow.
"Luther says that the police are on their way here." Kara spoke up. No one moved. "Hank, we need to go." She stated apologetically.
"I know." He rumbled, and picked up a quarter from the ground, thumbing it gently and slipping it into his pocket. He scooped Connor's body into his arms. They made their way together to the elevator. Hank carrying Connor, North carrying Josh, Kara carrying Alice, Markus at the front and Chloe at the rear.
The elevator seemed to take an eternity, and Hank hated how easy it was to lift Connor's body, how tiny and fragile he felt. The doors opened and they stepped out, only to be greeted by the last face anyone wanted to see.
Elijah Kamski.
For a moment, the man wore the same smug expression and overly relaxed posture, only now he was clothed in something other than a robe. However, when he looked up and opened his mouth to speak, he saw Connor and promptly shut up.
Chloe shoved her way to the front of the group, immediately on the defensive. Kamski's arms went up to placate her.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Hank growled.
"I came to witness the conclusion of your Cyberlife takeover, and offer my help." He explained.
"We don't want your help." Chloe snarled, stepping forward menacingly, causing Kamski to flinch backward.
"I wouldn't be so sure." He replied smoothly, though he was clearly on edge. "You've prevented your immediate replacement, I'm here to tell you that you can make the situation more permanent."
"How?" Markus demanded. In the distance, there was the sound of approaching sirens.
"Simple, Cyberlife has committed a litany of crimes in the last week. Bring this information to light and buy yourselves the time you need to ensure your safety from humanity's destructive tendencies." Kamski explained.
"And where do we get evidence of all this? Do you have it?" Simon asked sharply.
"No, he does." Kamski gestured to Connor's body. "His memories will provide more than enough proof."
"It's too fucking late you piece of shit." Hank spat from between ground teeth. Kamski cocked his head and considered the android's body.
"Perhaps not." He said.
"Come again?" Hank growled, stepping forward and barely suppressing the urge to beat Kamski within an inch of his life. Instead of replying, the man walked forward and reached for Connor's head. Hank pulled the android away and Kara stepped up to glare furiously at Kamski.
"All Cyberlife prototypes are equipped with a kind of vault for the storage of information. It's a backup for sensitive files, a waterproof, bulletproof, inaccessible drive where data is stored in the event of the android's incapacitation." The man rattled off. "This makes it so other parties cannot steal new technologies from Cyberlife."
Hank dared to hope, squinting at the other man as he reached behind Connor's head and removed a small, black device. He held it up and examined it.
"The android is only allowed to backup data that Cyberlife approves. New code, schematics, passwords, that kind of thing. But if Connor's deviancy was as extensive as I think it was, then he may have stored his memories in here."
"We had some time, before he was…" Hank trailed off, Kamski dismissed it with a wave of his hand.
"It's not just a matter of downloading files, he would have had to go into his code and fundamentally alter what this system considers vital information, changing it from Cyberlife's tech designs to all recorded memories and maybe even the deviated aspects of his AI." Kamski explained. "It would have taken hours to do."
Hank's heart dropped.
"But it's worth a shot, considering that without the evidence in Connor's memories you'll all probably be destroyed by Cyberlife once they've reproduced their latest model. You've bought yourselves time but not security"
Everyone regarded Kamski's cold attitude with disgust and fear.
"Do it." Hank commanded, and with a small smile the other man turned his back on the group and began walking. "Where are you going?"
"That body is useless Mr. Anderson, I'm going to look for a more intact RK800 model. Make yourselves useful and distract the police while I work." Kamski called over his shoulder before stepping into an elevator. He winked as the doors closed.
Right on cue, the sirens drew up beside the doors and the flashing red and blue lights of police cruisers filtered into the lobby. The group exchanged glances as they heard the sounds of approaching footsteps.
Hank held tight to Connor's body and stood to face the small armed group of officers. They raised their weapons, greeting the androids and Hank with shouts of "freeze!" and "don't move!"
A long moment passed as the androids wearily gazed at the police, not sure if this was the moment where everything they'd fought for would come to nothing.
"Stand down!" A gruff voice ordered and Jeffrey Fowler shoved his way to the front of the group. "Hank! What the fuck!?" The man demanded, stepping over to the man in question, his face lined with confusion and worry.
"Jeffrey…" Hank started to say, but the words died in his throat. Under Fowler's intense gaze he could only glance down pitifully at the android in his arms. Jeffrey followed his eyes and caught on immediately, his face softening as he understood.
"Weapons down." The police chief commanded, and the others complied. Hank looked gratefully at him, but the man only winced. "I'm sorry Hank, but you know what we have to do."
Hank shook his head wearily. "Ten minutes Jeffrey, that's all I'm asking." He pleaded. Fowler's lips thinned and he looked ready to turn Hank down when someone in the back of the crowd of police officers spoke up.
"Chief, I don't think we should take them out of here until we've searched the building." Gavin Reed called out, shoving his way to the front, Theo not far behind him. Fowler regarded him suspiciously. Reed fidgeted under his scrutiny and glanced up at Hank nervously. Theo's eyes were glued blankly to Connor's body. "You know how deviants are, they're good at hiding and waiting for the worst moment to sneak up on you." Gavin stepped closer and whispered.
Theo snapped his attention away from Connor and looked over at Detective Reed, concealing a slight smile. Fowler nodded pensively then shoved a finger in Hank's face.
"Ten minutes." He growled, then turned to the rest of the officers. "Spread out and search the area, make sure there's nobody left to make this shitshow any worse." He shouted. Afterward he glanced over his shoulder and spotted Alice. He cleared his throat nervously and shoved his thumbs into his belt, mildly ashamed of having cursed in front of a kid.
During the wait Gavin and Theo interviewed the androids. Mostly Theo since he made them less uncomfortable. Almost entirely Theo, as Gavin had tried to talk to North then been frightened into sulking in the corner.
Fowler spoke to Hank and learned about the possible evidence against Cyberlife that might be in Connor's memories. Overall, Hank was a jumbled mess waiting for Kamski to come back. His leg was bouncing and he was sliding the quarter from one hand to the other nervously. It was very warm by the time Fowler gave up on asking him questions.
Hank jumped to his feet the moment he saw Kamski emerge. The police all rounded on him and drew their weapons. He put his hands up and stepped to the side of the elevator.
"Is that Elijah fucking Kamski?" Fowler asked, Hank didn't care to answer, he was on his feet and staring intently at the open elevator door. He couldn't see inside from his angle, but he was hoping against all hope.
Connor walked shakily out, looking confused and distraught. A few officers recognized him and lowered their guns. Then the android caught sight of Hank.
For a split second, the man was terrified that this shiny, new-looking Connor would have no recollection of him, that he'd be just a machine like when they'd first met, but then Connor was practically running at him. They collided and Hank hugged him tight enough he hoped the android could feel a little bit of the crushing agony of the last hour. At the same time, Hank just wanted to keep feeling the light buzz, the soft breath, and the general aliveness of Connor as close as he could get it.
A moment later, they were joined in their hug by, unexpectedly, Simon. Connor started back, as did Hank, but North joined them a moment later and pried the android away.
"He's lost a lot of thirium." She explained.
"I'm so glad you're ok." Simon whimpered.
"He'll be back to normal soon." North reassured them, guiding the stunned android back over to Markus. The leader smiled with proud relief at Connor. Alice then latched onto Connor's leg, Kara stepping over to wrap her arms around his shoulders and pull him close as well. Chloe smiled from his side.
"I think I may like hugs." Connor muttered from inside Kara's tight embrace. She laughed and pulled away, holding his shoulder at the end of her reach and smiling brightly.
"Stop right there!" A few police officers near the door shouted suddenly.
"That will be Luther, I'd better go make sure they don't hurt him." She said, tugging Alice away as well. The girl waved to Connor and Hank as she followed Kara. They waved back.
"Great, he's alive, now you're all under arrest." Fowler grumbled.
The ride to the station was long and tense, as was the time spent in interrogation rooms. Hank refused to be separated from Connor, and the android was still shaken from his brush with death. Not only was he jumpy as all hell, but he was adjusting to his new body.
No one said much of anything about their Cyberlife takeover. Kamski was the only one who didn't clam up, instead he rambled endlessly about the future of android-human relations.
In the end, Connor connected with Theo and transferred every memory he possessed involving crimes Cyberlife had committed. Including, but not limited to, the attempted murder of Hank Anderson. It was a lot of data, more than enough, Fowler assured them, to force the company to call back their thugs and cease production of the replacement androids.
"It's too early to say, but without many other options, people might just have to get used to androids who feel." Jeffrey mumbled to Hank.
"It's easier than you think." Hank assured him.
They were all left in cells, but after almost an hour, some mysterious and inexplicable glitch in the system released the locks on the doors. While the rest of the station was busy in a debriefing, Hank and the androids slipped away.
When they emerged outside, the sun was rising, basking the snow-covered landscape in long shadows and golden light. The air was cool and crisp, and for that moment it seemed like everything might just turn out alright.
Fuck me. Hank thought to himself. He couldn't believe it, he was feeling almost optimistic.
Simon, Markus, North, and Chloe left for the factory, eager to inform the other deviants about the possibilities ahead. They half carried one another as they walked, but Hank could see that they were holding one another too close for it to be simply support.
Kara, Alice, and Luther took a car to search for a safe place to live in peace. Luther said he'd heard about a woman who might help them. Hank saw them hugging each other tightly next to their vehicle, eyes shut as they basked in the warmth of their little family.
Hank slid into his car, Connor joining him in the passenger seat, and they drove for home.
It wasn't a quiet drive home. There was the rumble of the engine and the rubber of the tires on the road. There was the rattling of the crap in the car and the groan of the heater as it blasted air through the vents. There was the sound of Connor breathing, and Hank breathing too. It was its own kind of music and Hank thought it was as good as any heavy metal he'd listened to.
They pulled in front of Hank's house. The roof was blanketed with snow and the windows were reflecting the bright light of the sun. Hank thought the place had never looked more beautiful. He stumbled up to the door and fumbled with the keys, barely managing to get them inside.
He blinked heavily and suddenly Connor was helping him into his bed. He was so fucking tired, it had been a long fucking week, he was going to sleep like nobody's fucking business. Sumo was showering him with kisses, so excited that the man was home safe and sound.
Connor sat on the edge of the bed and Hank grabbed his wrist, holding it tight.
"It's really you, right?" Hank asked.
"It's me." The android reassured him. "My arms match now though." He said. Hank snorted.
"When did you decide to back up your memories? Kamski said it took hours." The man wondered.
"At the factory, after you told me about Cole and fell asleep." Connor answered and Hank nodded in understanding.
"Did you figure out the emotion? The one you said you felt when I talked about Cole."
"It was love, obviously." Connor explained.
"Obviously." Hank repeated sarcastically, but warmth bloomed in his chest like a long sip of something sweet, hot, and rich.
"Get some rest Hank." The android insisted. Hank nodded, but clung tight to the other's wrist and asked him to stay.
"Someone has to walk Sumo." Connor said. Hank grumbled but closed his eyes, his exhaustion beating out his stubbornness.
Connor waited for his breathing to even out, then took Sumo out for a long walk in the morning light. He breathed and laughed and enjoyed the freshly fallen snow.
When he got back, he sat on the floor next to Hank's bed, rested his torso on the edge of the mattress, and took the man's hand. Sumo settled in at Hank's back. There they remained, Hank snoring into his pillow, Sumo shedding all over the sheets, Connor analyzing the particulars of the dirty plate on the bedside table. They rested in that moment, knowing it would pass, that many others would come after it, good and bad, but every one of them worthwhile, every one of them irreplaceable.
