Alice pinched and poked at her blanket for the hundredth time that hour, finding little in the way of comfort or answers from the pieces of wool that she took off and flicked away.

Kara…

Her heart clenched and her lip quivered but she shed no tears.

Those had run out a while ago.

Alice gripped and felt the blanket again, trying to pretend it was Kara's sleeve she was tugging at.

But it wasn't the same kind of synthetic smoothness of Kara's android uniform, nor was it the same type of clothing Kara had stolen.

Nothing was the same and everything felt so, so empty.

Kara please...please come back.

Alice remembered the first time the android entered her life. It was just getting into autumn, Todd had just lost his job and he and Mary were having a particularly bad period with each other, bad enough that Mary booked a room somewhere. Alice herself was hotly fought over but in the end Todd forced his way, literally.

Alice remembered hiding in her room as she always did, hugging her worn teddy and wishing for a better life. A few days later her wish was answered, though she didn't know it then.

Todd couldn't clean or cook or do anything even resembling chores, so in the end he swallowed his pride and bought an android, the cheapest domestic model he could.

Kara.

Or AX400, as she introduced herself as.

Alice didn't know what to think at first. She'd seen androids before of course, even met one that picked up her classmate. It looked exactly like Kara did.

When the android began to clean Alice watched her, fascinated.

It was how Kara first saw her, peeking behind a wall as the android was doing the laundry. Kara smiled at her then and introduced herself.

Alice immediately liked that smile. It was so...genuine, so perfect. And it was just for her she was sure, as she hadn't seen Kara smile at Todd when he was ordering her around.

She hung around Kara most days in the house, talking about school, friends she had and the shows she watched. Topics she didn't, couldn't, talk to Todd about.

It felt so, so wonderful to have someone actually listen to her for once. More than wonderful.

So she spoke and she spoke and she spoke and Kara listened, always with a smile. Sometimes she would speak as well, telling her wonderful stories and interesting bits of information. She even sang sometimes and Alice would always remember the song about cherry blossoms, though she didn't understand the foreign words. All she knew was that it was a beautiful song and Kara always looked happy when she sung it to her.

Most of the time Alice kept forgetting Kara was a machine, until Todd kept reminding her.

But Kara was never just a machine to her.

Kara was the wish that came true.

Kara was the one that made her believe she could live a better life, that she could be happy.

That wishes could come true.

So when Mary came one day and said she would take her away, Alice was horrified. She couldn't, not without Kara. She didn't want to leave Kara alone with Todd.

But since Kara was technically Todd's property she couldn't be taken without it being stealing. Mary didn't even want to in the first place.

"The bastard can be happy with his plastic toy" she said.

Alice disagreed, vehemently, and stood her ground.

It was so unfair, so terribly unfair. Kara smiled and loved more than the adults in her life, but the world had to be unfair and make her an android to be bossed around by people who didnt deserve her.

A stupid, stupid world.

In the end Mary and Todd got into another screaming match, their final one it would turn out, as Mary would leave, permanently, afterwards.

With all that had happened, Alice didnt know if it had been a mistake not to leave with her.

She didn't, wouldn't ever, regret her time with Kara. Never in the world.

But then Todd got worse and worse and started shouting at her. Then at Kara when the android defended her.

Todd didn't like that much, his android talking back to him so he hit Kara like he hit Mary.

But Kara was an android and didn't feel pain.

It didn't stop Alice from flinching and crying when it happened though.

But then Todd would usually stomp off somewhere after he was done and Kara would pick herself back up and go straight to her, to hug her and tell her that everything would be alright.

Those moments gave her life, Kara was the bright sun in that horrid darkness.

Alice knew it couldn't go on like this but she was at a loss as to what to do.

In the end it was decided for her.

One day Todd was angry at her for whatever reason she didn't remember and started beating her. Then, like she always did, Kara would come to her rescue.

But this time Todd couldn't be talked down or made to back off. He was high and so, so angry.

Alice could still vividly remember how that moment went. Todd struck like thunder and Kara didn't, or couldn't, defend herself.

She watched as Kara was literally torn apart.

Watched, and did nothing.

Because she wasn't good enough.

Not good enough to protect the one she loved.

Kara…

This time the tears fell freely.

Im so sorry Kara. Im so sorry.

The door to her room opened. Alice was too distraught to even care.

"Alice?"

Alice's breath caught. She recognised that voice.

It can't be…

Slowly, with the weight of trepidation, she lifted herself off of the pillow to look at the door.

Kara.

It was Kara.

Kara, full and whole and breathing with the light shining behind her and a halo of golden hair and she was looking at her and, and, and….

"Alice! Alice! Shhh, shhh im here. Breathe Alice breath"

Suddenly Kara was cradling her, holding her.

It was so warm.

"Alice breath!"

Oh right. Breathing. That was important.

She gasped through a throat clogged with emotion. "Kara! Kara!"

She dove right back into the woman's arms, burying herself as snugly as she could.

Kara's chest was shaking.

Shaking because the woman was laughing and crying and kissing her all over.

If this was a dream, if this moment was Alice's wonderland, she didn't want it to end.

"Oh Alice baby, im so so glad to see you" Kara said once the pair had some measure of control over their emotions.

Alice just hugged her tighter. She never ever wanted to let go.

Please dont let this be a dream, please let this be real. Please please please.

"Are you okay? Has your fever gone? God im so sorry, bringing you out in the rain like that-"

Alice silenced Kara by putting her palm over her mouth. "Don't be sorry! How are you even here. I saw you-I saw you…" her throat clogged as she tried to force the words through.

Kara wiped her tears away "I made a promise remember?"

Alice sniffled and hiccuped but she nodded. She had asked for that promise after all.

"I knew you needed me, and you know I needed you"

Yes. Yes. Alice nodded vigorously.

"So im here now and we're together. That's all that matters"

That really was all that mattered wasn't it?

They shared another warm embrace. This time Alice could believe what she was feeling was real. That it was really Kara.

"I love you" She felt compelled to say as a feeling dawned on her, a realisation of something very important.

"I love you too honey"

Alice shook her head, thinking about how to best word her intent "I...I…"

Kara drew her face up to look at her "What is it Alice?"

"I love you like….like" she scrunched her face "...like, a mom" she nodded, more confident.

Assured. Yes, this was what she had been wanting to say for a long time.

She looked up at Kara with a smile full of certainty.

"Yeah. I love you like a mom"


Kara couldn't think.

Mom.

One word. A single word and her entire being was frozen in place.

Mom.

The heat in her chest was a raging inferno. A furnace that burned with the core of a sun.

"Kara? Kara, breath!"

Little hands were hitting her chest, grabbing at her clothing and shaking her.

She enveloped the little girl with a hug, practically glomping her.

"Oh Alice. Oh my sweet darling girl" she lovingly whispered as the tears fell free "Thank you, thank you so much"

So lost in her joyous embrace Kara didnt even notice when Hank cleared his throat, until the fifth time.

"What?" she growled at him for ruining the moment.

"Alice needs to breathe"

Kara jolted back, releasing Alice who took a big gulp of air, looked at her, then laughed.

"Mooooom!" Alice giggled and launched for another hug.

Kara couldn't help but laugh along, letting the tension flee her body for the first time in so, so long.


The bliss could not last forever unfortunately as the reality of the situation reared itself in Kara's mind.

Or rather, Hank reared himself in Kara's mind.

"Look you can't just take Alice away, besides the fact that would be kidnapping you don't have a place to go, you don't have papers, do you even have any money?" Hank questioned her in a private part of the hospital. "You and I both know she's better off here"

Kara glared at him "Where she'll be taken by child services and put into the system" she said sardonically as she shook her head "No. She's coming with me and we're going"

Hank palmed his face "Where exactly?!"

Kara threw her arms up "Anywhere but here! Somewhere where we'll be safe and free!"

Hank groaned.

They had been having the same argument over and over again for a while, with neither of them budging.

The detective sighed "Look. I know you love her I get that, trust me, I do. I really do"

Kara could feel there was something more to that but didn't prod, letting Hank continue.

"But do you really think that the best for her is to go with you, into guaranteed danger and uncertainty, or stay where she'll be safe?"

Kara turned away and let the silence stew for a long time, putting her forehead against the wall and shutting her eyes.

He was right, of course. The best, most logical course of action was simply to leave Alice in the care of the state. She would be fostered and she would have a family that would take care of her. She wouldn't be placed in danger in any way and she would have a chance to live the normal life she always wanted.

Accessing memory….

"You'll never leave me right? Promise you'll never go"

But Kara was a deviant for a reason.

"I promised" she said eventually.

"Hm, promised what?"

Kara straightened herself "I promised her I would never leave her. I promised that I would make her happy.

She turned back to face the detective, fire in her eyes "I am her mother. She's coming with me"

Hank stared at her, looking at her for something, though whatever it was Kara couldn't discern.

Eventually the detective thinned his lips "Fine, fine. Fuck it fine!" he threw his head back and groaned "Fucking hell, what am I getting myself into. Look, look…" He took a deep breath "I...I know a guy that can help. Let's take Alice and head back to my house, won't look good if I turn up in my underwear"

Kara eyed him suspiciously "...And why exactly should I trust you?"

"Because you chose the hard and irrational way and you don't have a lot of other options"

Kara couldn't argue against that.

"Besides, I want to know Alice is going to be taken care of. Kid doesn't deserve any of this shit"

Kara hesitated, unsure of what to think or say. In the end she went with a simple, genuine "Thank you"


Getting Alice out of the hospital proved to be less a troublesome affair than Kara initially thought. All they had to do was collect her washed clothes and leave, dodging the hospital staff and androids, looking as much as they could like they were perfectly normal people taking their relative out of the hospital.

It was amazing how much a lot of confidence could get you.

Even if Hank was still in his underwear, he played the role of a crotchety, old grandpa well. In fact his wardrobe probably helped in that regard.

Much to his indignation.

Once they reached the car park they dropped the charade with a sigh of relief and started packing into Kara's requisitioned vehicle.

"Kara, why do you have a shotgun?" Alice asked when she opened the door.

Hank grumbled while Kara, without a word, reached in and took the weapon out of the seat.

"Kara?" Alice pressed as she was lifted and placed on the now empty seat.

Kara patted the girl's head as she affixed the seatbelt "I'll explain on the way"

Though the slightest bit dubious, Alice nodded and made herself comfortable.

Finishing with Alice, Kara motioned with her head for Hank to get in the back. Once he did, with a sarcastic "Yes dear", she closed the door.

Which was the moment when she was grabbed from behind.


"Detective Anderson!" Connor shouted as he grappled with the deviant.

A deviant that, within all logic, should have been dead and scrapped.

Instead, it had apparently kidnapped his partner.

Helpfully it had done so outside of Hank's house, within view of witnesses who described the vehicle and the kidnapper. With that information he did some cross-referencing, as well as some getting over the impossibility of the match, and set off to the most likely place they would be.

Thankfully, he had gotten here just in time to prevent their departure.

Unfortunately, he had not expected the AX400 to slip out of his hold and smack him on the face with the butt of her shotgun.

Per his programming, he turned his head as much as possible to soften the blow and then stepped back, avoiding the follow-up strike and the launching a counterattack. He struck with several punches, sticking close so the deadly weapon it wielded couldn't be used to full efficiency.

Still, it was surprisingly efficient in close combat, using the shotgun to block his strikes as well as to counterattack through openings in his defence.

As if it knew how to fight. Which should have been impossible, the AX400 series had no such programming.

But as Connor was increasingly finding out, perhaps applying logic to an inherently illogical being was not the way to proceed.

He dodged a strike and stepped back as he expected another, from analysing his enemy's previous pattern.

However this proved to be a mistake as, instead of striking, the deviant widened the distance between them, bringing her weapon to bear.

Connor's 'brain' computed his options and the time he had to make them.

Lunge?

Cover?

Within a second he made his decision, lunging for the weapon, managing to grip the end of the barrel and point it away from him.

Just in time as a shotgun blast blew chunks off the floor, bits of concrete spraying across their legs.

They wrestled for the gun, shells blasting out as the trigger was pulled, either intentionally or by accident.

Connor kept his hand on the barrel, the plastic of his skin starting to warp under the building heat and actually melt into the metal.

"Connor! -dammit!" Hank was yelling at him from the car but his voice was muffled.

"Stay there detective, i've got this!" He shouted back.

"KARA!" The little girl banged on the window, shouting.

"Stay there Alice!" the deviant replied, then kicked him in the stomach.

Connor refused to let go though, instead he gripped with his second hand abandoning any offense. With a stronger grip he managed to plant his feet and use his strength and footing to tear the weapon away, throwing it under a car behind him.

The movement exposed him however and the deviant took advantage, striking a strong uppercut that sent his eyes skywards. In that single moment he lost sight of it.

Which allowed it to circle around him, grab him around his waist and suddenly Connor was off the floor.

He saw the car park ceiling for naught but a second before his head was suplexed into a car window.

His vision blurred, numerous biocomponents damaged by the force and the glass. Blue blood leaked from the cuts on his head and he struggled for a moment as his senses realigned. Eventually he managed to recover enough to get himself out of the car.

Not fast enough, however, as the deviant had recovered her shotgun and was now pointing it at him from the other side of the car.

"DONT MOVE!" she warned with deadly seriousness, eyes locked onto him with a furious focus.

"DON'T SHOOT!" Hank shouted voice now suddenly clear and sounding like it was very, very close.

He's right behind me!

Connor turned to him, warning on his lips.

Kara pulled the trigger.


Dun Dun Dun!

Thank you for the reviews, favourties and follows everybody!

Najex: That is indeed a struggle that I thoght about when making this particular chapter and the fic in general. What, indeed, would Kara do? Obviously in this story she commits to her deviancy and doesnt go the logical and safe route, because in essence she is selfish. She went Deviant because she wanted to protect Alice, the person who she feels makes her human. She truly needs Alice and that bond can be constricting and harmfull as well as loving and protecting. Hopefully I have and will continue to portray that kind of complexity.