Murphy watched as the sun slowly rose into the sky, casting various shadows across the library floor. The light usually represented warmth, safety, and most importantly, hope. Murphy couldn't count how many times he and many other cops wanted the daylight shifts; it was less likely to get shot during the day than night.

But at the moment, Murphy didn't care if it was day, night, or a solar eclipse was going on. All he wanted was NOISE. He wanted to hear birds, dogs, cats. He wanted to hear the familiar sounds of horns honking, tires screeching, and even the colorful curses from various minorities. Children's laughter, incoherent muttering, anything that'll keep him from going deaf.

The silence, however, did give him an unusual amount of ability to think. Of what should he do next, where he should go, what to do if he got there…his plan was simple. Go to Detroit's sister city, Keyward, and go from there. Unfortunately, the only major drawback was Red. He couldn't leave her behind, but bringing her might slow him down.

The decision was easy. Red may not have book smarts, she does have street smarts. Murphy couldn't leave her behind. He himself was a father and knew the pain of a child when left alone.

That thought struck him in the gut like a knife. He may have an artificial stomach, but his mind reacted as if he did. Phantom limbs, he guessed.

Was a father…? Murphy didn't want to think about it. About his son and his wife. How many years has it really been? If it's been really as long as Red said…then that means his son was his age by now. His wife, if she was still alive, would be in her fifties.

If it had been longer than twenty years, then she is probably dead.

He was going in for a hearing. Yes, he did remember that. A few days earlier, he had cornered a perpetrator and was forced to kill him. Murphy's superiors thought he may have gone overboard and should've found a way to arrest the punk without blasting a hole through his chest. Murphy didn't think so. And with his video memory, he proved it.

Others, those who never saw crime in their lives, felt that Murphy still should've found a way to solve it peacefully. They were the ones who believed murderers should be given a second chance.

The argument went on for months. There were protestors, constant debates and Murphy was forced to go into court a few times. In the end, some nut job had pointed out that as a cyborg, Murphy wasn't technically human. Thus, he should not have the same rights as humans.

After that…everything becomes fuzzy. Murphy could not remember the outcome. He could not remember what happened next.

He could guess though. He lost.

Red stirred in her sleep, flipping over onto her back. Her shoulder wound was more obvious now in the light. Artificial limbs for the common man. Things have come a long way.

Being cautious, he stepped as quietly as his body would allow him, and made his way to Red. The girl slept so deeply Murphy almost felt guilty for waking her. He placed his giant hand on her and shook her. "Red…Red…"

Red did not stir. In a split panic, Murphy thought the girl to be dead when suddenly a small bottle rolled from underneath the blankets. Inside the clear plastic, Murphy could easily see the unknown vitamins and read off the title.

"Sleeping pills?" He stated dubiously. As Murphy thought he had figured out his current situation, something as ridiculous like this pops up.

Red didn't know how to read…so how did she know these pills, specifically were sleeping pills? The damn girl might have accidentally picked a bottle of cyanide or testosterone pills. Did she think these pills were candy or was there something more to it?

Either way, there was no way Murphy was going to be able to question Red about it. She was now in a medical induced coma and it could be hours before she woke up again.

Just the way he used to tuck in his son, Murphy tucked in Red. And without looking back, he set out to find real answers and other people.

Murphy decided he should go to one place: The Police Headquarters. If he wanted updated information, the police was sure place to go. He could find alphabetized files, photos, addresses and phone numbers. Everything he needed, they had. He'll go to Keyward with Red tomorrow.

Wincing at the sound of his own steps, Officer Alex Murphy stepped out into the outside world to find it the same as yesterday: Isolated. The cyborg has never admitted to anyone but his wife, that he was afraid of cats. When he was a boy of seven years, Murphy's father had brought home a stray kitten. The kitten, although cute and cuddly, thought young Alex to be a scratching post and used him often. To this day, (Up until he traded in his flesh for steel) the officer had long ugly scars on his legs and back. He pretended they were stretch marks.

Now as he walked through the dead city, he would welcome even the sight of that evil kitten and his evil family.

After what seemed an hour of walking, Murphy felt the grip of guilt settled in his artificial stomach. The smart thing to have done was brought Red along with him. Awake or not, this city was obvious no place to leave a little girl behind.

He was ready to turn around to go back to the library when suddenly his sensors beeped. Murphy stilled as he read that four assailants were quietly surrounding him. They carried large bulky weapons like clubs and crowbars and were slowly cutting off Murphy's exit.

As relieved as he was, finally seeing other signs of life, Murphy activated his tracking program. These persons were hostile and did not deserved the kind words the officer had for them.

One of them charged at him, raising the weapon high. Murphy's arm swing around and knocked the punk right on his ass. As soon as that happened, the other three joined the brawl. A piece of wood snapped across the cyborg's neck, and a pipe smacked against his right arm. Neither, of course, injured or even scratched the surface of the cybrog's armor. With another swipe, Murphy knocked the two men down without causing them much harm.

The fourth man did not attack him. Instead, he seemed to slump to Murphy's feet as if he fainted. When the officer looked down, he saw the man wasn't a man, but a teenager. Black hair and unbelievably handsome, the kid looked up at the cyborg, gave a wink and ran off. The damn kid had tied a rope around his ankle.

Before the officer had a chance to bend down and rip the rope off, the teenager and six others appeared out of nowhere, grabbed the rope and pulled.

Murphy went down like a house of cards. As soon as he was on his back, he was dog piled. Guys jumped down on his arms, his legs, and even held his head still. "Tie him down!" The teen was yelling on top of the pile. "Get his arms! Quickly!"

There were three men on each arm and Murphy easily threw them off. Men were scrabbling to keep him down while others were trying to beat his chest in with rocks or other blunt objects.

"Damn! Hold him! Hold him!" The teenager kept yelling.

Murphy gritted his teeth as he prepared himself to hurt these men. He didn't want to, but he had no other choice. He thought perhaps, stabbing them in the foot. The wound won't leave permanent damage, but it'll disable them long enough for Murphy to take control of the situation.

"Get off him! What are you doing?"

Red appeared in Murphy's view and she started pulling the men off by their shirts. She only used her right arm as her artificial left one laid limp at her side. "Leave him alone! Stop it!"

"He's an android!" The teen yelled back. "We need to destroy him!"

"He's not an android! He's a cyborg! He is just like me!"

Red was yelling, but nobody was listening. She was trying her hardest to pull the men off, though it was rather useless. She was a sixty pound kid trying to pull off a 140 pound man.

Murphy did not want to show gore in front of her. The decision, however, was not his to make.

Red kept tugging on the shirt of one of the men who held Murphy's head down. The man was getting tired of the girl bothering him and at the height of frustration (perhaps because he could not concentrate on holding Murphy down with her distracting him) he threw a hand out and shoved her.

The man had shoved her a bit too hard. Red fell back and her artificial arm, unable to control the movement, bent awkwardly behind her. There was a SNAP then a horrible CRUNCH. And when Red sat back up, she revealed her robotic arm had snapped off from the elbow down.

As a cop, Murphy had seen some pretty gruesome scenes. Murders, hit-and-runs, rape…and he was able to hold his stomach and his anger for every act of violence he's seen. However, if there was one thing he could not tolerate, was violence against children.

Had the cyborg waited for a second, he would have notice the teenager's face looking horrified at what happened to Red. If he waited.

Adrenaline reserves shot in and Murphy's brain went into a power high. All together, there were twelve men trying to hold him down. Murphy threw them all off with ease.

Those who managed to hang on, were grabbed and thrown. Those who tried to jump back on, met with a fist in their face. Within half a minute, Murphy had all twelve men, lying on their back and moaning.

The teenager, who was smart enough to back off, was the only one standing. His eyes shifted back and forth from the cyborg to Red, his legs twitching as if he was about to run.

Murphy read his body but wasn't fast enough to intercept. The boy dashed forward, grabbed Red around the waist, and ran off in the opposite direction.

"Damn!" Murphy cried, taking off after them.

For him, running was just as hard as walking. He only ran when he needed to and that did not happen very often. The weight of his armor restricted him significantly and he was only allowed small bursts of energy once in a while. If most of the criminals he had gone up against had chosen to run instead of fight, his arrest record would be very low. Luckily for him, the teenager was just as slow because of Red. The girl was heavy enough to give anyone problems and she fought against the boy.

Suddenly the teenager stopped in his tracks. He set down Red, and then twisted around to met Murphy. The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a pocket knife.

Murphy slowed and stopped. The knife wasn't a threat to him, his knuckle key was probably much pointier, but the boy decided to use it on Red…

"Put the knife down," The cyborg commanded. And then for good measure, he added, "punk."

The boy held Red's fleshy arm by the wrist and the girl struggled against him. "He's a cyborg, Robin!" She yelled. "He's human!"

"It just another one of their tricks!" The boy, Robin, cried to her. "It may look human, but it's just another one of their tricks!"

With that, Murphy realized the boy wasn't there to hurt Red. He was trying to protect her…from him. He decided to take a step forward.

Robin saw this and raised the knife. "Get back android! Get back!"

"I am not an android, I am a cyborg," Murphy stated, taking another step forward. "My name is Alex Murphy," He took another step. "I am not an 'it," Another step. "And if you don't release Red from your sweaty grasp, I'm going to be forced to hurt you."

Murphy took another step. Robin had sweat running down his face, looking determined and scared at the same time. His hand shook, the knife shook and when Murphy got a bit too close for comfort, Robin attacked.

His arm went in an upward arc, trying to slash Murphy's exposed flesh below his helmet. The cyborg blocked the knife with his arm. The knife, cheaply made as it was, broke in half against Murphy's huge arm and fell to the ground.

Murphy grabbed Robin by the shirt and lifted him off the ground. He brought the boy close to his face and hissed, "I told you I would get mean."

He dropped Robin none-too-gently, emphasizing his point. His eyes went to Red. "Are you okay?" He asked her.

She nodded, though she didn't look very happy. She was frowning, not crying, and she held her half arm gingerly. She sat on the ground because without her arm, her balance was off. "You didn't need to do that, Murphy," She told him unhappily. "Robin is my friend."

"I know. That's why I didn't hurt him," Murphy went on one knee, coming face to face with Robin. "Do you understand now? I'm not here to hurt you."

"It's Red I'm afraid for," Robin breathed out. He didn't try to attack Murphy again, though he had the perfect angle to do so. "And if you were smart, you'll stay away."

"Red is a young girl living by herself," Murphy stated confused. "Why would I leave her alone?"

Fear exploded in the boy's eyes, and he clamped a hand over the cyborg's mouth. "Haven't you noticed? Don't you understand?"

Robin drew close to Murphy's ears and hissed dangerously to him. "Red is the only girl in a city full of men."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

A/N: Who are the androids? Why do they want Red? What happened to Detroit? Will I ever give a character a gender based name?

All this and more…later!

Anyhoo, R/R!