Summary: [I, Robot] Movieverse. Interwoven into the tragic death of Alfred is Iris Robertson; chief mechanic at US Robotics. She quickly becomes a key player in the investigation as mysterious occurrences threaten to destroy the bonds between robots and humans.

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They had continued to Dr. Lanning's office. Undoubtedly, Detective's Spooner's blatant and rude attitude had seriously offended Dr. Calvin. In any other situation, Iris might have been amused by it...but the situation was pertaining to the death of one of the most important men in the world...a good friend of hers. She could only fidget in distress.

"Keep twenty-four hour surveillance?" Spooner inquired.

"Obviously. Company policy."

"Where are the feeds?"

"Sensor strips," gestured Calvin to the fluorescent lights lining the halls. "Everywhere but the service areas."

"Any particular reason they're not linked up down there?"

"It's incompatible with the equipment down there," Iris explained. "The steam builds up a bit down there so it ends up fogging the lenses and making the sensors short-circut."

"The strips link to our positronic operating core," Calvin pointed to the giant positronic brain, hanging vertically from the top of the building. Iris knew it well...many times she'd climbed atop the precarious foot holds to fix various glitches. "Wow," Spooner said dully, looking at the glowing machine, "Thermostat wasn't good enough. You went and gave the building a brain."

"She was actually Lanning's first creation." Spooner made a double take at Calvin. "She? That's a she?" He couldn't help shaking his head. "Definitely need to get out more."

Calvin merely ignored him. "Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence," she read off one of the strips.

"Viki?"

At the sound of her name, the AI immediately came into view, a cool voice projected through many microscopic holograph projectors. "Good day."

"Viki designed most of Chicago's protective systems." Calvin explained.

"I have decreased traffic fatalities by 9% this year alone." Not only that, but she had also helped in the diagnostics department, kept regular updates on the effectiveness on tools and machinery used by the mechanics, and provided logical insight at the occasional board meeting. Iris was so used to seeing her image projected everywhere at once.

"Ooh thanks," Spooner said, unimpressed, "Show the inside of the lab from one minute prior to the window break." Viki faded into a screen, but when she played the security tape it came out fuzzy. Viki faded back into view, sounding apologetic. "Apologies. There appears to be data corruption." Iris and Calvin looked at each other in surprised confusion.

"From the outside of the lab from the window break until now," Spooner requested. Viki flashed the screen, the images coming up clear and in fast-forward. Guards, the board of directors, and the investigation team came in and out until they all vanished, finally showing Spooner, Calvin and Iris. Iris flushed as she became immediately aware of her scuffling walk and hunched shoulders and tried to stand up straight. Spooner pointed out Calvin, who sat straight and upright.

"Wow now see you have great posture. You stand really straight and I'm slouching."

"Would you like to go inside now?" she sighed as Viki vanished.

"Oh sure after you."

They went inside, Iris immediately looking over where the control manual was in the room. She opened the hatch and found an auto scrambler jammed into the circuit. "Dr. Lanning must have stuck this in to mess up the video surveillance." Iris pulled it out, "It looks like it hasn't been touched in weeks...how long was this in anyway?"

"Long enough for Dr. Lanning to commit suicide apparently." Calvin answered as they walked around. Iris pocketed the scrambler and put it in her pocket. She looked around. Everything looked nearly untouched...just as she'd left it when she first saw Lanning that morning. Only change was that the robotic arm she'd spruced up that morning was hanging from the ceiling, a usual indicator that Dr. Lanning needed it untouched now. She grew heavy at the sight of it hanging. Was he trying to protect her from becoming a suspect?

"So Dr...Calvin," Spooner begun as he looked around for clues, "What exactly do you do around here?"

"My general fields are advanced robotics and psychiatry," she explained, "Although I specialize in hardware to wetware interfaces, in an effort to promote USR's robotic anthropomorphozation program."

"So, what exactly do you do around here?" Spooner repeated himself. Calvin looked back at him with a frown. "I make the robots seem more human." she summarized. Iris had to hold back a chuckle. She could barely say that last word...much less spell or explain it.

"Now wasn't that easier to say?"

"Not really, no."

Iris snickered a little at that, her first smile since joining the two of them. Spooner shot back a smile at the teen. "You said you're the chief mechanic right?"

"Yup," Iris answered, "I mostly just help with test runs on the 'bots and fix stuff. Just a tinker-tot."

"What were you last doing in here when you talked with Dr. Lanning?" Calvin asked.

"Just normal stuff," Iris shuffled her feet, "He lets me spruce up some slack parts, I tightened up one of the arms-hanging up there." She pointed to the said arm.

"How can you tell that's the same arm?" Spooner asked, looking up at the hanging objects.

"Oh Dr. Lanning never sets out finished parts on the shelves and stuff." Iris waved off, "If there's a piece that's all done he hangs it up. All the broken or faulty pieces are lying around."

"Yeah but how can you tell?"

"I've been in here tons of times." Iris looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Chief mechanic remember?"

Spooner simply left to look out the broken window, observing the former crime scene from the jagged hole. It seemed so much farther down from there. Iris had to look away, fiddling with the auto scrambler in her pocket. Spooner picked up a book from a chair by the window, a worn cloth bound volume from what seemed to be the early 1900s. "Hansel and Gretel," he read, looking dubious as he handed it to Calvin, "Is that on the USR reading list?"

"Not precisely." Calvin looked it over. Then, without warning, Spooner picked up a stool and rammed it straight into the other window, leaving long, sharp cracks. Iris and Calvin yelped as they jumped back. Spooner looked grim...he hadn't broken the window. "What in God's name are you doing?" she asked angrily. Iris was still shaking, walking back. She'd felt jumpy enough with Spooner having already interrogated her. She hurried over to the other side of the room, trying to catch her breath.

"Did you know that was safety glass?" Spooner asked, all seriousness now. "Be pretty difficult for an old man to throw himself through that don't you think?" Iris looked pale at the window.

"Well he figured out a way." Spooner merely curled his lip derisively. "Uh huh."

"Detective," Calvin said more insistently as Spooner faced the dark lab again, "The room was security locked. No one came or went since early this morning you saw that yourself. Doesn't this mean this has to be suicide?"

"Yep," Spooner agreed, scanning the room closely, before pulling out his gun. "Unless the killer's still in here."

Iris couldn't help looking over the robotic models, colorless and chilled to the core. From experience and having helped build the original models, Iris knew very well the strength and capacity of the robots. One was capable of smashing ten windows together in a few short punches. "You're joking right?" Calvin looked angrily at the detective's paranoid search as he scanned the shelves. "This is ridiculous,"

"But Dr. Calvin," protested Iris. She couldn't help siding with Spooner, "Lanning was a scientist, not superman. He couldn't even chip the window if he tried. And there's no sign of explosives."

"But think of the three laws!"

"Yeah I know," Spooner scoffed, searching the shelves, "The three laws. The perfect circle of protection."

"A robot cannot harm a human being," Calvin recited insistently, "The First Law of robotics." Iris looked out the window. Dr. Lanning had died right in front of the wall where those familiar Three Laws were engraved. How much would they mean now?

"Yeah I know I've seen your commercials," Spooner replied, eyeing the lit up blueprints for the NS-5, "But doesn't the Second Law state that a robot has to follow any law given by a human being. What if it was given an order to kill?"

"Impossible. It would conflict with the First Law." Calvin countered.

"Right but the Third Law states that a robot can defend itself,"

"Yes but only if that action doesn't conflict with the First or Second Laws," Calvin pressed on, trying to persuade Spooner away from his accusations.

"Well you know what they say." Spooner quoted, "Laws are made to be broken."

"No, not these laws. They're hardwired into every robot."

"But Calvin," Iris was definitely, if not a bit irrationally, on Spooner's side. No way was Dr. Lanning the type to kill himself. "We can't rule out the possibility that Dr. Lanning didn't implant the positronic brain with those laws."

"Why wouldn't he?" she argued.

"Well he was the type to experiment wasn't he?" pleaded Iris. She was only on the other side of the room, but no amount of distance could hide her obvious distress.

"A robot can no more commit murder than a human could..." Calvin thought for a moment, "Walk on water." Spooner was busy searching through a bin, gun at the ready.

"Well there was this one guy," he noted, "A long time ago-"

But he was interrupted as an NS-5, who had been hiding in the bin he'd searched, leaped out. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as he jumped through the air, knocking Spooner's gun out of his hand, spare parts and wires sent flying from his jump. Calvin put her arms over her head to shield from the debris but Iris found herself incapable of movement as it landed solid in front of her, looking her right in the eye as she was pressed up against the wall. She looked blank and shocked at the NS-5, who stared at her long and hard for a moment. Iris felt her breath constrict in her throat the pure intensity of it...seeing the robot stare at her in such a way was not something she'd expected. She was interrupted by the gun skidding across the floor to tap against her feet. The robot seemed to snap out of it, looking wildly at Spooner and Calvin.

"Iris get back!" Spooner called out. "Calm down detective," Calvin said, with a dismissive gesture. "The only thing dangerous in this room is you. Deactivate."

Immediately, in a smooth, fluid motion, the NS-5 stood up straight, abandoning its defensive stance. Shakily, Iris picked up the gun, cupping it uneasily in her hands so as not to accidentally fire. "Look, its fine." reassured Calvin, gesturing to the robot, "What you're looking at is the result of clever programming, an imitation of free will it's nothing more." Iris edged around it, still looking very suspicious. Something about it's earlier gaze seemed...too human. Too full of curiosity and...maybe...fear.

"How much of an imitation you gotta do about protecting our asses?" snarled Spooner, drawing a gun from his foot holster.

"Don't be absurd," Calvin scoffed, facing him, "You were startled by a jack in the box."

However this statement was punctuated by the surprised cry of Iris, who felt herself yanked back and with the detective's spare gun pressing into the bottom of her jaw. The NS-5 inexplicably had pulled her back and grabbed her gun, and locked eye contact with Spooner as Iris gasped in horror.

"S-Spooner," she wheezed from the tight grip, her fingers attempting to pry off the robot's arm in vain.

"Deactivate!" commanded Calvin insistently.

"Let him go," Spooner kept up eye contact, his voice low and serious. He knew what there was to lose.

"It's not going to hurt us or her!" Calvin snapped back, "I gave you an order!" she then demanded at the robot. Iris could feel his hand shaking slightly as he pressed it more firmly into her chin. "He's not listenin' right now lady," Spooner said severely. "And in case you haven't noticed he's got a gun to somebody's neck right now!"

"Viki seal the lab!" ordered Calvin hurriedly, growing panicked and angered by the minute.

"No Viki leave-" But it was too late as the door slid shut behind them. The robot looked between the shut door and the window, and made his break.

He thrust Iris forcefully at Spooner and Calvin, knocking them to the ground. Keeping a firm hand atop the head of the two women, Spooner fired several shots at the NS-5 who jumped and leaped out of the way before catapulting himself out of the window. Spooner stood, and made one last shot, this one more accurate as it snapped through the corded muscle on its leg. The robot then vanished out of sight, Iris hearing a loud crack as he hit the bottom. Ears still ringing, she followed the frantic Calvin and Spooner out the door, riddled with questions, one in particular racking the insides of her brain.

Just what was going on?