Connor was always aware of what they said. It was always the same things, plastic, a toy, a fucking android, he heard them all. He would always stand there, unfazed by their threats. He would always stare at them as if they expected anything to happen anyway. Hank used to say all these nasty things to him, but after a series of unfortunate events, the two were now partners. Hank didn't see him as a piece of plastic, he saw him as his partner, his trainee, perhaps even his son (connor liked to think of it that way).

But something poked at Connor today, deep down something drove him crazy. He couldn't put his finger on it and it only stressed him more.

O0O

It was another busy day at the police station. Hank and Connor sat at their desks, looking through files of the suspects they want to investigate. But Connor simply sat there, staring at his hands. He closed them, squeezing them tightly, then opening them. Something was bothering him, clearly, but what was it? Why was he trying to figure it out? Why did this frustrate him? He ran a self-diagnostic so many times, trying to correct it, but it didn't correct itself. It's still there, lingering. What the fuck could possibly be on his mind?!

"You alright?"

Connor blinked and glanced at Hank, who was staring at him. Clearing his throat, he said, "I'm alright, Lieutenant."

Hank raised an eyebrow before he glanced back at his monitor, not speaking anymore. Connor tried to do the same, his movements stiff with an aggressive fix of his tie. Why was he like this? This morning, everything was fine. They arrived and sat down, an hour going by of their day. But this next hour drove Connor up a wall. A sudden drive like this only made him run another diagnostic (his system should have worn out by now). Still nothing, no problems with him. It only made him grind his teeth out of pure… Frustration?

"Lieutenant Anderson!"

The chief's call made Connor jump and he glanced at the chief.

"In my office."

Hank sighed. "Fucking hell… I'll be back, Connor."

Hank got up and sluggishly moved up the steps into his office, the glass door closing behind them both. Connor was alone. He looked down the feeling deep within only poking at him harder. Maybe a walk around the office would clear his head? Maybe calm down whatever was poking at him. Connor got up, more quickly then he wanted to, and scooted out of his desk, slamming the chair into his desk a bit too hard. It made a clang and he steadied it quickly.

He needed a drink.

Quickly making his way to the break room, he slammed the coffee cup under the coffee maker and turned on the brew. A normal black coffee. Connor hated coffee. What was he doing? The feeling didn't go away. Fucking hell.

Plastic prick.

There it was, another jab at him. Straining his ears at the coffee finally finished brewing, he took the cup off the coffee maker and set it down on the table.

Get me a coffee, dipshit.

Another jab. Maybe this was what's been on his mind all day? These taunts, these aggressive names? He didn't understand. He wanted to understand. Why did they call him a toy? Why did they call him all these nasty things? Even then, it's still happening. Toy, a piece of plastic, you name it. He heard them all. And yet, it seemed as if his system was starting to catch on to these threats as if an emotion was inbound.

Something was bound to happen.

"Hey, plastic fuck."

Connor glanced at the voice, his eyes dilating. It was an officer, along with a partner of his own. He took note of how plump this officer was and it only made him bite his tongue from saying anything rude.

"Move it." The officer demanded.

Connor didn't move, instead, he was stood there, glaring. The officer wasn't fazed. Instead, the human came forward and shoved him aside, unfazed by his glare. "I said, move it!"

The physical contact broke whatever patient he had. The cup in his hands slipping, splashing all over him as he collided with the floor. Heat seared on his skin and the android's LED started blinking red. His suit was ruined. His skin was hot. His eyes stung. He wasn't a plastic fuck. He wasn't a toy. His name was Connor.

He got up, his LED glowing a strong red. "My name is Connor."

The officer looked at him. "What?"

"I said my name is Connor." Connor's voice was hard but that didn't faze the officer, in fact, it made him scoff.

"Get the hell out of my face."

"I only take orders from Lieutenant Anderson! Don't talk to me like I'm some kind of… FUCKING MACHINE!"

His voice risen higher then he hoped and from behind him, a couple of detectives and officers turned their heads to his voice. He didn't realize it, but his breathing has increased, his fists clenched so tightly it turned his knuckles white. He was tired of this, tired of being called a toy, a plastic toy who follows every order. More words shot out of him.

He was angry.

"In case you aren't aware, you have NO right to talk to me like that!"

The officer merely drank his coffee, giving him a dead stare. "Yeah, and your point?"

"We're supposed to be equals!"

The officer laughed. "You think I'm going to listen to some fucking thing the government is saying?! They're a joke! That little display those androids pulled was a riot!"

Connor's hands flung onto the officer's jacket. "YOU THOUGHT THEM RISKING THEIR OWN LIVES WERE FUNNY?!"

Error. Error. Error. System overpowering. Error. Error.

Red flashed in his vision, his ears fading to static. He was screaming, he knew this, he could feel his throat straining, but he couldn't hear the words. There was nothing but static. Suddenly, he was grabbed, the android was torn away from the officer, who was now scared out of his mind. Connor only tried to fight, his LED now blinking a hard on red.

System overpowering. System overpowering. System overpowering.

Emergency shutdown initiated.

Powering down.

O0O

When Connor opened his eyes, he realized he was in his chair again still at the police station.

Stabilizing. . . . Stabilization complete.

He sat up in his seat, his eyes feeling heavy. His body felt heavy. His hands were shaking. What happened..? Then, he remembered. He was angry.

There it was. The word he was looking for.

Anger.

Was he angry? That was what anger felt like? He flinched at the sudden pain in his head and he placed a hand there, his LED flashing yellow. He never wanted to be angry again. That was awful. But, it seemed the damage was done because before he knew it, he was called into the chief's office and sat down, shrinking under the chief hard stare.

"Connor, what the fuck was that?" He demanded. "Do you have any IDEA what you could have caused?!"

It took him a moment to notice Hank next to him and he glanced at him. Hank didn't glance back. He could have tried to bust his ass out for him which Connor concluded it didn't go too well. It only made him squirm in his seat.

"No." He answered, looking down like a child getting scolded.

"You nearly clawed Officer Charles' eyes out! What the fuck is with you today, Connor?!"

Connor has guessed Hank told him everything. He swallowed and he looked up at him. "I don't know, Chief."

The Chief blinked at him. "What do you mean?"

"I-I just don't know… I was… Angry."

"Yeah, we know that part, Connor," Hank muttered next to him. "But why?"

Connor's brain froze. Why was he angry? He didn't know. He couldn't have known. But he did know. His words were caught. How could he explain something like this?

"Well… I… I just… I don't like being treated like that. I kind of just woke up like this."

The chief sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Connor, if you were Hank or someone else, I would have exploded. But you… You're still… How do I put this? You're still learning."

Connor looked down, feeling ashamed. His face flushed. He was still learning how to be like one of them. He never imagined it would be so hard, all he had to do was do his work and keep quiet but even then, that didn't work. He wanted to explain himself but the only few words that squeezed out of him were, "I'm sorry Chief."

He felt the expression on Chief's face soften. "That's alright. Everyone has bad days. But if you ever pull something like that again, you're going to get a firm talking to, man to man, you understand?"

Connor only nodded, not looking up at him.

"Dismissed."

O0O

Connor glanced at Officer Charles from across the office, guilt spreading to his face. Hank noticed and looked up from his paperwork.

"You going to go apologize to him, or what?" He said.

Connor glanced at him. "I-I just feel bad, Lieutenant."

"Understandable…" Hank sighed. "Charles can be... A bit of a dick, but, I'm sure he got the message after you almost clawed the fucker's eyes out." He yawned then, closing the folder. "I'm beat, want to head out to grab something to eat?"

Connor nodded, his LED glowing a soft yellow. Both closing down their monitors, they got out of their seats and as Hank made his way to the exit, Connor was slower. He couldn't miss saying sorry to Officer Charles. Slowing his steps, he took a glance at him, before he turned and quickly went up to him. Charles still wasn't fazed, the officer blinking up at him as he stood there.

Taking a deep breath, Connor spoke, "I'm sorry for how I acted earlier, Officer Charles."

Charles scoffed and glanced away. "Whatever... Don't you have somewhere to be…?"

Connor didn't feel angry anymore. His systems felt… relieved. He nodded and then, he went out the door to follow Hank to his car.

He never noticed Gavin watching him go, a smile on his face.