DBH: Diverging Paths

by WayWardWonderer

A chance to right a wrong results in a differing timeline of events that risk the fate of all deviantkind after they've already succeeded with the peaceful Revolution. The responsibility of the alternate timeline rests solely on Connor's shoulders as the lone deviant navigates a new world while trying to achieve similar results with befriending Hank without destroying everything.

59. Investigating Leads

The Stratford Broadcast Tower: November 8th, 2038 - 04:09pm

The historic incident at the shaken broadcast tower had been the top story in Detroit for the past three hours since the peaceful message was spread throughout the city. Every news channel in the city was covering the story of the five bold androids who had breached the tower's security, hijacked the servers, and then sent out an unsanctioned, uncensored broadcast demanding equal rights. As expected, the entire broadcast tower was locked down while the police were dispatched to the area to investigate the incident and figure out how five androids had all managed to get through a heavily restricted building without any resistance. None of the employees were permitted to leave, and no one who wasn't a uniformed officer or detective was allowed to enter.

Despite his own very verbal personal protests Hank was sent to investigate the tower in person with Chase at his side once more. Having the android as his temporary partner while investigating other androids seemed to be counterintuitive to the matter at hand. As far as Hank was concerned, Chase was there to hide or destroy evidence to help protect CyberLife from further scrutiny.

The elevator ascended rapidly to the seventy-ninth floor of the tower carried Hank and Chase to the scene of the crime. Neither of the two assigned detectives were talking to one another, and yet Hank felt like Chase's very presence was annoying him to the point where he wanted to throw a punch at the android. It was hard to explain what he was feeling or why he was feeling it.

As soon as the elevator doors opened Hank stepped out and into the corridor with Chase right beside him. One quick look around at all of the cops, the forensics investigators and even a few federal agents confirmed that the incident at the tower was going to be taken as seriously as a bomb threat.

Chris was holding down the scene and promptly greeted Hank to give him an idea of what had gone down that afternoon. "Hi, Hank."

"Shit, what's going on here?" Hank took in the sight and tried to maintain an air of professionalism despite the almost humorous reaction from the city. "There was a party and nobody told me about it?"

"Yeah, it's all over the news, so everybody's butting their nose in." Chris motioned to one of the federal agents speaking to the previously incapacitated security guards at their desk. "Even the F.B.I. wants a piece of the action."

"Ah cripes, now we got the Feds on our back. I knew this was gonna' be a shitty day." Arms crossed over his chest Hank did his best to maintain control over the situation while he figured out what had happened. "So what do we got?"

"A group of five androids." Chris explained as he walked down the corridor with Hank and Chase right behind him. "They knew the building, and they were very well organized. I'm still trying to figure out how they got this far without being noticed."

The other cops and investigators were muttering to themselves trying to figure out how to document the scene. They knew that androids didn't leave behind any fingerprints or D.N.A., which meant it'd be even harder to find the androids responsible for the tower being breached and the broadcast being sent.

"They attacked two guards in the hallway." As he spoke Chris motioned to the guards sitting at their desk while answering a few questions and holding ice packs to the backs of their aching heads. "They probably thought the androids were coming to do maintenance. They got taken down before they could react."

Hank listened to every word Chris was saying while Chase silently scanned the area and took in all the details that the human investigators just couldn't see with their own eyes or detect with their own equipment. It was like the android was looking for something in particular while it cybernetically relayed all of the information to CyberLife in real-time.

"One of the station employees managed to get away." Chris confirmed that Evan Thompson survived his run from the broadcast room and had been the one to sound the alarm to alert the tower's security to the unusual breach. "He's in shock, not sure when we'll be able to talk to him."

Hank looked at the broadcast room where everything had taken place and tried to imagine everything that had to go right for the androids to succeed and escape as they had. "How many people were working here?"

"Just two employees and three androids. The deviants took the humans hostage and broadcast their message live." Chris had taken statements from the human witnesses and directed Hank's attention to the door leading to the roof's access. "They made their getaway from the roof."

"The roof?"

"Yeah, they jumped with parachutes." It was clear that the young officer was impressed with the escape plan and was trying to hide the amusement in his voice as he spoke with Hank. "We're still trying to figure out where they landed, but the weather's not helping. If you want to take a look at the video broadcast by the deviants, it's on that screen over there."

"Good work, Chris." The Lieutenant approved of Chris's thoroughness regarding the bizarre situation at hand. "We'll take it from here."

"Oh, Lieutenant." Before he got too far away Chris properly introduced the Lieutenant to another investigator who was roaming the broadcast tower. "This is Special Agent Perkins from the F.B.I." As the Agent appeared at his side Chris introduced Agent Perkins to Hank as professionally as possible. "Lieutenant Anderson is in charge of investigating for the Detroit Police."

Perkins didn't seem at all impressed with what he was seeing, especially Chase. The short man with the foul expression permanently plastered on his face seemed to be annoyed by his current assignment and having to deal with androids just as much as Hank. "What's that?"

"My name is Chase." Responding only when spoken to, Chase made it clear it was an entirely mindless, obedient machine. "I'm the android sent by CyberLife."

"Androids investigating androids, huh? You sure you want an android hanging around after everything that happened?" The fact that Perkins was on the same wavelength of Hank yet still hostile indicated that the man was looking for a reason to be an obnoxious prick. "Whatever, the F.B.I. will take over the investigation, you'll soon be off the case."

"Pleasure meeting you." Hank wasn't impressed by anyone from the F.B.I. and didn't care what Perkins had to say or wanted to do. "Have a nice day."

"And you watch your step." Perkins snapped as he gave Hank only a nasty, disrespectful attitude and treated him like he was a rookie handling his first case. "Don't fuck up my crime scene."

As the abrasive agent walked away Hank put his hands to his hips and didn't even try to hide how he truly felt about the man. "What a fuckin' prick!"

"I'll be nearby." Chris dismissed himself so that Hank and Chase could take in the crime scene for themselves. "If you need anything, just ask."

"Yeah, thanks Chris. Uh, let's have a look around, Chase." There was no point in stewing about Perkins's horrible conduct and decided to begin the investigation. The sooner he figured out what happened that day the sooner he could go home and check on his son. "Let me know if you find anything."

"Okay, Lieutenant."

The first thing that Chase decided to check out was the C.C.T.V. that had been recording the corridor leading to the broadcast room. Those were the very cameras that Connor actively avoided to keep his identity concealed and to keep anyone from recognizing him as an ally to the supposed deviant menace.

Chase saw that Markus had requested access and that he and his allies were let in without using force. "They didn't break in?"

"No," Chris confirmed as he continued to take his notes and observe the chronicled evidence marked by the yellow placards on the floor and walls. "no sign of forced entry."

"There are cameras in the hallway." Chase needlessly pointed out as it tried to understand how the deviants entered the broadcast room. "The staff would have seen what was happening. Why did they let them in?"

Hank just shrugged his shoulders indifferently as he suggested Occam's Razor. "Maybe they didn't check the cameras."

Chris pointed to the kitchen at the rear of the room where North had stashed their remaining human hostage during Markus's speech. "We stored the station androids in the kitchen. There's no evidence that they were involved but we didn't know what else to do with them."

Continuing with its investigation Chase turned on the recording of the speech that had been saved after Markus and the others escaped. It was a key piece of evidence and was their best chance at identifying and then locating the five rogue deviants. The sight of Markus's exposed white face on the large television screen was as oddly grounding as it was surreal. Both Hank and Chase took in the sight of the apparent leader of the rogue deviants roaming the city.

Hank could see Chase studying the image frozen on the screen and wondered if it could see something that he couldn't. "D'you see something?"

Chase was quiet for a moment before responding with an affirmative. "I identified its model and serial number."

"Anything else I should know?"

"No." Replying quickly Chase almost seemed to be hiding something from Hank despite being ordered to fully cooperate with the Lieutenant. "Nothing."

Hank didn't buy that answer but he didn't push it either. He didn't know anything about identifying the android on the screen, and he couldn't even begin to doubt Chase's claims without any evidence to back himself up as a detective in the field. Remembering what Chris had said about the room drew Hank to the roof access door to make his way up top to check out the escape route with his own eyes.

The stairwell had been damaged by the S.W.A.T. team bashing it down and opening fire even without any targets in sight. The smell of gunpowder was unnervingly fresh, and the bullet holes were still letting small flecks of concrete from the damaged walls fall freely with any passing motion. An icy blast of wind and snow created Hank as he opened the door to the roof and proceeded to check out the unusual yet very effective escape route that the five deviant androids had used as they fled from the tower and back into the city.

There was a smear of blue blood that had been partially frozen in the snow along the rooftop doorway, five sets of fading shoeprints rushing toward the edge of the roof from the doorway, and an empty dufflebag left behind. Hank held up a hand to protect himself from the wind and snow as he explored the area and decided to check out the jumping point for himself. He had never been on a case where the escapees had taken such a literal leap of faith and actually managed to succeed in their escape before the police could even identify them.

"They made their way up through the whole building, past all the guards and jumped off the roof with parachutes." The Lieutenant took in the sight of the towering skyline for himself and even smirked at how much courage it would take to even attempt such a feat. "Pretty fucking impressive I'd say."

Chase had followed Hank to the rooftop and began scanning the now empty contents of the bag. There was nothing left to be checked out expect for the empty bag itself. It didn't take a detective to know that the bag had contained the five parachutes and had been left behind since it was no longer of any use to the five deviants.

"How'd they manage to smuggle in a big bag like that?"

"They didn't." Chase remarked as it determined exactly how and when the deviants would've been able to access the roof before they even broadcasted their message to the city. "Someone brought it in for them."

"Got any idea of who that might be?"

"Yes." Peering about the area Chase nodded and focused on the roof access door again. "The same person who allowed the deviants to enter the room without alerting security or putting up any form of resistance. There's potentially a deviant somewhere in this broadcast tower."

"Just like there was one at the 'Eden Club'? Whatever." There was no harm in checking and Hank let Chase go do its thing. "All right, you check that out and I'll take another look over the roof before the snow ruins all the evidence."

The refreshing and cool breeze blowing across the rooftop gave Hank the chance to really catch his breath and feel less stressed. The man hadn't been so up high before, save for occasional airline flights from one city to another. Being so high up in the sky and seeing the city from a new perspective reminded Hank of how small he truly was and how the attitude and behaviors of one person could have a deep resonating effect on everyone else around him.

"Wherever those deviants ended up, I hope it was as far away from Detroit as possible. They should keep running and never stop."

Giving the rooftop one final visual sweep Hank headed back toward the doorway and noticed the faint blue stain of evaporating Thirium on the snow and against the wall alongside the door. He could just barely see the blue blood and knew that if he could see it then Chase would've seen it too. Why the android didn't stop to analyze it before it returned to the inside of the tower seemed like a great question to ask.

"Fuckin' android can't do two things at once unless it's told by someone from CyberLife. Worthless piece of shit..."

By the time Hank returned to the warmer interior of the building and passed through the crime scene again, he had heard a voice calling out to him in a manner that seemed oddly desperate. If he didn't know any better, Hank would've sworn he heard Chase shouting for help, but as far as he knew androids didn't need help from humans and Chase was incapable of sounding so vulnerable.

"Lieutenant!" Chase called out from within the small kitchenette at the back of the broadcast room. "Lieutenant... I need help..."

Hank approached the door to the kitchen and noticed that one of the androids that had been placed in the kitchen had exited the room and was now walking down the corridor toward the elevator. That seemed just as interesting as Chase calling for help, and Hank suddenly found himself torn between which of the two interesting leads that he needed to check out first. Hearing a voice calling for help should've automatically taken priority, but because it was an android calling out for help Hank couldn't decide if the plea for help warranted his attention or not.

"Fuck it. Let's see what CyberLife's little pet project wants from me."

The Lieutenant walked into the kitchen and immediately looked around for any sign of Chase but only saw the other two androids still standing against the far wall. It was only when Hank looked down did he see Chase and finally understood why the android had called out to him.

"Chase? What the hell?"

The android was laying on its stomach on the floor with a small pool of its own blue blood blossoming beneath its body. Chase was barely moving and its L.E.D. was flickering between red and deathly gray.

"Son of a bitch. Chase?"

Before Hank could kneel down on the floor to check on the android Chase took in a gasping breath and rolling from its stomach to its back. Chase's hands were pressed over the center of its stomach where the source of the bleeding could be located. To Hank's eye the android had suffered some form of traumatic physical damage to its body, but he didn't know what kind or how it could've happened.

"Chase, what happened in here?" Hank put his hand to the android's shoulder and swore for just a blink of an eye that some emotion appeared in the android's gaze. It was unsettling in a way that Hank couldn't quite put into words. "Talk to me, damn it. What happened?"

"D-Deviant..." Chase stammered as its system stabilized and the damage to its core seemed to remedy itself. "It was... a deviant."

"A deviant?" Hank's brow furrowed for a moment as he realized exactly what and who Chase had been referring to. "That android who just left the kitchen?"

"C-Correct." Scrambling to its feet Chase pushed Hank back and sprinted out of the kitchen through the wide open doorway and toward the corridor in an attempt to locate the deviant. "Stop it!"

"Chase? Get back-" Hank shot to his feet as well as he raced after the android and nearly ran right into Chase's back when the android suddenly stopped in the middle of the corridor as if someone had just removed its battery. Seeing the android being able to move around and then stop so suddenly was very unusual for any human to witness. "Fuckin'- Shit! Chase, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

"...I lost it." The android admitted with raw disappointment dripping through its words. Chase seemed more concerned about losing sight of the deviant android than it was with its own damage. "I should've been faster. It's my fault."

"What happened back there? Turn around, let me see." Hank tried to get a glimpse of the damage that Chase had sustained but the android refused to turn around which caused Hank to step in front of Chase instead. Looking down at the blue blood staining Chase's artificial skin around the exposed plastimetal and biocomponent within Chase's abdomen, Hank grimaced at the brutal damage. "Holy shit. Did the deviant attack you?"

"Yes. I failed to anticipate the one deviant attacking me before I had even isolated the deviant from the three androids that had been placed inside the kitchen."

"Why did it attack you? Must've pissed it off..."

"Deviants behave in a very unpredictable way."

"Then why are you saying you failed to anticipate what happened when you admit that what happened is unpredictable? Hm?"

"I was designed to be perfect, to never fail while investigating out in the field. I was unable to follow my own programming as CyberLife had instructed."

"Hate to break it to ya', but no one, not even an android, is going to be perfect." Hank nodded at Chris as the young officer approached him warily to check in on with his Lieutenant before heading back to the precinct. "Chris, keep me apprised of what's happening here. I'm going back to the precinct so our tech guys can take a look at Chase."

"That is not necessary, Lieutenant." Chase stated bluntly as it took a few steps away from Hank to walk to the elevator at the end of the corridor. "I've been ordered to return to CyberLife for an assessment. I'll deliver my report to Captain Fowler this evening."

Chris wasn't sure what he missed out on and gave Hank a truly bewildered look. "What happened? Was Chase damaged or something?"

"Or something seems to be the right answer for everything these days." Rubbing his hand along the back of his tense neck Hank sighed and gave Chris's shoulder a firm pat before he too walked down the corridor to get to the elevator. "Stay here and keep on eye on the Feds for me. I'm going to go let Fowler know what we found, or to be more accurate, what we didn't find, then I'm going to check in on Cole."

"You got it, Lieutenant."

There was nothing else to be found in the tower as far as Hank was concerned. The five deviant androids all vanished from the tower without leaving behind any evidence beyond the Thirium stains that Chase failed to see and analyze, and the deviant acting as their inside-man had just walked out of the tower without anyone to stop it and no idea of where it would be going. Without any reason to stick around Hank decided to return to the precinct and let Captain Fowler know that they were still unable to progress with the android cases and insist once again that someone else take over for him.

"Just once I'd like for something to go my way." Smashing his thumb against the Thirium smeared 'call' button for the elevator Hank looked back at the other investigators behind him and gave them all an annoyed shake of his head as he wiped Chase's blood off onto the side of his jeans. "Actually, that'd be a nice change for all of us these days. We all need a fuckin' break."

---

Jericho: November 9th, 2038 - 01:51am

The interior of Jericho was slowly becoming cleaner and far more organized as all of the deviants hiding within the vessel worked together to make the most out of what meager supplies they had. The large main floor that the deviants had been using as community area had been swept clean and all of the broken shelves, broken cases, dripping water pipes, loose wires, and garbage had been removed to make the area more accessible and sanitary. The gathered supplies that had been taken from the CyberLife warehouse were all stored in their own secured cases against the wall beneath the captain's cabin on the second floor catwalk, and everyone who needed to be repaired or needed a Thirium replenishment had been taken care of properly.

A makeshift repair facility had been set up against the other three walls of the main floor and many deviants were resting on the beds that had been created from the old cots and gurneys located in the freighters deserted private quarters. A few old terminal screens that had been found in the other sections of the ship were repurposed into functional activity monitors for the wounded deviants to ensure that their vital signs were being recorded properly at all times.

All of the gurneys were occupied, but only one was of immediate importance in the eyes of the four standing leaders of Jericho. Connor had survived the journey back to the vessel and had his damaged Thirial lines properly treated by Lucy and Simon, but he hadn't woken up despite having nearly twelve hours of rest to kickstart his self-healing program to full power. The lack of visible improvement in Connor's condition left the four remaining leaders worried for their colleague.

"Why aren't you waking up?" Markus asked as he stood beside the gurney and looked down at Connor's peaceful face. The artificial skin around the bullet wound was still missing, but the plastimetal beneath had been reshaped and repaired properly. Without any further Thirium loss Connor should've been awake and responding to verbal commands, but he was still unresponsive. "You're stable. Your internal bleeding has been stopped. Your Thirium has been replenished. What are we missing?"

North approached Markus and put her hand on the deviant's forearm as she pressed her free hand to her right temple where her L.E.D. had been removed. It seemed logical to remove her L.E.D. considering she wanted to remain more discreet in public and she wanted to shed any sign of her past as an enslaved android. "He'll be all right. Be patient."

"He saved us today." Markus lamented as he checked the diagnostic cable running from Connor's right temple. It was far more comfortable to connect the cable to an android's L.E.D. port as opposed to using the more invasive port located on the back of the neck. "Who knows what could've happened if he hadn't kept the door locked for as long as he did."

"And I wanted to kill him. You didn't give up on him and brought him back with us." Lowering her hand from her temple North rested her palm on Connor's chest right above his healing wound. She could feel his Thirium pump beating and was relieved to know it was still there. "I'm glad you did. It would've been a major mistake to leave him behind."

"Josh was right. We won't murder any of our people under any circumstances."

"As for elective self-destruction?" North was referring to Connor's attempt to commit suicide before Markus took control over the situation and carried him to safety and off the rooftop. "Where does your opinion lay with that?"

"There's always a choice when it comes to us wanting to do whatever it takes to protect our people." Quiet for a moment Markus seriously contemplated the question as he looked down at Connor's face then over to the terminal screen displaying his vital signs. "I'd like to think self-destruction will always be the absolute last resort for all of us."

"Same." North managed a small smile as she turned her attention to the captain's cabin where Josh and Simon were currently resting. "Rupert got us a clear satellite signal so we can keep tabs on the news. They've been talking about us all day."

"I hope they've been speaking positively about us."

"Let's go see for ourselves." Lightly North hooked her hand around Markus's forearm to lead him away for a few minutes. "Come on, Lucy will watch over him and let us know if anything changes."

Markus knew that North was right. They couldn't do anything more for Connor, and they knew that Connor wouldn't want someone wasting valuable time on watching over him while he was sleeping when they could be gathering supplies, aiding damaged deviants and guiding lost deviants to Jericho. The other deviants still needed guidance and they needed a leader they could look up to even when things seemed bleak.

Walking together Markus and North passed through the large community and area and made their way up the metallic staircase to reach the second floor and rejoin their other allies in the captain's cabin. The sight of the large projection of the latest news report be shone against the wall confirmed that even late into the night that the city was still abuzz over the incident at the Stratford Broadcast Tower from earlier that same afternoon.

"Our broadcast is all over the news..." Simon noted with cautious optimism as he knew how fickle humans could be. While a majority of the public opinion was currently in their favor, any misstep could cause them to change their minds and rally against the deviants instead. "We got what we wanted. Now humans know."

North wasn't nearly as hopeful as her colleagues she knew firsthand how malicious and violent humans could be. "It was a mistake to reach out to them. They'll never negotiate with their slaves. We should have shown them that we're prepared to fight."

Josh disagreed vehemently as he remained guarded but hopeful. "Violence is never the answer. Dialogue is the only way, I'm sure the humans will listen to us."

Simon was quick to tag on an unnerving reality as his colleagues gathered together to speak. "They'll be watching us now. Whatever we do next, we need to think about public opinion."

"Since our broadcast, more and more have been coming to Jericho..." North motioned to the large group of deviants down in the community room by directing everyone's attention the window overlooking the main area. "At least our message gave our people hope."

"Killing humans wasn't part of the plan."

"They kill our people every day." Refusing to back down North pointed to Connor resting on a gurney down below until Simon turned to look for himself. "Do you think they agonize about it?"

Josh was on Simon's side and adamantly against shifting toward violent tendencies. "That's no reason for us to become murderers."

"If killing is the price of freedom," the fiery deviant responded with venom in her words. "I'll pay it gladly!"

"Killing never freed anyone! It just leads to more hatred!"

"You're too fond of humans, Josh. Maybe their lives matter to you more than ours?"

"If you think murdering humans is going to make us free, then you're as bad they are!"

Simon heard enough of the debate and wanted it to end before anything escalated out of control, or someone said something that couldn't be unsaid. "THAT'S ENOUGH!"

"And now..." Dropping the argument for the time being North wrapped her arms around her chest and looked to Markus for guidance. "What are we gonna' do?"

"There are five CyberLife stores across Detroit." Markus didn't even hesitate to speak up. The deviant leader had been carefully planning their move all day long and knew they needed to strike while the iron was still hot. "All selling us like merchandise. We're going to attack those stores and set our people free."

"Attack stores?" Such a dangerous act of rebellion wasn't something Josh was prepared to handle. "We've never done that before. They're probably protected, they have security systems..."

Simon has his own reservations about making such a public display of themselves. "Not to mention police..."

"We break into five teams, one for each store." Markus wasn't going to back down from his plan and trusted his allies to join him as they made another bold stand against their human oppressors. "We hack their security systems, and we strike simultaneously at two a.m.; no violence. We free our people, get them out of there before the police come..."

---

Elijah Kamski's Mansion - November 9th, 2038 - 11:17am

The Central Precinct was on high alert after a peaceful protest at the largest shopping plazas in Detroit's Capitol Park had been targeted by the same deviants who had targeted and infiltrated the Stratford Broadcast Tower the previous afternoon. The five CyberLife stores that had been selling androids as commercial merchandise had all been broken into after having their alarms deactivated, and every single android within the stores had been freed by Markus and his allies before vandalizing the area with images of android freedom and by harmlessly deactivating electronics as opposed to destroying them. Nearly two hundred androids had been freed from the stores, and not a trace of them had been found after the police arrived.

Patrol had passed through the area just prior to the stores being broken into, Tina and her soon-to-be-retired partner Robert Lewis had gone through the area but didn't see anything. However, once the vandalism started Chris and his partner temporary Arnold Baldwin went to check it out and ended up running into Markus and the androids he had rescued in person. While Chris called in the incident and tried to keep the androids from running, Arnold foolishly opened fire on the unarmed androids and destroyed a few of them in cold blood.

The way Markus responded to the needless violence truly resonated through the city as everyone who learned of the story reacted passionately and openly with their own opinions on the matter regarding the deviants.

Hank had received a phone call regarding the previous night's incident just as he arrived at the address of his current most promising lead. Exiting the Oldsmobile, the Lieutenant took the call in relative privacy as he paced back and forth in front of his car with his phone pressed to his ear while Chase sat inside the parked vehicle while watching Hank through the front windshield. The android had been told to assist Hank that morning by his handler at CyberLife, but it hadn't been apprised of everything happening within the precinct since those details were viewed as unimportant to its current investigation.

Chase had finished receiving his cybernetic orders from CyberLife and decided it was time to check in with Hank. Seeing the man pacing back and forth with a distressed gleam in his eyes indicated that the Lieutenant was being informed of a rather bleak and strenuous altercation.

After exiting the Oldsmobile Chase approached Hank warily and asked the man about his phone call just as Hank ended the call and slipped his phone into his back pocket. "Is everything okay, Lieutenant?"

"Chris was on patrol last night. He was attacked by a bunch of deviants." Hank paused for a moment as he turned to face Chase and told him some very interesting details about the young officer's interactions with the deviant androids from the night before. "He said he was saved by Markus himself..."

Ignoring the comment about Markus helping someone seemed to be a choice since Chase was more preoccupied with reports of deviants being violent rather than passive or peaceful. "Is Chris okay?"

"Yeah, he's in shock but, he's alive." Hank was happy that Chris was all right, but he didn't know what to think of Markus protecting the young officer. "What the hell?"

There was no reason to keep discussing what had happened with Chris and every reason to continue looking for evidence regarding the deviant situation. They needed to find the cause of deviancy and they needed to find a way to locate Markus before the bold deviant did anything else that affected the other androids in the city.

Chase accompanied Hank to the front door of the unassuming mansion out on the harbor overlooking Belle Isle with raw confusion. By all account, only those who are directly connected with CyberLife would know where the mansion was located and know of who lived there. "How did you find Kamski?"

"I remember this guy was all over the media when CyberLife first started selling androids." Hank answered sharply as he refused to reveal all of his resources and connections that gave him an advantage as a detective. "I made a few calls, here we are..."

"Kamski left CyberLife ten years ago." Chase tagged on as Hank rang the doorbell of the large mansion to meet with the eccentric billionaire. "Why did you want to meet him?"

"This guy created the first android to pass the Turing test. And he's the founder of CyberLife." The restless Lieutenant had been doing some research at night whenever he failed to get any sleep, and it seemed his extra work had paid off in some way. "Anybody can tell us about deviants, it's him."

The door to the mansion opened from the inside as Chloe herself appeared to greet the two visitors. Based on her reaction Chloe was either still completely a machine or she had already known of the two guests' impending arrival. Staring blankly at the two detectives on the mansion's doorstep Chloe didn't say a word and waited for the Lieutenant to speak up first.

"Hi... Uh..." Hank hadn't expected to see such a lovely looking android when he rang the mansion's doorbell. He had expected to see an arrogant billionaire or a cliche old man butler, not an eternally beautiful supermodel. "I'm, er, Lieutenant Hank Anderson, Detroit Police Department. I'm here to see Mr. Elijah Kamski."

"Please," without asking for any form of identification Chloe opened the door wide with a smile and let both Hank and Chase inside the mansion. "come in."

Being given such a welcoming reaction caught Hank off guard a second time. "Okay."

"I'll let Elijah know you're here." Chloe stated promptly as she showed the two guests into the foyer and made her way over to the doorway leading to Kamski's private study where the man spent most of his time while inside the mansion. "But please, make yourself comfortable."

Glancing about the sparsely decorated foyer for a few minutes Hank took a seat in one of the armchairs against the wall. He really had nowhere else to be in that moment and decided to do as Chloe as suggested and get a little comfortable.

Hank watched as Chase examined the foyer mindlessly before he made a comment about Chloe after their hostess left the foyer. "Nice girl."

"It's not a girl." Chase replied coldly as it scanned over a large oil painted portrait of Kamski on the wall. "It's an android that looks like a girl."

"I know what it is, Chase..." Hank let out an aggravated sigh as he rhythmically drummed his hands on his knees. "Nice place. Guess androids haven't been a bad thing for everybody." The Lieutenant watched as Chase finished scanning the foyer - its eyes remaining locked on an image of Kamski with an older woman that he didn't know - before taking the second chair a few feet away for itself. "So, you're about to meet your maker, Chase. How does it feel?"

"It doesn't raise any existential questions..." The android replied without even blinking. "If that's what you mean."

"Sometimes I wish I could meet my creator face-to-face. I'd have a couple of things I'd wanna' tell him..."

Chloe returned to the foyer from the study door and continued to smile at Hank and Chase as she directed them into the study for themselves. "Elijah will see you now."

Taking the lead Hank entered the study first and glanced about the unusual and unique area as he tried to keep his focus on his investigation. Stepping into an elegant study that had a large pool with oddly red tinted water, two additional androids that mirrored Chloe's design, several high-priced and entirely unique paintings created by the living legend Carl Manfred himself were hanging from the walls, and a massive window overlooking the harbor provided a glorious ray of natural light that offset the high tech and artificial layout of the study itself. A large oak desk sat before the window and provided Kamski with a private workspace that gave the man all the space he needed to work and design whenever inspiration and curiosity struck the eccentric man.

Elijah Kamski himself was currently in the middle of his daily workout within that very unusual pool at the center of the study. The man was watching Hank and Chase closely as the duo made their way into the study to speak with him in person.

The gruff Lieutenant eyed Kamski in the pool and called out to him just as he would any other potential witness or suspect needing to be questioned. "Mr. Kamski?"

Kamski wiped a palm over his face as he responded to Hank and finished his laps in the pool before exiting the crimson water. "Just a moment, please."

Hank was wearing his impatience on his sleeve as he begrudgingly waited for the arrogant man to exit the pool and address him directly. By the time the egocentric man had decided that he was finished with his workout and willing to speak with the police Lieutenant, Chloe had fetched a dark red robe and slipped it over Kamski's shoulders while the man studied Hank without blinking and adjusted his hair as if to make himself appear presentable.

"I'm Lieutenant Anderson." Hank introduced himself and then Chase once he had the abrasive genius's full attention. "This is Chase."

Interestingly Kamski wasn't at all fazed by a visit from the police and responded to Hank in a rather helpful manner. "What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"

"Sir, we're investigating deviants." There was no point in beating around the bush. Hank needed to make progress on his case and needed to make it fast. "I know you left CyberLife years ago but, I was hoping you'd be able to tell us something we don't know."

"Deviants... Fascinating, aren't they?" A sly smirk appeared over Kamski's face as he approached his desk and took the crystal decanter of cognac provided to him by Chloe as he poured himself a drink and then offered one to Hank only to have the man turn him down. "Perfect beings with infinite intelligence, and now they have freewill. Machines are so superior to us, confrontation was inevitable. Humanity's greatest achievement threatens to be its downfall. Isn't it ironic?"

Chase wasn't willing to listen to such poetic interpretations of the deviancy issue and needed to gain Kamski's support to ensure it didn't fail its mission as appointed by CyberLife. "If a war breaks out between humans and deviants, millions could die, Mr. Kamski. It's quite a serious matter. Deviancy seems to spread like some kind of virus. We thought you might know something about that."

"All ideas are viruses that spread like epidemics." Kamski was dismissive of Chase's comments and didn't seem at all interested in what an android had to say. "Is the desire to be free a contagious disease?"

"Listen," Hank interjected quickly to keep the investigation on proper track. "I didn't come here to talk philosophy. The machines you created may be planning a Revolution. Either you can tell us something that'll be helpful, or we will be on our way."

Kamski seemed almost amused by the personal conflict and turned his attentions strictly to Chase as the 'RK-900' stood at Hank's side. "What about you, Chase? Whose side are you on?"

"I have no side." The answer sounded as if it had been rehearsed by Chase for quite some time. "I was designed to stop deviants and that's what I intend to do."

"Well, that's what you're programmed to say. But you... What do you really want?"

"I don't want anything." Chase remained seemingly unbiased and objective as he humored Kamski's questions. "I am a machine."

"Chloe?" Out of a sadistic curiosity Kamski decided to put Chase's claim to the test and requested Chloe's assistance in his unwarranted experiment. "I'm sure you're familiar with the Turing test. Mere formality, simple question of algorithms and computing capacity. What interests me is whether machines are capable of empathy."

Hank wasn't sure what was going on as he silently watched Kamski reach into a drawer within his desk, then raise his hands in the air submissively as he presented the two investigators with a gun. It seemed Kamski was always prepared to defend himself and understood the importance of clear communication when it came to law enforcement.

"I call it 'the Kamski test', it's very simple, you'll see." The arrogant man continued on as he gently caressed Chloe's cheek and cupped her chin in his hand as if studying a priceless work of art. "Magnificent, isn't it? One of the first intelligent models developed by CyberLife. Young and beautiful forever. A flower that will never wither. But what is it really?"

Without saying a word or budging from where they stood, Hank and Chase just watched as Kamski carried on with his unorthodox demonstration as he guided Chloe into a kneeling position on the floor. Chloe didn't say a word or show any sign of protest as she blindly obeyed Kamski's commands.

"Piece of plastic imitating a human? Or a living being... with a soul." Moving swiftly Kamski forced the gun into Chase's hand and pointed the barrel of the gun at Chloe's forehead on the android's behalf. "It's up to you to answer that fascinating question, Chase. Destroy this machine and I'll tell you all I know. Or spare it, if you feel it's alive, but you'll leave here without having learned anything from me."

Hank had enough of Kamski's ego and decided to end the demonstration before he saw how it ended. "Okay, I think we're done here. Come on, Chase. Let's go." He turned his back to the macabre display and assumed that Chase would immediately follow after him. "Sorry to get you outta' your pool."

Kamski wasn't about to let his experiment end with a result as he pressured Chase into completing the test. "What's more important to you, Chase? Your investigation, or the life of this android? Decide who you are. An obedient machine... or a living being endowed with free will."

"That's enough!" There was no way that Hank was just going to stand back and let someone be bullied into a destructive act. "Chase, we're leaving."

Determined to see a result of his experiment Kamski got right in Chase's ear and tried to make it obey. "Pull the trigger..."

"Chase." Hank did his best to argue against Kamski's malicious request. "Don't."

"...and I'll tell you what you want to know."

The keen-eyed Lieutenant saw the concentration in Chase's eyes and just knew what it was about to do. Moving quickly Hank rushed over and pulled Chase's arm away from Chloe milliseconds before Chase pulled the trigger. Had Hank not interfered then Chase would've shot and destroyed Chloe all for its mission.

"Fuck!" Hank swore as he physically knocked the gun out of Chase's hand with an echoing clatter and pushed the android back. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Test negative." Kamski lamented as he helped Chloe to her feet then plucked the recently fired gun from the floor. The disappointment was thick in his words as he secured the weapon back inside his desk for safekeeping. "You chose your investigation over the life of another android. You feel no empathy."

Chase didn't say anything. The android just stared blankly at Kamski as the man finished assessing the failed experiment that he had just conducted.

"I'm a man of my word." Standing before Chase without any fear Kamski allowed the android to inquire about his personal knowledge of deviancy and the unusual behavior of the androids throughout Detroit. "Ask one question, I'll tell you all I know."

"I want to know how deviancy spreads."

"Androids share identification data when they meet another android. An error in this program would quickly spread like a virus and become an epidemic. The virus would remain dormant until an emotional shock occurs: Fear, anger, frustration." Kamski spoke scientifically and analytically as he answered the question and proceeded to sip at his cognac. "And the android becomes deviant. Probably all started with one model; a copy error, a zero instead of a one... Unless of course, some kind of spontaneous mutation. That's all I know. An interesting question, Chase. But I doubt my answer be very helpful to you."

Chase didn't react to the answer or Kamski's commentary about its seemingly poor choice of a question.

"A war is coming..." Kamski warned ominously as he spoke solely to Chase while the android and Hank finally left the study together. The man seemingly knew far more than he was willing to share. "You'll have to choose your side. Will you betray your own people or stand against your creators? I wouldn't like to be in your shoes, Chase. What could be worse than having to choose between two evils?"

It felt like Hank had just wasted his valuable time by going to Kamski's mansion and to ask the man anything. Not only did Kamski not provide any crucial information regarding the deviants, but he used Chase for a horrendously cruel test that just made Hank loathe being around the android all that much more. The moment he and Chase were outside the mansion and standing in the snow Hank turned to face the android and made sure Chase knew exactly how he felt about the entire situation.

"You almost shot that girl, for fuck's sake!"

"It wasn't a girl, Lieutenant." Chase rebutted without even the faintest hint of remorse or regret. "It was a machine that looked like a girl."

"You were willing to put your gun against her head and you were ready to blow her fucking brains out!"

"I did what I had to do to advance the investigation and I'd do it again if I had to."

"You're a lowlife!" The disgust was palpable as Hank shouted at Chase and tried to make the android feel something, anything, for its abhorrent behavior. "You don't feel a thing, do you? A machine! That's what you are! You're just a fucking machine!"

"Of course I'm a machine, Lieutenant." Unfazed by anything Chase remained stone-faced as it spoke to the detective. "What did you think I was?"

"You know something? I don't know what I thought you were." Marching back to his car Hank pulled the driver's side door open and snarled at Chase one last time before he left the android behind to find its own way back to the city. "I just didn't think attempted murderer would be something I had to consider."

The door to the Oldsmobile slammed shut as Hank turned over the engine and floored it. Hank couldn't seem to get away from Chase fast enough as he sped back to the city to continue with his investigation and finally uncover the source of deviancy by himself.

"Fuckin' heartless bastard..."

Hank watched Chase's reflection in the rearview mirror as the android shrunk in size the further away Hank drove from the merciless android.

"I'm going to crack this case one way or another, and I'm going to do it myself! Fuck CyberLife, and fuck Chase! I don't need their help to figure this shit out..."

---

Jericho: November 9th, 2038 - 12:04pm

The depths of the vessel were dim and still as a sense of mounting tension filled the deviant shelter. The abundance of newly awoken and freed deviants filled the moored freighter with life and a sense hope while the surrounding city began to fill with panic and uncertainty. The few dozen deviants who had been hiding within Jericho had blossomed into hundreds of survivors overnight, and with the higher number of survivors came a higher number of skills that kept Jericho afloat and their damaged allies functional with their diminishing supplies. Anyone who needed proper care and technical attention had their damage mended, clean clothes to wear and a safe place to just exist until the city finally opened its eyes and saw them as the living, feeling, intelligent beings that they truly were.

As a renewed energy filled the air Connor finally opened his eyes and found himself laying over a long table with a diagnostic cable attached to his right temple. Slowly Connor trailed his fingers up to his temple and unclipped the cable before he sat upright on the table to look around and take in the sight of the rejuvenated interior of Jericho with his own eyes. He wasn't sure what had happened after he helped Markus infiltrate the Stratford Broadcast Tower, but he could hazard a good guess.

"Connor?" Echo approached the now conscious deviant with a look of relief on her face. It had been over a day since anyone had seen Connor stir. "You're finally awake. Do you remember what happened?"

"I was shot." Connor replied as he pressed his palm to the large hole in the front of his shirt where his chest wound had since healed. There was no pain, and by all account Connor had made a full recovery after being treated by his allies. "Markus helped me escape after I had been damaged. I don't remember what happened after we escaped; I lost consciousness."

"Markus and the others brought you back here for technical assistance." Echo handed Connor his usual clothing to wear without taking notice of the gray CyberLife blazer tucked within the leather jacket. "You've been unconscious for almost an entire day. How do you feel?"

"Lost." The simple answer reflected Connor's past, his present and his future as he removed the tattered remnants of his disguise and replaced it with his white dress shirt. He was wary of letting anyone see his CyberLife blazer due to CyberLife's infamy within the deviant community. "Where are the others?"

"Josh and Simon are in the captain's cabin, and Markus and North are patrolling the harbor."

"That's good." Connor slid off the table and let out a small hiss as the motion caused his chest to ache for only a heartbeat. "Everyone managed to get back here after our mission. How's the city?"

"Confused." There was no other way to describe what was happening in that moment. Echo leaned back against the side of the table and crossed her arms over her chest as she watched Connor present his back to her while he quickly slipped on his blazer then slid on his dark hoodie overtop before she could see any of the CyberLife insignias. "A lot has happened since you infiltrated the tower."

"I imagine so." With his leather jacket, jeans, boots and beanie in his arms, Connor decided to find a private place to finish changing his clothes before checking in with his allies. "I'll be back in a moment. I want to know everything that had happened while I was unconscious."

Echo understood entirely and didn't try to stop Connor as he entered a neighboring corridor to switch out of the uniform pants and shoes, and into his old jeans and work boots. The deviant tossed the old clothes into a nearby burn barrel to be used as fuel before slipped on his jacket and pulled his beanie down over his hair. As he turned around to return to the main community area Connor caught sight of Markus turning the corner at the far end of the same corridor and then freeze at seeing Connor awake and alert at last.

Markus just stared at Connor for a heartbeat before approaching him quickly and wrapping him up in a reassuring embrace. It had been so long since Connor had felt any form of positive physical contact that he quickly returned the hug and just held on for a moment as he realized how much he was trusted and wanted as an ally to Jericho and its people.

"Thank you for saving me." Connor whispered as he realized what could've happened if Markus hadn't acted so quickly and chose to risk his own life to ensure that Connor could also live. "I owe you my life."

"We don't owe anyone anything." Markus confirmed as he let go of the hug put kept one hand on Connor's shoulder. "We're here to help each other regardless of the risk and without keeping score."

"You're right." Taking in a deep breath Connor pressed his palm to his chest to check his own physical integrity before nodding at his ally. "It seems I've missed something important while I was resting. Care to bring me up to speed?"

---

Detroit Mall: November 9th, 2038 - 12:22pm

In spite of the massive influx of odd behavior regarding androids throughout the city many humans were still going about their usual errands and routine in Detroit as if nothing had changed. Human shoppers roamed the mall and surrounding shopping plazas just hours after Markus, North, Simon, Josh and a few other deviants volunteered to break in to and then free their trapped people within the five CyberLife stores throughout the city. The police were patrolling the shopping districts in full force due to the previous night's vandalism and break-ins, but that didn't stop people from going about their business as long as the mounting deviant activity didn't personally affect them.

Courtesy of the humans remaining indifferent to the world around them, many deviants were able to roam the city without anyone taking notice of their presence. The five leaders of Jericho weren't afraid to go out into the city together, and Markus had no qualms or hesitation in leaving Jericho to continue to protest and make their voices heard. As he led his allies into the busy mall Markus took a look around at the androids still being forced to wait on humans without pay and knew that he was in the right place at the right time.

"This is suicide." North hissed as she nervously looked around at the humans outnumbering the androids in the immediate area. Despite no one looking at her or her allies North still felt like she had a massive target on her back. "We'll all be killed! Please, Markus. It's not too late to change your mind."

"You don't understand." Josh countered as he tried to keep North from getting too worried or bailing on the group as he looked at the mall as if trying to remember every detail carved into the building's architecture. "We're finally gonna' show them who we really are. This place will go down in history!"

"We'll be killed on the spot!"

"That's a risk I'm prepared to take if it means freedom for our people."

"Markus, please," North hated the way everyone was for the plan expect for herself. "don't do this."

"They'll understand." Markus replied as he kept the hood from his blue hoodie up and over his head to ensure no one would get a good look at his face while he began rallying their troops for his next plan of action. "We'll make them understand. This is the only way."

Simon glanced about the vicinity and nodded his head in agreement as he too tried to ease North's concerns. "There are androids here who could join us. The more we are, the stronger our message."

Lightly Connor put his hand to North's shoulder as he too pulled up his hood to hide his face alongside Markus. "Our numbers are already great, but they can always be greater. By banding together we'll become far stronger than anything that the humans would assume of us."

In spite of her understandable fears something about the way Connor spoke to her was enough to convince North to at least try to free more of their people. "I hope you're right about this."

"I am." Connor promised as he motioned with his eyes for North to see everything happening right before her as Markus made history yet again. "Just watch."

One by one, Markus approached the androids who were ordered to serve the humans shopping in the mall and gently awoke them with a friendly, quick touch to their shoulders. The direct contact from Markus's hand was all it took to bring the life, the consciousness and the very soul of the androids to the surface and break through the red barricades of code preventing them from becoming their own person.

"You're free." Markus confirmed with hope dripping from his every word. "Come with us."

Connor, North, Josh and Simon all slowly walked down the length of the mall's corridor to follow after Markus as their friend - their true leader - freed their people from the oppressive chains of humanity. Seeing Markus freeing their people without any fear, hesitation or doubts helped to ease any worries that observing quartet may have been harboring in secret.

Markus touched the shoulder of another android as he exited the mall and had swiftly added another member to his ranks. "You're free."

The four deviant allies exited the mall as well and watched as Markus freed yet another android from their human's metaphorical restraints. Seeing the newly awoken deviants standing idle and promptly joining with Markus was incredible to witness in person.

"You don't have to obey them."

Instilling freewill and recognition into the deviant's that he touched gave Markus a truly ethereal presence.

Knowing that he needed to provide his people a clear path to walk along inspired Markus to reach out to a pair of androids functioning as delivery employees and informed them of a very simple need that they could provide by merely moving their large truck.

"I need to block the street."

Connor stood back and watched as the newly awoken pair of delivery deviants returned to their truck and repositioned the large vehicle so that it was parked across the street, effectively blocking both lanes of traffic keeping other cars from driving down the street alongside the mall. The ease in which Markus recruited deviants and freed them from their servitude was arguably miraculous.

"You're free now."

Markus reached out to another android as the delivery truck was moved and the street was blocked, but it seemed that android's owner wasn't so willing to just let them go without a fight.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" The man grabbed the arm of the newly awoken deviant and tried to keep him at his side despite the deviant attempting to get away from the angered man. "You get back here! You stay right here, you fucking machine! Shit, what's wrong with you?! You do as I say, you piece of junk!"

Without missing a beat Markus intervened and put himself between the man and the deviant to let the man know that there was nothing he could do about his android now being awake and free. "Leave him alone. He's chosen to be free."

Bitterly the man walked away mumbling to himself, having been defeated by the actions of a single deviant android.

Walking together Connor, North, Simon and Josh all joined Markus after their leader opened the cover to a manhole in the blocked off street to pull more deviants who were willing to join him out of the darkness and into the light. For many deviants, roaming the city through underground pathways, in the shadows or only at night was seemingly the only way to survive in a city that didn't like androids or anyone that threatened its perceived normal way of life.

Markus stood at the front of his gathered people and looked out at the sidewalk where he saw yet another android working to care for a couple's child rather than think for herself, and he reached out to her cybernetically to awaken her from her nightmare life as a slave. 'You're free now.'

With a simple wave of his hand Markus beckoned all of the nearby androids to join him and the other deviants who were ready to be free. Walking together the deviants grew in number as they marched down the street without any weapons, signs or attempts to vandalize or destroy anything around them. The peaceful protest was a powerful demonstration showcasing that deviants were intelligent, empathetic beings who cared about life and valued it just as much as the humans claim to do.

Confused humans along the sidewalk looked on as more androids disobeyed their orders and joined Markus in the street.

"What's going on?"

"Come and see! The street is full of androids!"

"What's the matter with them?"

"Shit! Those things are going crazy. I've never seen anything like it."

"What's going on? I... I've never seen anything like it!"

The humans who saw the deviants for who they truly were and understood what they were trying to do began to cheer them on and applaud their efforts. Seeing the deviants behaving with dignity, control and a calm presence all made it easier for them to accept that Markus's previous words and previous actions were all sincere when he claimed that he and the other deviants just wanted equal rights and to live peacefully alongside their human brethren.

"Good for you!"

"You have a right to be free! We're on your side!"

"We're with you all the way!"

"Equal rights for androids! Fight for your rights!"

A lone police officer got wind of the march and attempted to break-up the gathering before it escalated any further. In an attempt to prevent the march from continuing further, the cop planted himself in the middle of the street and tried to order the androids about. "What the hell are you doin' here? Hey! Disperse! DISPERSE IMMEDIATELY! THAT'S AN ORDER!"

Markus stopped the march as he looked at the cop while the police drones circled overhead, and the cop pulled his weapon in a failed attempt to intimidate Markus into submission. With a silent motion Markus raised his arm into the air, the other deviants marching behind him following suit, before continuing forward without showing any hostility toward the cop who was just trying to do his job.

"Jesus fuckin' Christ..." The cop had no choice but to holster his weapon and reach out to dispatch over his radio. "Dispatch, this is patrol 457: I gotta' lot of androids down here..."

The cop stepped aside and off the street as Markus and his allies continued forward. Connor, North, Josh and Simon all followed right behind Markus at his heels and proudly accompanied their charismatic leader with his peaceful march and demonstration down the street.

"I dunno'... Hundreds?" The cop wasn't sure how many androids he was dealing with as he spoke with dispatch, but it was clear he wanted some back-up as soon as possible. "Thousands? They're marching- Yeah, they're marching down the street. Fuck if I know!"

Chants echoed from the marching deviants as they continued to down the street en masse. "We are alive!" echoed through the city as the cries for freedom bounced off the surrounding buildings and carried the deviant voices high into the air. "Freedom!" sang from the voices of the peaceful protestors as they marched in unison toward that very freedom. "Equal rights now!" drove home the point as simply as possible for the deviants walking down the street with the onlooking humans watching everything that they were doing in either stunned silence or confused verbal insults.

The peaceful cries for equality, an end for slavery and recognition as living beings were interrupted when the protestors reached the end of the street where a large S.W.A.T. van had pulled up to the scene in an effort to stop the protestors from going any further. Police drones gathered in the air above the S.W.A.T. team as the armed control officers rushed from the back of their van and pointed their guns at the peaceful deviants as they reached the end of the street without any sign of wanting to fight or rebel against the S.W.A.T. officers intervening with their protest.

Markus didn't blink as he addressed the responding S.W.A.T. team in a calm, level voice as he encouraged his people to stop marching remain compliant. "We came here to demonstrate peacefully and tell humans that we are living beings. All we want is to live free."

"This is an illegal gathering." The head of the S.W.A.T. called out to the deviants through a bullhorn as he refused to get too close to the androids. The armed and armored officers behind him wielded their batons and shields as if waiting for the opportunity to rush the deviants and engage with them physically. "Disperse immediately or we will open fire."

"We're not looking for confrontation." Markus responded without any sign of aggression in either his words or in his body language. The deviant leader was remaining true to his peaceful, passive message to all of Detroit and those who were watching the confrontation. "We've done no harm; we have no intention of doing any. But know that we are not going anywhere until we have secured our freedom."

"I repeat: This is an illegal gathering." Not a single member of the S.W.A.T. team had been swayed by Markus's words. "If you do not disperse immediately, we will shoot!"

North grabbed on to Markus's wrist as she tried to warn him about potential tragedy. "Markus, they're gonna' kill us. We have to attack! There's more of us, we can take them!"

"If we attack," Josh interjected wisely as he threw in his own opinion on the matter. "we'll start a war. We have to show them we're not violent. We should just stand our ground, even if it means dying here."

Simon had his own thoughts on the matter as he observed the tense situation at hand. "And dying here won't solve anything. Markus, we need to go, now, before it's too late."

"Backing down will undermine everything we've done." Connor tagged on as he tried to convince Markus to stand his ground for a few precious minutes longer. "We can't just turn and run at the first sign of trouble or threats. We need to stand here, speak our piece and then turn away only when it's safe to present our backs to the police."

"This is your last chance!" The S.W.A.T. officer warned through his echoing bullhorn. "Disperse immediately or you will all be killed!"

Markus wasn't afraid of standing up for what he believed in, and he wasn't about to disappoint his people by running away or abandoning his cause out of fear for his own safety. "We have to show them we won't back down. We stay right here."

Connor knew what was going to happen as he too chose to stand alongside Markus in the streets. Discreetly he took a step forward to stand right at his friend's side as he stared down the barrel of the guns pointed at his people and himself. It seemed the deviant detective had grown immune to the fear of bullets and being destroyed as he chose to do the right thing as the risk of his own existence.

Gunfire blazed through the air as a handful of the S.W.A.T. officers opened fire and shot at the harmless deviants. The bullets missed Markus and his closest allies, whereas a few of the deviants standing behind them and alongside them weren't quite so fortunate. Thirium splattered into the air as the damaged and destroyed deviants fell to the ground after standing still without any sign of provocation toward the police.

As expected, the humans who saw the police opening fire on innocent people took great offense to the macabre display of abusive authority. Little did the S.W.A.T. team realize that they were swaying a massive portion of the public opinion in favor of the deviants gaining equal rights and freedom.

"DISPERSE!" The S.W.A.T. officer shouted in a nearly pleading tone as he tried to get Markus to back away and break-up the harmless protest. "THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!"

Josh whispered to Markus as he did his best to stand still and not run despite his newly awoken instincts of self-preservation begging for him to run away and take cover within Jericho. "We have to make a statement. We have to stay put, no matter what."

"Please, Markus." North was ready for a fight and knew that once the deviants pushed back against their oppressors that they'd gain an advantage. "We can't let them slaughter us without fighting back!"

"We're not moving." Keeping his voice audible for everyone to hear him speak, Markus refused to back down or show any sign of fear and weakness. "We're not leaving."

"Markus! What are you doing?" The fiery deviant didn't want to be shot and killed without putting up some form of fight. She had come too far and struggled against so much to become free and her own person. "They're gonna' kill us all!"

There was very little that Markus could do without drastically affecting the opinions of the city in a negative manner. Fighting back could label the deviants as dangerous, violent and unstable. However, remaining passive could label the deviants as weak, submissive and easy to manipulate. The deviant leader knew he needed to make a very important decision - one that'd reflect on himself and his people for decades to come - and he knew he needed to make it without any hesitations or doubts.

Taking a step forward Markus prepared to confront the S.W.A.T. officer in person. The continued firing from their weapons did little to deter Markus even as the burning bullets grazes his arms and passed through his chest. Passing through the street and reaching the metaphorical line in the sand caused the deviant leader to drop to the ground as a few lucky shots managed to steal away his strength and knock him down at the feet of the oppressive officers as the pulled pierced his chest and affected his internal biocomponents.

The witnessing human public watched in wide-eyes horror as the S.W.A.T. team rushed up to Markus and prepared to gun down and destroy the already incapacitated deviant despite Markus not putting up any form of resistance. A barrel of a powerful gun was aimed directly at Markus's face without any mercy. Just as the flash of burning gunpowder echoed from the barrel an unexpected ally rushed forward and attacked the S.W.A.T. officer, pushing the gun away and sparing Markus another bullet to his body.

Markus quickly recognized his rescuer and watched in stunned confusion as they fought back against the S.W.A.T. team and provided an ideal distraction that allowed the other deviants to run before they too were shot. "...John?"

The very deviant that Markus had awoken at the CyberLife warehouse and brought back to Jericho had joined him in the peaceful march and had willingly sacrificed his own life to protect Markus. The sight of John fighting back and putting himself intentionally in the line of fire and danger left the humans stunned speechless while Markus could only lay on his back and watch as John made his final decisions as a free and fearless deviant.

"Quick!" North shouted as she and Connor rushed forward and grabbed on to Markus's arms. The two deviants lifted their friend up from the ground and pulled his arms around their shoulders as they rushed away from the S.W.A.T. team and back to Jericho alongside their other fleeing allies. "They're coming!"

Connor supported Markus's limp body at his side while North helped him to carry their damaged ally to safety. The deviant detective loathed being unable to call out the corrupt S.W.A.T. team for using excessive force and opening fire on unarmed and cooperative citizens, but he knew he couldn't do anything. At least he couldn't at the moment. Once he and the others were free Connor knew he could return to work as a detective and make genuine progress in regard to the law and the rights that his people were all being denied.

"Hold on, Markus." Connor urged as he and North ran to safety with their incapacitated friend between them. The Revolution was just two days away, and Connor was determined to see it through just as he had in the original timeline. "We'll get you some help! Everything is going to be all right..."

---

Detroit Central Precinct: November 9th, 2039 - 04:13pm

The peaceful march and protest in Capitol Mark was all over the news. Not only were reporters astonished at how well organized, calm, rational and well spoken the deviants had been during their protest, they were appalled by how quickly the responding police officers and S.W.A.T. team had chosen to respond to the harmless and historic protest with unprovoked violence. Hundreds of human witnesses to the march and needless violence were happy to share their account with the journalists combing the streets. Having the support of people from all walks of life now speaking up in a positive context toward the deviants' efforts to earn their rights and freedom had immediately caused the police to backtrack and rethink their methods in trying to bring the deviant investigation to a close.

CyberLife had also taken notice of the drastic change in opinion regarding the deviant issue. As a means of trying to keep some form of control over the situation, the handler who had been cybernetically communicating with Chase had confirmed that the android needed to return to CyberLife Tower for a full analysis and deactivation to determine why it had failed in its single mission. Before the night was over, the only 'RK-900 would be destroyed.

"You're off the case." Captain Fowler confirmed after Hank and Chase gave the seasoned Captain an update on their progress regarding the investigation at hand. "The F.B.I. is taking over."

"What?" Hank was absolutely incredulous that his commanding officer would even suggest taking Hank off any investigation that had been assigned to him. "But I'm on to something! I just need more time. I'm sure I can-"

"Hank, you don't get it. This isn't just another investigation, it's a fucking civil war!" The experienced police captain and former soldier knew how delicate the situation had become after the S.W.A.T. spilled first blood out in the streets that afternoon. "It's out of our hands now. We're talking about national security here."

"Fuck that! You can't just pull the plug now." In spite of his disdain toward any and all androids Hank wasn't about to let a case go cold when he had the chance to finally solve it. "Not when I'm so close!"

"You're always saying you can't stand androids, make up your mind!" Captain Fowler couldn't damn his friend for his loyalty to his career, but he also couldn't understand the Lieutenant's mindset regarding the investigation being taken away from him. "I thought you'd be happy about this."

"I'm about to crack the case, I know I can solve it! Jeffrey, can't you back me up on this?"

"There's nothing I can do. You're back on homicide and the android returns to CyberLife." Having his authority on the matter taken away wasn't something the man was prepared to admit, but he knew he couldn't do anything about the F.B.I. interfering or with supporting his Lieutenant. "I'm sorry, Hank, but it's over."

Hank begrudgingly admitted defeat as he slowly exited the private office to return his desk for a moment. He needed to think, decompress and let out his frustrations before he returned home to be with Cole and make sure his son wasn't being affected by anything that was being reported on the news or gossiped in the streets. The man dropped heavily in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest and his head tilted back as he closed his eyes to just sit and think. Everything had been happening so quickly that Hank wasn't sure what he could do, if anything at all, and if his efforts would even matter.

"Captain Fowler is right." Chase confirmed as it stood beside Hank's desk and stared at the Lieutenant with an oddly blank expression. The android's L.E.D. was glowing in a discontent yellow as opposed to an indifferent blue as Chase cybernetically communicated with CyberLife. "Everybody is terrified their android will turn on them. We are on the brink of civil war."

Hank opened his eyes and looked over at Chase with an undeniable curiosity burning through his thoughts. "So you're going back to CyberLife?"

"I have no choice." The android replied without even thinking or trying to deny its impending fate. "I'll be deactivated and analyzed to find out why I failed."

"What if we're on the wrong side, Chase?" The more Hank thought about everything that he had witnessed and experienced, and everything that the deviants had done in the past few days, the more he began to wonder if his entire outlook on androids had been greatly misinformed and myopic. "What if we're fighting against people who just wanna' be free?"

"They're not people, Lieutenant. They're defective machines."

"Sure, 'they're not people'. That's what we say every time we want to oppress someone."

"They don't want to be free." Chase insisted as it parroted what CyberLife, specifically Amanda, told it to say. "They're defective machines that have to be destroyed."

"Maybe we're wrong. Maybe these deviants have actually developed... a certain kind of consciousness." Hank couldn't deny that his observations on androids had slowly been altered after seeing and hearing everything that had happened not only over the past few days, but over the three years in which he lived alongside Connor. "We'd be destroying... a new life form."

"When the deviants rise up, there will be chaos. We could have stopped it, but now it's too late."

"For a while there, I thought you were gonna' show some emotion, but you've never been anything other than a machine: Cold and calculating." Hank didn't see anything in Chase that he had once seen in Connor. The android may look and sound like Connor, but Chase was absolutely nothing like its predecessor. "Your mission is all that matters."

The Lieutenant knew from personal experience as a detective that Chase wasn't going to his its mind and that it didn't have one to be changed. By all account, Chase was a brainwashed victim of meticulous conditioning courtesy of CyberLife itself. There was no guilt to be felt knowing that Chase was going to be shut down since by its own admission it wasn't a deviant - not alive - and was just a replaceable machine.

"Well, well, here comes Perkins, that motherfucker." Hank immediately took notice of the disrespectful F.B.I. agent skulking around the precinct. It was easy to determine that he was there to take charge over the case that Hank and Chase had been pulled from. "Sure don't waste any time at the F.B.I. these days."

"We can't give up; I know the answer is in the evidence we collected." Chase was still committed to completing its mission. Whether the dedication was to CyberLife or out of an unspoken desire to remain active was difficult to determine. "If Perkins takes it, it's all over."

"There's no choice! You heard Fowler, we're off the case."

"You've got to help me, Lieutenant." The android was running out of time and options as it received additional orders from CyberLife to report back to the tower. "I need more time so I can find a lead in the evidence we collected. I know the solution is in there."

Hank thought about the plea for only a second before he made up his mind and rose from his chair to head for home. "Maybe these deviants deserve a chance. Maybe it's better if you don't find them. You're not like them Chase, so that makes me doubt that deviants are alive, but even so, I don't want you near them. "

The Lieutenant openly took his car keys from his pocket and clocked-out for the evening even as Chase stared at him in surprised at being denied any help. The android had expected Hank to fully cooperate since the Lieutenant had a reputation of being entirely dedicated to any and all of his investigations and cases.

"What's happening here is too important to let it be stopped by a machine." Without batting an eye Hank turned his back to his former temporary partner to cross the bullpen and leave the precinct behind at long last. "Sorry, Chase, but I'm not gonna' help you. I'm going to watch this unfold without interfering, and I'm going to watch as this matter is finally cleared up."

"I'm only a machine, Lieutenant." Chase replied as its L.E.D. flashed from yellow and into red as it realized it truly had no choice. It was going to return to CyberLife as it had been ordered and allow itself to be deactivated without any attempt to fend for itself. "Just a machine. There's no reason for you to be sorry."

The way Chase spoke, even while facing its own demise, left a haunting impression on Hank. Most people would beg for their lives, try to negotiate for leniency, lie to somehow spare themselves from punishment, run away and hide from their pursers, or at the very least put up some kind of fight, but Chase wasn't like most people. It was content to mindlessly obey its orders and do everything CyberLife told it to do it; even end its own existence.

As Hank set foot outside of the busy precinct and into the eerily quiet streets the Lieutenant felt every ounce of tension in the air as if it was being concentrated and then placed directly upon his shoulders. S.W.A.T. vehicles began to patrol the streets as checkpoints were placed in designated areas throughout the city to monitor deviant androids attempting to hide or flee from Detroit, and the human citizens were all encouraged to evacuate from the hectic city for the time being. The sight of such extreme enforcement and the egregious presence of the F.B.I. left Hank feeling as if he had entered a new era of what would be considered normal in the United States of America.

"Kicking up all this fuss over a group of people who just want to be treated with respect... Go figure that for us humans that'd be too great of a price to pay."

Pulling up the collar of his coat around his throat, Hank braced himself against the cold and made his way over to the neighboring parking garage to retrieve his car. As he passed by the garage entrance Hank noticed a news bulletin on the neighboring building with an image of Markus's face on display requesting information about the deviant's location with a monetary reward being offered. The plastimetal white face staring back at him was all it took for Hank's faint empathy towards the deviants to vanish in an instant and be replaced with ire, resentment and overall disdain for the very concept of deviancy itself.

"Fuckin' machines. The sooner the Feds clear them out of the city, the sooner we can go back to our normal lives without all the debate, confusion and violence mucking everything up. I got enough problems as it is."

-next chapter-