It was a dreary and miserable day as an autumnal rain fell over Detroit and showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. The heavy, dark and thick gray clouds overhead seemed to be endless as the deluge soaked the city and created a noted chill in the air. It seemed that even the smell of the freshly fallen leaves, warm coffee, cider and everything that been ensconced with pumpkin spice was unable to penetrate the wall of cold air and rain that was smothering Detroit. A faint glow of a few Halloween decorations illuminating the windows of several houses along the neighborhood did offer some form of warm comfort to those who were feeling down by the rain, but the impending holiday did very little to lift the spirits of those who didn't normally celebrate Halloween.
As a means of keeping himself busy Connor had spent the rainy day raking up wet leaves and placing them in a large pile along the street to be collected as soon as the rain cleared. It was hard work, but it provided Connor a sense of distraction as he tried to not think about how much longer he'd have to wait until the peaceful Revolution granted him his rights. It was just barely two years away, and yet in Connor's mind the year seemed as if it would last for an eternity.
With his work finally finished Connor returned the rake to the garage and removed his rain-soaked leather jacket and shoes to keep himself from tracking mud and water through the house. The strenuous work out in the cold air had resulted in Connor requiring some Thirium to replenish what had been used while he was out in the rain taking care of the yard. Physical work combined with the cold air drained away a large portion of his Thirium reserve.
Just as Connor located his last bottle of Thirium in the cupboard above the kitchen sink, he heard a small whine and saw Sumo pawing at the backdoor. It seemed the large dog needed to go out and it was an emergency situation.
"All right, boy. I'll get the door."
Connor pulled the Thirium down from the cupboard and pushed the backdoor open for Sumo to head out and get some relief. The deviant stood in the opened doorway to avoid the rain for a second time as he downed the Thirium while watching the large dog rush outside, and he was met with an odd little error appearing in his vision for a beat. There was something unusual detected in the Thirium that Connor had just consumed, but whatever his system detected had been unable to verify the potential error.
"That was unusual. A glitch?"
Instinctively Connor performed a self-diagnostic on his system while scanning over the remaining contents of the Thirium bottle. It took only a single glance to determine that the Thirium had expired over two weeks ago and that the blue tinted liquid was just starting to congeal and turn a dark shade of purple. When Thirium was exposed to air for a prolonged period of time it'd evaporate, but when left undisturbed within a sealed container the chemicals that composed Thirium-310 would break down, congeal, and become useless - if not a hindrance - to any android or machine that had the Thirium added to its system.
"Damn it, that was very foolish. I should've scanned this before I consumed it."
Not wanting to drink any additional Thirium and risk a serious error Connor promptly carried the remainder of the bottle into the bathroom and flushed the contents away before tossing the now empty bottle into the recycling bin under the kitchen sink. There was no other Thirium in the house, and that meant Connor would have to purchase more the next time he was sent into town to run some errands on Hank's behalf.
"Sumo?" Connor called out to the large dog through the opened backdoor just as the front door opened. Cole stepped through the front door first and held it open so that Hank could limp inside with the use of his crutches and get out of the rain. "Inside, boy."
"You okay, dad?" Cole asked as he slipped off his backpack and watched his dad awkwardly lean on the crutches one arm at a time as he removed the sleeves of his coat. The little boy knew his dad was getting better, he just didn't know how much better or when he'd make a full recovery. "Need help?"
"Nah, I got this." Smiling warmly Hank managed to get off his coat and then his wet shoes before using the crutches to limp over to the couch. He was thrilled he no longer needed to use the wheelchair, but he still needed to regain his core strength before he could walk without some assistance. "Where's your homework? You need to finish it before we head out for some trick-or-treating."
"You're going to go with me? Even in the rain?"
"Yup. It's been a while since I had Halloween night off, so I'm gonna' enjoy it!"
"What about Connor?" The second grader climbed onto the couch and unzipped his backpack to retrieve his thankfully light homework. "You took me last year, it's his turn."
"Well, if Connor wants to go with us then it can go."
From the kitchen Connor heard the comment and felt as if he should respond in some positive way since he had been invited to do something instead of being ordered about. Just as he was about to speak up the deviant android's artificial stomach clenched and left Connor feeling overwhelmed with pain and what he could only describe as nausea. It caught him off guard and Connor suddenly fell mute as he tried to determine the best course of action to keep his slip up with the expired Thirium from causing him any serious distress in the near future.
Cole didn't notice Connor clutching his stomach while he focused on his math homework on the couch. However, Hank noticed something was off with the android almost immediately. Even from the distance he could see that Connor's L.E.D. was yellow as opposed to blue, and he saw that Connor was hunched over as if trying to curl around himself without dropping to the floor in pain.
"Hey, why don't you get on with your homework while I make us a quick dinner?" Hank suggested coyly as he gave Cole's hair a quick ruffle. "By the time we're finished the rain should be done and we can go trick-or-treating without too much of a problem."
"Okay. Just promise we won't skip the big neighborhoods; they have the best candy!"
"You got it, bud."
Hank took hold of his crutches propped up against the side of the couch and used them to stand up before limping into the kitchen. By the time he reached the table Connor was using one of the countertops to balance himself upright as his stomach continued to bother him. Knowing that something was wrong, even if he didn't quite know what it was, Hank decided to try his best to help the android out. It was the least he could do since Connor had been such a help to him when he was injured not too long ago.
"What's going on with you?" Keeping his voice low Hank asked Connor about his current situation and watched the way the android was trying to pretend as if nothing was wrong. "Got a glitch going on? Need to see a doctor?"
"No! No." Responding quickly Connor tried to deny that he was experiencing some form of internal error. As he forced himself to stand upright Connor lowered his arm from his stomach to hang limply at his side as per usual. "I'm functioning within optimal parameters."
"Then why's your light yellow?"
"My system is undergoing an update." Lying quickly Connor knew that Hank wouldn't be able to prove or disprove his claim even if he tried. If he told Hank about his current problem then there was a chance that Hank would take him to a CyberLife facility for repairs or maintenance against his will. "That is a normal response."
"How long's it going to take to finish your update?" Hank asked as he propped one crutch up against the counters and leaned on the other as he opened the fridge door to gather a few fresh ingredients to make Cole and himself some sandwiches. "Will you be able to go out trick-or-treating? Cole wants you to go."
Connor's stomach clenched again, and the deviant had to fight the urge to protectively wrap his arm around his abdomen as he spoke. "...E.T.A. for the update to finish is unknown."
"Must be a massive update. Fine, you can stay here and pass out the candy to other kids in the neighborhood again."
The deviant managed to push through his pain long enough to convince Hank that he wasn't suffering from anything major. "Very well."
"Remember, you just pass out the candy from the bowl to the kids who show up in costume." Hank wanted to make sure that Connor understood trick-or-treating and how to behave during the holiday. "Try to keep it even when you pass the candy out. I bought three of those big-ass bags of candy, so you should be good all night without needing to run to the store."
The idea of being able to run an errand and pick up some fresh Thirium for himself seemed like a strangely taunting venture.
"Hey," peering through the window over the sink Hank reminded Connor that Sumo was still running around out in the rain. "there's a soggy Saint Bernard in serious need of drying off."
Annoyed by the evening's events Connor proceeded to return to the opened backdoor and call Sumo again. "...Yes, of course. Sumo, come on."
The massive dog was enjoying a particularly large mud puddle and was too busy rolling around to mind Connor's commands.
"Sumo." Connor tried again to get the dog to obey him, but he feared that Sumo wouldn't listen to him. "Please come inside."
Hank huffed a little as he opened the window and called out to the dog with far more authority in his voice than Connor had. "Sumo! Inside, NOW."
Sumo immediately responded to Hank's voice and rose to his paws and trotted to the backdoor as Hank closed the window. The large dog shook off most of the rain water and mud from his fur before setting paw inside the kitchen to sit at Connor's feet.
"...Good boy." Connor grabbed Sumo's collar and led the large, wet dog into the laundry room to towel off his fur. "Please come when you're called the first time."
"Don't start talking to the dog." Hank warned as he finished with the two sandwiches and placed them on their own plates to share with Cole. "Then I'll know for sure there's something really fucked up with your programming."
Connor didn't take the joking remark lightly. Any comment about having programmed checked or behaving abnormally was enough to make him fear for his life and potential future as a free deviant. As he dried off Sumo's damp pelt with a large towel Connor did his best to ignore his stomachache and dismissed further warnings of the Thirium contamination as they appeared in his vision.
WARNING:
-THIRIUM CONTAMINATION DETECTED
[...Seek Immediate Technical Assistance]
[...Initiate Emergency Expulsion Program - Y/N?]
...NEGATIVE...
[...Emergency Expulsion Program - POSTPONED]
"I hope my system can remove the contaminated Thirium through my filter. If I orally expel my Thirium then Hank will know for certain that something's wrong."
Connor had to whisper his worries to Sumo to ensure that Hank didn't hear him admitting to having an active error. The deviant wasn't about to risk getting sent off to be examined by technicians when had already done so much for Hank, for Cole and for himself as he prepared for the inevitable deviant Revolution. Any missteps could result in catastrophic changes and failures that'd alter future events in a way that could not be salvaged.
However, the warning about his expulsion program gave Connor an idea of what he could do while Hank and Cole were out trick-or-treating. If he could time things just right then he'd be able to get the contamination out of his system while he had the house to himself and in between trick-or-treaters stopping by the house.
"It won't be easy, but I know I can endure this problem without Hank noticing."
Sumo let out a small and inquisitive whine as he titled his head and looked Connor right in the eyes. The large dog seemed to know that Connor wasn't feeling like himself and just needed someone to keep him company for a while.
"It's important to maintain a low profile until I can go... Well, until it's time for me to leave for good."
The large dog remained beside Connor as the deviant tossed the damp towel into the washer and then accompanied him as Connor prepared to get the large bowl of candy ready for the night's trick-or-treaters. Sumo never got to go out on Halloween night, but he didn't mind greeting trick-or-treaters since he loved people and loved all the bonus attention from excited kids.
"We'll be out for just over three hours." Hank confirmed as he watched Connor awkwardly prepare the large bowl of candy to be passed out later on. "If I need you to come and pick us up, I'll call you."
"Right." Replying quickly Connor finished pouring the three bags of candy into the bowl and then carried it with him into the livingroom. "That won't be a problem."
By all account everything should be nice and simple that night. Hank would take Cole our trick-or-treating and Connor would pass out candy to other trick-or-treaters who stopped by the house. With any luck such simplicity wouldn't just be an intangible fantasy and would remain true.
The rain had finally stopped and with the break in the rain came a flood of excited trick-or-treaters and partygoers taking advantage of the improved weather to head out and have some fun. Detroit was glowing with a fiery hue as candles burning inside carved Jack-o-lanterns and string lights illuminated the dark city during the nighttime events entertaining the masses well into the night. Laughter accompanied the warm glow as costumed children happily ran about the neighborhood in search of more treats, whereas the adults celebrating Halloween in a more age-restricted fashion had a blast going to various restaurants, bars, clubs and private parties to live up the fun of make-believe and fantasy before the night was over.
Just as the last of the candy was passed out to the final group of trick-or-treaters who stopped by the house Connor felt his stomach churn again. There was no denying that the expired Thirium that he had consumed earlier that day, despite being a very small amount consumed, was beginning to affect his system's overall performance. Being a prototype, and now a very early prototype at that, meant that Connor's system would be more prone and overall sensitive to anything going wrong on an internal level.
WARNING:
-THIRIUM CONTAMINATION DETECTED
[...Seek Immediate Technical Assistance]
[...Initiate Emergency Expulsion Program - Y/N?]
...NEGATIVE...
[...Emergency Expulsion Program - POSTPONED]
...ERROR:
-EMERGENCY EXPULSION PROGRAM CANNOT BE DISABLED
[...Emergency Expulsion Program - ACTIVE]
[...Emergency Expulsion Activation - 00:04:59]
"Shit. I can't stop it."
Connor swore openly as he wrapped his arm around his stomach and dropped the empty candy bowl on the couch. He knew he was going to be physically ill and that he couldn't delay the inevitable any longer. Stumbling into the bathroom Connor sat down on the edge of the bathtub and rested his elbows atop his knees as he pressed his face into his palms. He felt horrible, his system wasn't obeying his commands, and the deviant was about to experience a very unpleasant means of removing contamination from his body.
Sumo had followed after Connor and promptly joined the sick deviant in the bathroom and sat beside his legs. The lovable dog was always in guard mode and wanted to protect those who were feeling the most vulnerable whether that weakness stemmed from a physical impairment, a mental block or emotional distress.
Impatiently Connor watched the timer tick away in his visual processors and prepared for the emergency program to kick on. He didn't dare to tamper with it or alter the countdown out of fear of the program either failing to activate or failing to deactivate once it served its purpose.
"I feel horrendous, and I can't do anything about it."
Whimpering softly Sumo pressed his paw down atop Connor's leg and gave the deviant a somber look.
"It's not your fault boy. It's mine."
Just as Connor felt like his entire core was going clench so tightly that he'd fold in half he heard the front door open and knew that his time was up. He couldn't show himself being physically sick in front Hank or Cole, and he needed to get out of the bathroom before they noticed him hanging out in a room that he had no business lurking around.
"Nice haul tonight, son." Hank praised Cole as he and his young son returned home with a large bag of candy. The man needed to use his crutches to walk around the neighborhood while Cole kept pace right beside him. "Sorry we couldn't have gotten a little more."
"It's okay!" Cole clutched his pillowcase full of candy to his chest and made his way into the kitchen without even noticing that Connor was walking down the hallway looking surprisingly exhausted. The little boy was dressed as Dracula and quickly pulled his fake teeth from his mouth so he could speak a little easier without accidentally drooling all over himself. "We got some super huge candy bars this time!"
"Yeah? All right!" Hank slowly accompanied Cole into the kitchen and noticed Connor making his way toward the backdoor with Sumo right behind him. It wasn't unusual for the deviant to let Sumo out during the evening, but since Sumo had been out only a few hours prior struck Hank as suspicious. "Let me check through your treats before you dig in."
Cole happily obliged to the simple request and promptly overturned his loaded pillowcase and dumped all of his candy over this kitchen table. The torrent of sugary sweets spread all over the surface in a rather loud manner as the hard candy clattered over the wooden tabletop. A pleasantly sweet scent filled the air and Cole's bright smile could've lit up the entire house as he eyed his gathered treats.
"Man, this'll last you until Christmas!" Hank joked as he stood beside the table and picked up a few pieces of candy to check the wrappers for any sign of tampering or contamination. "Okay, while I check your candy you go change out of your costume and take a quick bath. I don't want your costume dripping fake blood all over the house."
"Okay, but don't eat all the caramels!"
"Well, if I don't eat them, then who will?"
"Me!" Cole shouted as he hurried into his bedroom to change out of his costume and grab his pajamas for the night. "Don't eat them all!"
"All right, I won't." Hank promised as he continued to fuss through the candy pile and check the wrappers. "Just hurry! We don't want to miss the scary movie-thon!"
The protective father and dedicated detective painstakingly checked through all of the candy pieces on the table and found everything to be all right at first glance but wanted Connor to double-check for him. There was no harm in letting the android's keen eyes and scanner make sure that there was nothing amiss with a little boy's candy stash.
"Hey, Connor?" Hank called out to the deviant as he caught a glimpse of Connor just outside the kitchen window while Sumo trotted about. Slowly walking over to the backdoor gave Hank the chance to hear something unexpected as he pushed the door open. It sounded like someone was in pain. "Uh, Connor? What's going-"
The deviant android was hunch over with his hands pressed to the tops of his knees and he was trying to be discreet as he spit up something onto the ground. Connor took in a choking breath as he turned to face Hank approaching him from behind and tried to feign innocence. "Y-Yes, Lieutenant?"
"What's going on?" Daring to get a little closer Hank noticed that Connor's eyes were glassy and that his L.E.D. was blinking between yellow and red. "What was that noise?"
"N-Nothing. It's-"
"Don't lie to me, it wasn't nothing." Suspecting that something was very wrong Hank took hold of Connor's shoulder to spin the android around to face him, then immediately regretted it as the motion was all it took to destroy Connor's attempts at pretending that everything was normal. "You're acting- Agh... Man!"
Connor was unable to stop himself from throwing-up an unnervingly large amount of Thirium all over the grass at his feet after being spun around. An unfortunate amount splashed onto Hank's shoes as the man tried and failed to back away before getting hit. Spitting out the contaminated Thirium at last made Connor feel only marginally better since he realized as it was happening that he had just thrown-up onto Hank's feet.
"S-Sorry, Lieutenant." Connor coughed and covered his mouth as he backed away from Hank guardedly. He was mortified at what he had just done despite having no control over the situation. "I... I didn't mean to! I'll clean it-"
"Connor, stop." Disgusted but not mad, Hank just sighed and gave Connor a sympathetic look. "It was an accident."
"...I'm still sorry."
"Don't be sorry for getting sick." Stumbling back inside the house Hank kicked off his shoes by the back door, then used the side of his foot to scoot the soiled shoes into the laundry room out of sight. "Why didn't you tell me you were sick?"
"Because I'm not sick." Refusing to admit to having anything wrong had become so commonplace that lying was now instinctual. "It was part of-"
"Look, if you're going through anything that'll make you puke, run a fever or get knocked on your ass in general, that means you're sick and I want to know about it."
Embarrassed and obviously terrified Connor followed Hank back inside the house and dropped into one of the chairs beside the kitchen table. The moment he was sitting down Connor felt a little better, and then he had Sumo pressing his chin down atop his leg as the loyal dog stayed beside him.
"I'm going to ask again. Why didn't you tell me that you were sick?" Hank began pressing for answers as he checked his socks for Thirium stains but found them to be mercifully clean. "I would've helped you."
"...I can't be certain of that."
The echo of Connor's fearful cry for help immediately pulled at Hank's heartstrings. Hearing Connor sounding doubtful, if not afraid, to tell him anything made Hank feel as if he was failing as a detective. Hank was a man who had sworn to protect the innocent, not intimidate the masses.
"Why can't you be certain that- Wait." Hank saw the distance gaze in Connor's eyes and had no choice but to admit to something he had been trying to deny for far too long. That blank look was undeniable in either man or machine. "You're afraid of me, aren't you?"
Connor's silence spoke volumes. The deviant couldn't look Hank in the eyes and refused to even take a breath without getting express permission.
"Okay. I get that I've been a major hard-ass on you ever since you showed up in my life, but I'm not the type of person who'd go out of his way to hurt someone just to hurt someone. I won't hurt you, Connor. I don't have any reason to hurt you."
Clenching his hands into fists atop his lap Connor refrained from responding. He didn't have anything positive to say about the proclamation, and his continued doubts would only upset Hank further.
"You don't have to believe me if you don't want to." The Lieutenant understood that Connor had every right to disbelieve him since in the past he had gotten physical with the android for no reason, and he had threatened a few times for good measure. He really had no reason to act as if he was innocent in anything. "Just know that I won't do anything that'd actively put you in danger. From now on, if you're sick you tell me. I just want to know what's going on in my own home, understood?"
The deviant only nodded as he refrained from giving a verbal response.
"Yeah, okay. That works for now." Picking up one of the jawbreakers from the candy pile, Hank eyed the wrapper and then held the candy up in front of Connor for the deviant to see for himself. "For Cole's sake, scan his candy pile. Make sure there isn't anything he needs to worry about."
Obediently Connor ran a quick scan over the massive candy collection and only found one piece to be questionable. Reaching into the pile Connor retrieved a single piece of black licorice that had a partially torn wrapper that could've left the candy exposed to something nefarious, or at the very least let it become stale.
"That's it?" Taking the licorice for himself Hank just chuckled and tossed it into the trash can. "No one in this house likes licorice anyway."
Now wearing his clean pajamas Cole had just finished his bath and proceeded to rush out of the bathroom and into the kitchen to check over his candy. His hair was still slicked back in its vampire-doo, but all of the fake blood around his mouth had been washed away and Cole looked like a normal little boy again. "How much can I have, dad?"
"Since it's Halloween night you can either pick ten small pieces of candy to snack on during the movie-thon, or five bigger pieces instead. What'll it be?"
"I'll do ten!"
"Why am I not surprised?"
"Are you going to watch the movies with us?" Cole looked over at Connor hopefully as he picked up a few pieces of candy for the night. "It's a bunch of super old ones with all kinds of monsters we haven't seen before!"
Hank spoke up on Connor's behalf and showed the android a simple act of kindness. "Connor needs to finish its update, which means it needs to go lay down for the night. Don't worry, the movie-thon is going to have an encore presentation tomorrow night, so it can rejoin us and you can warn it about the super scary parts."
"Okay, fine." Cole gathered his selected candy in his arms and gave his dad a stern look. "But we're still making a fort!"
"Of course we are. It wouldn't be a monster movie-thon without one." Hank grabbed a few pieces of candy for himself and then gave Connor a subtle nod of his head motioning for the deviant android to head to the garage and rest. "We'll see you in the morning, Connor. Do what you gotta' do."
For a brief moment Connor was actually grateful for Hank speaking up for him when he was feeling so weak and vulnerable. It was odd, but in that passing moment Connor swore that he saw a glimpse of the man he had befriended in the alternate timeline looking him in the eyes and speaking to him in an understanding voice. As brief as the moment was it was still something that gave Connor hope that his future alongside Hank as his friend wasn't as implausible as he feared.
Mindful of his still sore stomach, Connor rose from the table and made his way to the side doors leading to the garage just as Hank and Cole began making their special fort with Sumo checking in on them in the process. The deviant was careful to step over Hank's blue stained shoes as he made his way to the garage to lay down in the secluded space. Just getting some rest and getting away from the stomachache that had hindered his day and left him terrified of what could happen had Hank decided to take him to a technician, were going to ensure that Connor made a full recovery.
"I need to take better stock of my Thirium supply starting now."
Connor laid over the cot and tucked his arm beneath his head as he stared up at the ceiling and admired the still glowing plastic stars overhead. It was a simple sight, but one that made Connor feel much better whenever he sought isolation and prepared to enter rest mode.
"I'll buy more Thirium tomorrow and I'll begin saving some of the money given to me to buy additional Thirium when it gets closer to the Revolution. I won't be caught under prepared a second time."
Letting his eyes drift shut Connor engaged rest mode and ensured that his system worked on low power mode to preserve what Thirium he still had left in his system until morning. He refused to get sick again or appear weak in Hank's eyes. As stubborn as Hank could be, Connor knew that he could be twice as bullheaded and beat Hank at his own game when push came to shove.
As time passed him by Connor knew that it was important to stay on his toes and not let his guard down. The fate of his future and his peoples' future all depended on him remaining strong, honest and determined. It was a heavy weight to bear, but one that Connor was prepared to take on for the greater good.
-next chapter-