Carlos Ortiz's Residence: November 5th, 2038 - 11:21pm

It was dark, rainy and absolutely miserable as the Oldsmobile pulled up in front of the cordoned off and rundown house on one of the seedier sides of town. The reported homicide had come in around six in the evening and Hank been assigned to take the lead on the open investigation. Due to his already heavy workload and stacking up paperwork, reports and other files keeping him trapped to his desk, the busy Lieutenant had been unable to head out to the scene until very late into the night. After being unexpectedly introduced to his new temporary and android partner while at the precinct, Hank awkwardly introduced himself to the android, accepted his role and begged for Cole's babysitter to stay at the house for a little while longer.

Hank spent the entire drive out to the crime scene with one eye on the wet road and the other eye on Chase sitting beside him. Seeing another android with Connor's face, Connor's voice and even Connor's role as a detective with the ability to run forensics tests and in field analysis was very difficult to process. The last thing he had expected was to see a second Connor after spending time with who was supposed to be the only Connor for the better part of three years.

The Oldsmobile came to a somewhat squeaky and jerky stop as Hank parked along the street and turned off the engine. The large car's body rocked hard enough to make the little hula girl on his dashboard sway and remind the Lieutenant of his young son who had gifted it to him and to not lose his cool or his job while being forced to work with Chase.

"You wait here." Hank ordered and drew Chase's attention his way and off the road outside the care. "I won't be long."

Chase never blinked as it responded to Hank's orders in a monotonous voice. "My instructions are to accompany you to the crime scene, Lieutenant."

"Listen, I don't give a fuck about your instructions." Disobedience from a rookie partner was bad enough, but having another disobedient machine accompanying him everywhere was worse. "I told you to wait here, so you shut the fuck up and you wait here."

Hank scolded the android sharply as he opened his door and stepped out into the cold rain of the night to check out the crime scene without giving the news reporter already outside the perimeter any details on the case at hand. Showing the security android patrolling the scene his credentials, Hank marched up toward the front door of the house through the holographic police tape sectioning off the property to speak with Ben and Chris already inside investigating the area. By the time Hank had reached the door he heard the android security guard attempting to keep another android from entering the scene.

"Androids are not permitted beyond this point."

Looking back Hank saw Chase standing before the guard and just knew that the 'RK-900' wasn't going to listen to him without a fight. "It's with me!" As Chase passed by the android and met him on the porch Hank lowered his voice to a growl and tried to threaten the android into obedience with his voice alone. "What part of 'stay in the car' didn't you understand?"

"Your order contradicted my instructions, Lieutenant."

"You don't talk, you don't touch anything, and you stay outta' my way, got it?"

"Understood."

"Good."

Ben took notice of Hank's presence and greeted his old friend rather casually given the very macabre and disturbing scene around them. "Evening, Hank. We were starting to think you weren't gonna' show."

"Yeah, that was the plan until this asshole found me."

"So... you got yourself a new android, huh?"

"I wish it was that simple." Unable to explain everything in a timely manner Hank just focused on the investigation at hand. "Just tell me what happened."

"We had a call around eight from the landlord." Ben went into details on the victim as he showed Hank around the livingroom while Chase followed after them and began scanning the scene. Chris was doing the same and taking diligent notes for a proper investigation. "The tenant hadn't paid his rent for a few months, so he thought he'd drop by, see what was going on. That's when he found the body."

The man's limp and lifeless body was slumped against the livingroom wall with writing on the same wall just above him written in his old, dried blood.

"Jesus, that smell!" The seasoned investigator complained as he dared to approach the body again. "It was even worse before we opened the windows. The victim's name's Carlos Ortiz. He has a record for theft and aggravated assault... According to the neighbors, he was kind of a loner. Stayed inside most of the time, they hardly ever saw him."

"Based on the state he's in..." Hank crouched down and stared at the dead body's bloated face and hazy eyeballs. "Wasn't worth calling everybody out in the middle of the night. Could've waited 'til morning."

"I'd say he's been there for a good three weeks." Ben confirmed as he finished writing his notes and watched the way his C.S.I. team was photographing the scene for further investigation. "We'll know more when the coroner gets here. There's a kitchen knife over here, probably the murder weapon."

"Any sign of a break-in?"

"Nope. The landlord said the front door was locked from the inside; all the windows were boarded up. The killer must've gone out the back way."

There was no point in burying the lead any longer and Hank dared to ask about the real reason he was out at the crime scene that night. "What do we know about his android?

"Not much. The neighbors confirmed he had one, but it wasn't here when we arrived." The stench of decaying flesh and old blood was getting to Ben and make his stomach twist in a very disconcerting way. "I gotta' get some air. Make yourself at home. I'll be outside if you need me."

"Sure, thanks, Ben."

Hank proceeded to take in the abysmal sight all around him and try to deduce what had led to the victim's death. Having someone with a felony record being found dead wasn't unusual, but still needed a proper investigation all the same. Returning his focus to the writing on the wall Hank decided to start from there and build a theory around the rest of the evidence while Chase did its own thing.

"Each letter is perfect. It's way too neat, no human writes like this." Hank recognized the handwriting of an android instantly thanks to spending years with Connor with the deviant detective helping Cole with his homework. "Chris, was this written in the victim's blood?"

"I would say so." Chris confirmed as he pointed at the bloody wall with the end of his pen. "We're taking samples for analysis." It was then he took notice of Chase and asked about the android. "Is that Co-"

"That's Chase." Hank replied before Chris could finish his question. "CyberLife sent it to work with us on an official capacity. Guaranteed it's just an overpriced piece of plastic that's just going to be a pain in my ass."

Chase saw an opportunity to get some answers and took the initiative as a means of impressing Hank and to progress the case. Dragging its fingertips against the bloody letters on the wall Chase collected an effective sample and pressed it to his tongue to run an in-field analysis unaware of Hank seeing it and being instantly disgusted by the sight.

"Err, Jesus! What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm analyzing the blood." Chase confirmed as it finished the test and lowered its fingertips from its mouth. "I can check samples in real time. I'm sorry, I should have warned you."

"Okay, just... don't put any more evidence in your mouth, you got it?"

"Understood."

"Fucking hell." The way Chase acted reminded Hank too much of Connor for his own liking. "I can't believe this shit."

Chase then crouched down in front of the body and performed a scan that showed it the cause of the victim's death and of the physical trauma that the victim had sustained just prior to his death and ultimately facilitated his death. It was the same type of biometric scanner that Connor used whenever necessary.

With the scan complete Chase announced its findings to Hank. "He was stabbed twenty-eight times."

"Yeah, seems like the killer really had it in for him." Confirming the brutality of the murder meant nothing to Hank once he spotted the illegal drugs openly left on the man's livingroom table. "'Red ice'. Seems our friend Carlos liked to party. Chris, I want full analysis on the narcotics."

"Consider it done, Lieutenant."

While Hank examined the scene without any input from Chase in the process Chase scanned the livingroom floor and seemed to focus on something that no one else could see. Following the invisible trail down the hallway, past the opened bathroom door and toward the access hatch to the house's attic, Chase suddenly froze and looked up at the ceiling overhead. By all account it was as if it could see through the surface and was watching something scurrying about relatively quietly.

"No one's been in the-" Hank saw Chase staring blankly at the ceiling and had no idea what it was doing. "Something interesting on the ceiling?"

"No. There is something interesting in the attic."

"And you can tell that just by staring, huh?"

"I can see heat signatures through the walls, the ceilings and floors to allow me to easily differentiate between humans and androids." Chase noted as it gave Hank an eerie stare and proceeded toward the kitchen. Grabbing an overturned chair Chase scanned that room as well then returned to where it had been previously standing just below the attic's hatch. "The missing android is in the attic."

"What?" Hank instantly froze and hovered his hand over the gun holstered on his right hip. He wasn't about to take any chances that night and risk losing his life during a nasty encounter with a deranged android. "You're sure about that."

"Positive."

"Why in the fuck would the android be in the attic?"

"The android had been physically assaulted by the late Mr. Ortiz in the kitchen. The android took the knife from the butcher's block on the countertop and threatened Mr. Ortiz, causing Mr. Ortiz to panic and fall backward over the chair, toppling it over."

"Yeah, any rookie detective with a single functioning half blind eye could see that!" Not having his question answered just aggravated Hank more. "That doesn't explain why the android's supposedly hiding in the attic."

"After the android threatened Mr. Ortiz with the knife, Mr. Ortiz fled to the livingroom where he was stabbed to death by the android. The android wouldn't have anywhere to go after the murder, and it knew that it was only a matter of time before the police arrived. It elected to remove itself from the immediate scene of the crime and chose to hide in the attic."

"Chase, tell me WHY the android even had the idea to hide after killing the guy. I'm not in the mood to- Hey!"

Chase put the chair down and used it to climb up and pull on the attic's hatch. Peering around the attic through the small gap between the opened hatch and the floor allowed Chase to determine if it was wise to enter the space and begin looking for the android.

"Son of a... Chris?" Hank called to the young officer while Chase went into the attic to locate the android and have it taken back to the precinct for questioning. "Call in a squad and get Ben! Looks like the android's in the attic, and we might need some back-up."

"It's here, Lieutenant!" Chase called down to the waiting detective and confirmed that it had successfully located the runaway android. "I will apprehend it and bring it down to the ground floor."

"Ah, cripes." The idea of dealing with another android and needing to interrogate it was enough to exhaust Hank's already waning mental resolve. "As if my night wasn't long enough as it is."

Jericho: November 5th, 2038 - 11:56pm

The smell of the recently fallen rain was soothing as Connor stood within the captain's cabin on the old freighter's main deck. It was a place where he could be alone, out of the rain and close to his cowering allies within that very vessel. Knowing what was happening that night without needing to view it for himself had left Connor feeling truly out of place and like he no longer had a place to belong. That night was supposed to be the night that he and Hank officially met for the very first time, but that had all been changed. Not only was Hank sober and no longer a regular at 'Jimmy's Bar', but he was also working with another android that had been sent by CyberLife to work with him in the field.

Another android; another partner.

The deviant detective still had cybernetic access to the precinct's terminals and was able to monitor everything from afar. Connor knew of CyberLife's actions and that they had partnered Hank with another android, but everything about the android was classified and sealed behind firewalls that even he couldn't break. It gave Connor an eerie feeling knowing that his friend was investigating a homicide with an android he never knew and couldn't even learn about.

"The rain should stop in a day or two." Simon entered the cabin to check in on Connor casually. The blond android had also noticed Connor's aloofness and wanted to see if he could get the deviant to open up a little about himself in his own subtle way. "We're running low on supplies, so it'd be best for us to have a discussion about what to do to ensure none of our people suffer permanent damage."

"We'll remain here and wait a while longer before locating additional supplies. It's too dangerous for androids to be roaming unattended right now."

"What makes you say that?"

"The police are investigating a homicide." Connor bowed his head as he stared out at the dark waters of the harbor with noted indifference. "An android is the prime suspect in the homicide. The media is already broadcasting the story and confirming that an android covered in the human victim's blood was found hiding in the residence that doubled as the crime scene and that the android had been apprehended by the police."

Simon sighed and looked out at the horizon that hung above the dark harbor as the rain slowed and became less chaotic. "Do you think the android did it? Do you think they really killed that human?"

"Yes. I know he did."

"How? You don't know the android's story."

"Actually, I do. It's the same story as any deviated android who's dared to fight back and defend themself." Lamenting such tragedy caused Connor's eyes to darken and he contemplated his role in the impending peaceful Revolution. "We'll lay low for a while and try to gather new supplies in a few days. It'll be safer that way."

"You're probably right. We can donate our Thirium with our weakest people until we can get more."

"Where are Josh and North right now?"

"They entered rest mode to conserve power." Simon confirmed as he spoke with Connor in the privacy of the cabin. "I'm going to do the same soon."

"As will I."

"You? Rest?" Laughing a little Simon didn't believe Connor in the slightest. "You don't rest unless it's daylight out. Even then, it's only for two hours at the most."

"I can function fully on minimal power for an extended period of time. Get some rest." The deviant detective gave Simon's shoulder a firm pat as he stepped out of the cabin to walk the perimeter of the harbor once more. "I'll keep watch until dawn."

Standing alone in the cabin Simon just watched as Connor went about his business and let out a huff of breath. Had he been a human his breath would've been visible in the chilly air, but as an android his breaths were entirely undetectable. Seeing the way Connor was seemingly carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders had been exhausting to watch for the past three months. It didn't matter how many times Simon, Josh and North offered to take some of the burden from Connor the stubborn deviant detective refused to give up a single ounce of personal responsibility, and no one knew why.

Known only to Connor, life as everyone in Detroit knew it was soon going to change in a way that would be felt around the world.

Detroit Central Precinct: November 6th, 2038 - 12:41am

It had taken some time to transport the arrested android back to the precinct for questioning after it had been located still hiding in the neglected house. The media had been skulking around every precinct in the city in an attempt to be the first to break the story of androids all turning against humans and proving to be a menace that needed to be destroyed immediately. Fortunately, none of the investigating cops and none of the CyberLife representatives were willing to talk to the media or even acknowledge their presence, and that helped to keep the city from entering a full-blown panic mode that'd result in the destruction of countless androids in a flurry of misplaced rage.

With the android cuffed and secured in the interrogation room Hank took the lead and sat in with the android to begin asking it pertinent questions. As the ranking detective and the lead investigator in the homicide division Hank was the natural choice for such a taxing question and answer session. Gavin, Chris and Chase were all gathered in the neighboring observation room ready to take some notes and try to figure out what happened at the house over three weeks prior.

Through the one-way mirror that separated the two rooms Hank could feel the eyes watching him. To be more specific, he could feel Chase's eerily hollow gaze staring right through him and analyzing everything he was saying and doing in that tense moment.

'Why did you kill him?'

Hank asked as he stared at the cuffed and apparently catatonic android sitting across from him. The android didn't respond and continued to sit trembling with fear at the small table.

'What happened before you took that knife?'

No answer.

'How long were ya' in the attic? Why didn't you even try to run away?'

When Hank failed to get an answer yet again he snapped his fingers twice in the android's face as if checking to see if it could even hear him speaking.

'Say something, damn it!'

Silence.

'Fuck it, I'm outta' here...'

Frustrated and disinterested in speaking to brick wall, Hank left the interrogation room and walked over to the observation room to address the trio who had witnessed the failure of an interrogation in person. Dropping into a chair beside Chris with a heavy motion Hank crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the mute android through the mirror as well.

"We're wastin' our time interrogating a machine," the Lieutenant griped as he seriously contemplated giving up and heading for home to check on his son. "we're gettin' nothing out of it!"

Gavin had been leaning against the far wall with his own arms crossed over his chest as he offered his own opinion on the odd situation. "Could always try roughing it up a little. After all, it's not human, so it doesn't have any rights and it can't file a complaint against us."

Chase turned to look at Gavin and replied in a very serious manner. "Androids don't feel pain." As it spoke Chase noted the smirk on Gavin's face as if he found the statement to be humorous. "You would only damage it and that wouldn't make it talk. Deviants also have a tendency to self-destruct when they're in stressful situations."

"From my personal experience, not ALL androids are immune to pain." Gavin snapped as he gave Chase an irritated side-eye. "And not all androids are as calm as they try to act."

"Those androids have deviated from their original programming and only imitate the ability to feel pain. I can understand why you as a human wouldn't be able to make such a distinction between actual pain and emulated pain."

"Okay, smartass..." Gavin didn't appreciate having Chase, a rookie that was only in the precinct because of CyberLife trying to cover themselves, challenging him or questioning his knowledge of androids. Being questioned by an android was only making it easier for Gavin to resume hating androids despite all his progress over the past few years. "What should we do then?"

"I could try questioning it."

Hank ignored Gavin's condescending chuckle as he decided to allow Chase the chance to interrogate the android. By all account, it did seem more likely that an android would respond properly to other androids and not human.

"What do we have to lose?" Waving Chase over to the neighboring room Hank gave his temporary partner permission to continue the interrogation. "Go ahead, suspect's all yours."

Chase stared at the nameless android through the mirror for only another second before it wordlessly turned to exit the observation room through the single door to enter the neighboring interrogation room. The android used its exposed palm to gain access to the room and resume the interrogation for itself just so it had a report to send to its superiors at CyberLife.

As it stood before the arrested android Chase casually checked through the collected photographs that had been taken from the scene of the crime and used the collected evidence to its advantage. Had it fully assessed the scene before tracking the deviant down Chase wouldn't need to rely on the evidence that Ben's team had collected and chronicled through photographs and analytic tests.

Moving about in a stiff manner Chase sat down across from the deviant and performed a visual scan. The telltale signs of chronic physical abuse on the android's arms, hands and even along his face were unmistakable. It was undeniable that the android had been used as a punching bag by Carlos Ortiz for years.

"I detect an instability in your program." Chase stated bluntly as it stared through the broken android with its hollow gaze. Through its scan Chase could monitor the arrested deviant's personal stress levels. "It can trigger an unpleasant feeling, like fear in humans."

Coldly Chase slipped open the file containing the collected holographic photographs and slid then toward the nameless android to see for himself. The image of Ortiz's slumped corpse with 'WE ARE ALIVE' written in his blood was front and center.

"You recognize him? It's Carlos Ortiz." The apathetic android detective asked without any shred of kindness in its words. "Stabbed twenty-eight times. That was written on the wall in his blood."

The lack of reaction and responses had prompted Chase to take a more aggressive approach. Threatening the android seemed to come unnaturally easy for Chase as it put some edge to its voice in a menacing manner.

"You've refused to talk since they arrested you. If you don't cooperate, they'll do things the hard way. Is that what you want?"

When the android remained unphased by Chase's attempts to intimidate him Chase decided to escalate in its own behavior to try to provoke a reaction.

"You don't seem to understand the situation. You killed a human." Chase raised its voice again and practically set the arrested deviant android on fire with just its gaze alone. "They'll tear you apart if you don't say something."

The deviant's stress levels were reaching their breaking point and Chase took its opportunity to push the deviant over the edge.

"If you won't talk, I'm going to have to probe your memory."

"NO!" Speaking at last the deviant finally reacted and began to visibly panic at the ides of anyone checking through his memories. "No, please don't do that!"

It was as if a switch had been flipped and the deviant was suddenly aware of where he was. Peering around the room for a moment the deviant glanced over at the one-way mirror where he knew he was being watched. He could just feel the eyes of humans watching him, judging him and assuming the worst of him.

"What... What are they gonna' do to me?" Whispering in fear the deviant sat wide-eyed and began to tremble violently where he sat. "They're gonna' destroy me, aren't they?"

"They're going to disassemble you to look for problems in your biocomponents." Such a cold and analytical response only made the deviant's stress levels rise again while Hank, Gavin and Chris continued to watch the interrogation through the one-way mirror. "They have no choice if they want to understand what happened."

"Why did you tell them you found me?" The arrested deviant felt entirely betrayed and alone in the world. "Why couldn't you just have left me there?"

"I was programmed to hunt deviants like you." Chase's answers were entirely apathetic and calculated every time he spoke. "I just accomplished my mission."

Through the mirror Hank shook his head and bowed his head as if ashamed of what he was witnessing. As much as he wanted his answers and for the interrogation to bring him some answers Hank couldn't bear to see someone screaming in the face of someone else who looked as if they had just survived a night through Hell.

Barely audible above a whisper the deviant tried to plea for mercy. "I don't wanna' die."

"Then talk to me."

"I... I can't."

Slapping the table Chase caused the deviant to jump as it proceeded to shout in its face again. "Twenty-eight stab wounds! You didn't want to leave him a chance, huh? Did you feel anger? Hate?" Throwing dark accusations at the deviant made Chase seem like a vicious dog barked at a tiny kitten. "He was bleeding, begging you for mercy, but you stabbed him, again and again and again!"

"Please, please leave me alone..."

"I know you killed him. Why don't you say it?"

"Please," the deviant begged in a quivering voice heavy with fear and confusion. "please stop."

"Just say 'I killed him'! Is it that hard to say?!"

"Stop it, stop..."

"JUST SAY YOU KILLED HIM! JUST SAY IT!"

Hank, Gavin and Chris were all watching Chase through the window with a notable disgust. Seeing Chase tearing into the arrested deviant made the trio sympathize with what the deviant was currently going through. Being the 'bad cop' was only supposed to be a last resort for when a suspect was being uncooperative and even confrontational. The arrested deviant was entirely submissive and terrified.

Virtually crying, the deviant pleaded for Chase to stop shouting at him and demanding answers that he couldn't give. "Please, please leave me alone."

Chase just shook its head as if it had been inconvenienced by the deviant as it reached out its exposed hand and took hold of the deviant's forearm to force a memory probe against the deviant's will. "You leave me no choice..."

"AGH!"

Carlos Ortiz's voice was a menacing echo in the uncovered memories within the deviant's mind, but only Chase and the deviant could hear the now dead man's enraged words threatening the deviant just before his own murder. 'Come here, you piece of shit! I'll teach you to look me in the eye!'

Crying out in pain the deviant had no choice but to reveal the truth to Chase and confirm that he had killed Carlos Ortiz. "ARGH!"

"I accessed its memory." Chase confirmed coldly as it took back its hand from the deviant's arm and regenerated the artificial skin over its palm. "I know what happened."

Hank just shook his head as he motioned for Gavin and Chris to join him as he returned to the interrogation room to return the deviant to a holding cell. There was nothing else to be done and he had no reason to ask the deviant any other questions.

Chase rose from its chair and smoothed out the front of its shirt and blazer as if trying to remove filth after touching the deviant's arm. "You'll go back to CyberLife to be disassembled. It's better this way."

The arrested deviant felt entirely alone in the world and began to panic where he sat. Seeing Hank, Gavin and Chris all entering the room and siding with Chase, siding with the traitorous android that was working for CyberLife against its own people, destroyed even the smallest glimmer of hope that the arrested deviant had clung onto even after his arrest.

With his stress level at one-hundred percent, the deviant android saw only a single way out of his predicament, and that way out would prove to be effectively permanent. Steadily and rhythmically, the deviant began smash his forehead down against the top of the table over and over again. A smear of blue blood appeared over his forehead as his attempts to self-destruct and end his very existence before CyberLife could get ahold of him were proving to be macabrely effective.

Gavin saw what the deviant was doing and froze near the door was as he tried to figure out what was going on. "What the fuck is it doing?"

All it took was one look for Hank to recognize the deviant's behavior and also freeze as he wasn't sure how to stop it. "It's destroying itself."

"Stop it, goddamn it!"

Chris had rushed over to the table in an attempt to restrain the deviant, but the deviant was too strong and too determined to self-destruct. "I-I can't! I can't stop it!"

Chase didn't say or do anything. Standing aside Chase just watched as the deviant's forehead bled profusely and his cranium began to crack and splinter in such a way that its intracranial processor became irreparably damaged. With one final strong hit the deviant managed to successful destroy his own brain and slump forward over the table in a lifeless, bloodied heap.

Hank stared at the deviant's body with a sense of failure and shock as he realized that he had just witnessed an android commit suicide. "Holy shit..."

"CyberLife will take custody of the body." Chase reported with a heartlessly monotonous voice as it stared at the deviant's broken body. "I apologize for the mess."

Hank, Gavin and Chris all exchanged stunned glances as Chase left the interrogation room without so much as blinking at the act of self-destruction that it had just witnessed. Despite being humans, all three of the cops felt horrible after seeing what the deviant had done and knowing that it was Chase who had pushed the deviant into committing to his final act as a last desperate attempt to feel some control over what was happening to him.

"Let's get one thing clear." Hank finally spoke and ceased the tense silence that had filled the room post destruction. "That thing out there, Chase, is NOTHING like the Connor we knew. No one is to compare Chase to Connor, or even think of them as anything alike. Chase may sound like and look like Connor, but it's NOT like Connor in any way, and that is NOT up for debate."

"No shit." Gavin agreed as he cleared his throat anxiously. "It's late, Lieutenant. Go home to Cole. I'll ask for Ben to come in and document this before it's all cleaned up and swept under the rug by CyberLife."

"Yeah, sure." Slowly Hank made his way toward the doorway to leave but stopped short as his worry for Cole filled his mind with dread. "One more thing. No one is to mention Chase around Cole, EVER. I don't want him to think that Chase being here means anything about Connor somehow returning. And I really don't want Cole trying to befriend that ruthless machine."

"Happy to hear that, Lieutenant. We won't say a word."

"And Gavin, I know it's hard, but try not to let one idiot android affect your perception on all androids." The last thing Hank wanted to see was a promising young detective throw his career away because of what someone else did to him. "Chase is a complete asshole but that doesn't mean all the androids will act like it. You know that."

"Yeah, and I also know not all androids will be as chill as Connor." Dropping his voice Gavin got closer to Hank and reminded him that he alone had been the one to get randomly assaulted in the streets while on patrol. "You weren't there that night, Hank. You didn't see the look in that thing's eyes!"

"What exactly happened? You haven't talked about it."

"I did talk about it."

"To the precinct 'shrink' or just to Abby?"

"Does it matter?" Mumbling to himself Gavin gave Hank a non-answer and tried to walk away. "At least I'm talking!"

"Gavin, what did the android do to you?" Using his 'dad voice' Hank managed to remind Gavin that he had someone he could trust even when he didn't feel like he could really ever let his guard down. Hank had become a true paternal figure to all of the younger officers and detectives throughout the precinct. "You said you were trying to help them and then they attacked you. What exactly happened?"

The younger detective knew that Hank wasn't going to back off and that he'd need to talk before he finally exploded. It didn't matter how much he confided in Abby, the man knew that they were some things that only a fellow detective could really understand.

"It was like this..." Painting a picture with just his words Gavin told Hank what had happened that fateful night. "I was on patrol and I saw an android limping toward an alley with some blue blood dripping off of it, so I stopped my car to go and check it out."

"All right, that makes sense so far. Keep going."

"And I know that an android leaking blue blood means the android is in serious trouble and has been damaged. So, I tried to offer it some help and see if it needed to go to CyberLife or something for repairs, you know?"

"Uh-huh..."

"And when I tried to put my hand on its shoulder it just sort of... freaked."

"Freaked? What do you mean?"

"I mean it saw me, felt my hand on its shoulder and it freaked! It screamed like I was trying to stab it, then it grabbed me by my neck and threw me up against a brick wall before running off while screaming about humans trying to destroy all androids." As Gavin relived the incident, he pressed his palm to the back of his head where he had hit the wall after being thrown against it. "The look in its eyes. It was like... I don't know."

"Try to explain what you saw." The signs of trauma were evident in Gavin's voice and body language. He didn't want to see Gavin's mental health suddenly become compromised from a single incident. "It's all right, keep talking."

"It was like... the android could see me. I mean, really see me." Gavin would never forget the dark blue eyes of the terrified android on that hot summer night. "Its eyes were more alive than half the thugs in this city. It looked at me the same way that Connor looked at Cole; it was completely aware of what was happening, and it was absolutely terrified." Letting his gaze drift to the side Gavin looked at their destroyed suspect beside them. "Just like that one."

Hank slowly looked at the shutdown android's body slumped over the desk entirely motionless and covered in its own blood. It was hard to deny that Gavin was painting a very effective picture of what he went through and why it was upsetting him so much.

"I think that android did to itself what this one just did." Gavin admitted with a genuinely worried huff. The idea of anything destroying itself out of fear rocked Gavin to his deepest core. "What if me trying to help the android caused it to-"

"You can't blame yourself for what other people do when you try to talk to them or help them and they run off." Everything was now making sense. Gavin was falling back into bad habits because recent experiences reminded him of his traumatic past. "Is that what's been bothering you all this time, you think you're responsible for an android possibly destroying itself?"

"You know what my childhood was like, Hank. It was my fault-"

"No, you're not responsible for what happened." Hank gave Chris a silent request to leave with just his eyes and Chris quickly took the hint while giving Gavin and Hank some privacy to speak. As soon as the door slid shut Hank did his best to guide Gavin out of his personal darkness and back into the more open light. "You aren't responsible for Kimmy drowning - it was the busted android lifeguard and the pool owner who left the lives of his customers in the hands of a poorly tested machine that day. You're not responsible for your mother's depression and pill addiction, she chose to self-medicate without a doctor's care. And you're not responsible for your piece of shit father getting drunk and beatin' on you until he got his ass locked up."

"What about my old man showing up to confront me after I graduated from the academy?" Gavin unconsciously dragged his fingertip along the scar that ran across the bridge of his nose. The scar that was the result of his father throwing him through a glass window when he was a teenager. "I finally told him off and showed him that I wasn't a defenseless kid anymore, and that night he put a bullet in his brain."

"He chose to try to kick you around again out of his own insecurity, then he took himself out over those same insecurities because you chose to live your own life without feeding his delusions of masculinity. You went through a fucked up childhood filled with tragedy, but you're in no way to blame for what happened. We're all masters of our own destiny and in no way responsible for... other people's happiness." Hank didn't expect himself to parrot what Connor had said a while back, and yet there he was giving words of wisdom that he heard from an android. "At any rate, you didn't do anything wrong. Don't feel guilty or assume the worst, all right? You're a great detective, and you have no reason to feel like you made any mistakes."

"Yeah, okay."

"Go on and get some coffee. I'll be out in a minute."

"Okay. Thanks, Hank." Pausing for a moment Gavin sighed and gave Hank a small nod. "And thanks for listening."

"Are you going to be able to keep working?"

"Yeah. As long as I don't' have to work with the robo-cop, I'll be fine."

"Good to hear."

Suddenly full of anxiety and absolute loathing for what he had just seen and heard that night, Hank had to force himself to leave the interrogation room and make his way to his terminal to clock-out, grab his car keys and return for home. As he reached his desk the mentally exhausted Lieutenant saw Chase passing through the front receptionist area with seemingly no awareness of what it had just instigated or how it was the sole reason that the deviant had ended up self-destructing while in police custody.

"What a fuckin' prick. Doesn't even blink when one something bashes its brains out."

Slipping on his dark coat and locating his keys, Hank sighed and prepared to head for home and hope for decent sleep without any nightmares to ruin it.

"That thing better hope it doesn't get in my line of sight when my gun's drawn, I might not be able to resist pulling the trigger."

Jericho: November 6th, 2038: - 03:38am

The heavy rain continued to fall and the air around the harbor felt uncomfortably chilly as Connor finished his perimeter sweep and returned to the moored freighter to get out of the brisk weather for the remainder of the night. The deviant detective knew that as of that very moment Markus, the inevitable future leader of the deviants, was pulling himself out of the muddy graveyard that was the solid waste landfill - a.k.a. the android graveyard - and rebuilding his destroyed body by salvaging bits and pieces from other androids who couldn't be saved. Knowing where Markus was but being unable to reach out and offer him a helping hand hurt Connor more than he could express.

On the other side of the city Kara and Alice were taking shelter inside of a hotel after fleeing from the abuse of Todd Williams. He knew that the two runaways would find their own way to survive despite the odds stacked against them, and yet he wanted to locate them and bring them to Jericho himself. The knowledge that he had carried with him from one timeline to the other was almost torturous to even think about.

As he wandered about the top deck of the freighter Connor looked to the stars that only he could see through the thick rainclouds overhead and calculated when exactly Markus would arrive and find his place among their people. Connor hadn't been on Jericho or anywhere near it when Markus initially located the sanctuary and arrived to find his safe haven, but he knew from Markus approximately when he did find his way out to the harbor.

"In approximately twelve hours and fifty-two minutes Markus will find his way from the Ferndale District and out to this harbor. As long as he makes it out here when he's expected then I know that we'll be all right."

Making his way down the long, echoing metallic staircase allowed the other deviants inside to hear Connor coming. He didn't want to alert anyone and make them panic fearing that someone had arrived to harm them or expose them to the police.

The dim glow of the interior of Jericho was strangely comforting as it meant that no matter how deep the darkness a light was still somewhere always illuminating the shadows. Seeing everyone resting well and seemingly comfortably was reassuring in its own way. The deviant refugees were bundled up in clothing that had been located in the city's various 'Lost & Found' bins or under assorted rags that worked as makeshift blankets as they found places to rest next to the burning barrels producing their only source of light and heat.

Passing through the interior of the vessel Connor checked on his people and noted that Simon was in rest mode while still standing, almost like it was a strange habit that he couldn't seem to break, whereas Josh was sleeping while sitting upright on a nearby storage chest. North was laying over a row of storage chests against the far wall and seemed to be sleeping in an entirely natural manner.

It was strange to see how even while asleep every deviants' reactions uniquely matched their previous lives as obedient machines.

"Everyone is resting well." Lucy whispered as she watched Connor from her own sheltered corner of the floor. Thin sheets were hanging from the metal rafters overhead to hang down and provide Lucy with some form of privacy as a result. "Now it is your turn to rest."

"Not yet." Approaching the wise deviant quietly Connor sought her counsel as he continued to patrol the area. Stepping around his people sleeping on the dirty floor wasn't the most encouraging sight for anyone to see. "We still have approximately five hours until first light."

"I was not referring to sleep." The enigmatic deviant clarified as she peered at Connor with her eternally blackened eyes. "You must rest and let go of the burdens that you've been bearing long before you even found your way to us."

"I can't do that. Not yet."

"If not now, when?"

That was a question Connor that wasn't sure he could ever answer. He had been harboring so much secrecy inside of himself for so long that he wasn't sure how to stop living with it or how to let it go.

Turning around slowly Connor decided that it was best to not say anything and just reside to himself far away from the others. "I'll be up top if you or anyone else needs me."

"We know you're always near us, Connor." Lucy responded sweetly as she sensed the internal and emotional distress building inside Connor's heart. "Don't forget that we're always near you as well. You're not alone in your fight."

Such a comment seemed to open Connor's eyes for the first time in years as he realized that Lucy was right. Not only was he going to remain close as a leader until it was safe for him to move on and find a new role to take upon himself, but he was going to have other deviants close to him for the time being. In the past he only had Markus to rely on as a fellow deviant, but in this new timeline Connor would have far more people watching his back without him even noticing their protection.

Passing back through the main area Connor looked over at North sleeping and began to wonder if he was being far too guarded around her. There was a difference between keeping certain secrets from certain people, and then there was anticipating someone looking for an opportunity to stab him in the back. North wasn't the same deviant that he had met in the previous timeline because he wasn't the same deviant she had previously met.

Treating her as if she was still trying to rally the world against him wasn't going to be of help to anyone under any circumstances. He was treating her with cold judgement just as she had done to him in the previous timeline despite there being no reason for it.

That was something that he could change without consequences.

Continuing on his way Connor did his best to maintain a sense of control and calm as he waited for the sunset to greet Jericho as it meant that Markus himself would finally grace the deviant sanctuary with his presence. Change was inevitable, and regardless of what Connor said or did on that night, the world was going to become a far different place in just one week.

-next chapter-