Right on schedule a brutal storm rocked the entire city with an impressive display of nature that shook the streets, homes and buildings with deafening thunder and blinding lightning that illuminated the otherwise dark night sky. Hank and Connor had stayed home during their day off and were now sitting on the couch side by side watching the weather report on television, not that Connor needed to rely on the news for such information thanks to his internal Doppler radar. Heavy raindrops bombarded the roof and strong winds rattled the windows of the house while creating a haunting ambience of natural gusts that kept the two detectives on their guard as they waited for an emergency call to report to the precinct for duty.

Sumo had wisely taken shelter under Hank's bed out of fear of the powerful storm and had no intention of leaving until the storm had passed. It was a little amusing to see such a large dog cowering in fear under a narrow space, but neither detective disturbed him. They had too much respect for fear and phobias to dare to openly mock them.

Power outages had been reported throughout the city as several powerlines had been downed by strong winds and fallen tree branches. It was too dangerous for electrical crews to repair the damage at the moment, and as a result the outages were expected to remain consistent throughout the night. In seeming response to the surrounding blackouts, the lights inside the house flickered and dimmed as the storm bombarded the modest structure relentlessly.

"I'm going to get some candles." Hank decided as he made his way to the hallway closet after noting the flickering overhead lights. Always prepared for an emergency Hank remained calm and took the storm in stride. "You can see in the dark with your fancy eyes, kid, but I can't."

Connor's L.E.D. flashed from blue to yellow as his sensors indicated that several lightning strikes were dangerously close to the house and were beginning to cause electrical interference. Rising from his place on the couch Connor peered out through the front window by the front door to watch the sky with a childlike intrigue. The storm wasn't nearly as severe as it had been when the duo had been stranded at the campsite, but it was still intense enough to warrant close monitoring.

Unfortunately, before Connor could react to the impending danger a bolt of lightning struck the power transformer at the top of pole across the street causing it to explode in a cascade of sparks and fire with a deafening blast that shook the entire block and plunged the house into deep darkness. It had happened all within a single heartbeat and neither detective could've possibly seen it coming.

"Holy shit!" Hank shouted as the explosion shook the house and cut out the power entirely leaving him lost in blackness. From under his bed Sumo started barking at the loud sound and then whimpered as he quieted back down. "What the fuck was that?!"

Wisely and slowly Connor backed away from the window and put his hand over his chest as the air filled with a heavy electrical charge that made his biocomponents fluctuate unexpectedly.

"L-Lightning strike." The deviant detective answered flatly as ran a self-diagnostic over his systems. His blue L.E.D. flashed yellow as he informed emergency responders to the scene of the explosion to take care of the damage. "A transformer has been destroyed."

"I'll say." With a burning candle to light his way Hank rejoined Connor in the livingroom and peered out the window for himself. A small fire atop the pole across the street was being doused naturally by the rain itself which helped minimize the resulting damage. A rogue powerline sparked along the ground and street with a dangerously high voltage and amperage, wildly showering the street like a slithering snake. "We're both staying inside. Neither of us gets paid enough to handle damaged powerlines."

"I... I agree." Connor suddenly winced as the electricity in the air built and a strange tightness in chest formed near his Thirium pump. "The... storm is f-far too dangerous f-for us."

"You okay?" Fairly quickly Hank noticed Connor's discomfort, his voice becoming less gruff and softening considerably at the sight of his friend in distress. "You look like you're in pain."

"I'm experiencing s-some... discomfort in my chest." Steadily Connor's hand gripped at the front of his black t-shirt with a desperate grasp as he felt his Thirium pump suddenly start to beat faster than normal. It was alarming and becoming frightening to a point where Connor had to make a conscious effort to not dig his nails into his own artificial skin. "My... My heart is racing."

"You didn't get hit by lightning, too, did ya'?" Hank asked sincerely he set the candle down on the coffee table between the couch and television before he put his hands on Connor's shoulders. His left hand was still in a cast and made the effort a little cumbersome. "To be honest you seem like a perfect lightning rod."

"N-No. I am... undamaged, but-" His soulful brown eyes clenched shut and Connor let out a gasping wheeze between his gritted teeth as lightning illuminated the sky once more with a bone shattering crash of thunder. Nearly falling to his knees Connor was kept upright only by Hank's firm grip on his shoulders as the pain in his chest became unbearable. "S-Something is... wrong!"

"Shit, what's going on with you?" Staying calm Hank tried to guide Connor back toward the couch to lay down but the afflicted deviant wouldn't budge. "Talk to me, son. What's happening to you right now?"

Before he could utter a single response Connor let out another sharp gasp of pain as he felt his Thirium pump begin beating faster and faster with an agonizing force and enter an arrhythmia. Hank could feel the intensity of Connor's heart beating out of control just by having his hands on the deviant's shoulders as the rapid motion made Connor's entire body tremble. Worried that there was something horribly wrong with his friend Hank put one arm around Connor's upper back and slipped his other arm under Connor's knees to pick him up and place him down on the nearby couch.

"Connor, look at me." Hank ordered as he laid Connor down over the length of the furniture on his back and put his hand down in the center of Connor's chest. Instinctively he tried to measure the deviant's rapid pulse, but Connor's heart was beating too fast for the human to count. "Fuck. Your heart feels like it's about to beat out of your chest."

Lightning filled the sky again with brilliant flashes and gave Hank a clear view of Connor's pained face as the accompanying thunder drowned out the rain pounding against the roof with a violent cascade of nature. The glow from the candlelight and lighting strikes was eerie as the deviant tried to communicate and the human detective tried to understand what was happening.

"H-Hank...?" Connor's eyes were shut so tight tears were beginning to stream down his face as he put both hands over his thundering heart and his L.E.D. cycled quickly in red. "I-It hurts!"

"Tell me what's happening, then I can help you."

"M-My Thirium pump... has been o-overstimulated."

"From what? The storm?"

With it being too difficult to communicate verbally Connor nodded once. He took in a gasping breath as if he could somehow slow his heart then he could control his breathing and resume speaking. Taking deep controlled breaths had worked before but there was no guarantee it'd work now.

"What did it?" Barely able to follow Connor's logic Hank tried to understand the cause of the deviant's sudden distress. "The lightning or the explosion?"

"B-Both." Stammering to speak Connor managed to tell Hank about the cause of his current malfunction. "The air h-has been el-lectrically charged!"

That was something well out of Hank's scope of control. "What the fuck can I do about the air?!"

"N-Nothing. Glitch in m-my... software."

"I can do even less about a glitch, kid." Hank watched in horror as Connor began to breathe even harder and his heart raced even faster under his palm. The dangerously rapid heart rate was beginning to scare the seasoned detective. "Jeez, you look like you're having a heart attack."

"C-Correct."

"I'm WHAT?!"

"My..." Connor couldn't even finish his sentence as his systems were forced into a low power mode that ceased his conscious functions "...heart."

Letting out a final weak pant Connor's body relaxed and went limp before Hank's eyes.

"Connor?"

Hank put his hand to the side of Connor's face and tilted his head slightly to the left to look at the L.E.D. in Connor's right temple. It was still red and fully illuminated but it was pulsing much slower, almost back down to its standard rate of cycling speed.

"Kid? Wake up."

Tentatively Hank put his other hand back down over Connor's chest and could feel the deviant's pump stutter a few times before suddenly stopping.

As Connor's heart stopped his red L.E.D. went suddenly blank and Hank noticed the negative reaction immediately.

"Shit! Connor..."

Hank went to place his right hand over top of the left hand and interlace his fingers together to begin chest compressions before he realized that his cast was going to make C.P.R. impossible. Almost just as quickly, Hank realized that the cause of Connor's sudden Thirial arrest was from the storm, and not from trauma to his biocomponent or anything else. If Connor's pump just stopped then maybe it could just start up again with a strong enough jolt to kickstart it.

"Sorry about this, kid."

Reeling back his good hand high above his head Hank brought his fist down hard directly over the center of Connor's chest causing his pump to violently contract once. Shortly thereafter, Connor's pump relaxed and then contracted again as his heart began to beat on its own again and escape Thirial arrest. The pump continued to relax and contract in a steady rhythm as his Thirium pump continued to beat normally.

"Connor?"

Lightly Hank placed his palm flat over Connor's chest and was relieved to feel that his Thirium pump was active again. An active pump of course meant his heart was now beating. The racing pump was beginning to calm its frantic pacing and eased into a steady rhythm.

"Thank fuck... It worked."

Sirens and flashing lights of red and blue outside the house drew Hank's attention to the front window where he saw a fire engine and a squad car pulled up in order to tend to the downed powerline. The temptation to wave over one of the first responders was nearly irresistible, but Hank decided he'd wait to see if Connor began to respond on his own before pulling any rescue personnel from the more important task of getting the powerline under control.

Pressing his hand down firmer against Connor's chest Hank tried again to count his pulse and was happy to estimate his pulse at about ninety-six, compared to its previously incalculable rate. Feeling Connor's chest rise and fall with even normal breaths confirmed that the deviant's system was back online and functioning properly.

"All right. That's better."

Curious about whether or not Connor could even hear him or understand what he was saying, Hank carefully lifted up Connor's eyelid with his thumb and looked down at the brown iris beneath.

"Connor? Can you hear me?"

Slowly Connor's eye moved slightly to look up at Hank. The opposite eyelid opened slowly, and Connor's mouth parted a little as if he was trying to speak.

"Good, you're still with me." Pulling back his hands Hank sat down on the coffee table beside the couch. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Y-Yes."

"What the hell was that about?"

"S-Software glitch." Connor's L.E.D. cycled from red to yellow as he spoke, and his system recalibrated accordingly without further complication. "The close proximity to the lightning began affecting my system and interfering with my programming." Connor's hands rested atop his chest and his breathing eased as the yellow L.E.D. finally returned to blue. "The solution was to fall into low power mode which caused my system to recalibrate and reverse the effects of the inference. It appears my power level dropped too low and resulted in Thirial arrest."

"...Yeah." Rubbing his palm over the back of his shaggy gray hair Hank gave Connor a sheepish glance. "Sorry about punching you in the chest."

"It's all right." Rubbing his own palm over his steadily beating heart Connor ran a self-diagnostic and confirmed that his Thirium pump had been restored to its correct beat. "Your method was effective, and I did not sustain any damage to my plastimetal chassis over my chest, and my Thirium pump is responding correctly."

"Earlier when I said that it looked like you were having a heart attack," Hank questioned what the hell they had just gone through with an arched brow. "you said I was right." Worried for his friend's health stared down at Connor with a fatherly concern. "How was I right about that?"

"Heart attacks in humans can be caused by illness, trauma and spontaneous electrical discharge." Connor tried to sit up, but Hank reached out his hand and pressed it against Connor's torso to keep him lying flat on his back. "I apologize if I frightened you."

"Frightened me? You scared the shit out of me!"

"I'm sorry. It was a glitch that I hadn't anticipated. If it's any comfort such a glitch is extraordinarily rare to experience."

"I don't think anyone anticipates glitches, kid." Hank sighed deeply as he felt his own heart beginning to pound in his chest from adrenaline. He never wanted to have to perform C.P.R. on his best friend ever again. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes. My system has successfully recalibrated and my Thirium pump has returned to its normal rhythm. I'm not in any danger." Curiously Connor tilted his head a little to the side as he gauged the concern on Hank's face. "And I'm not in any pain. I promise I'm no longer in danger and can rest without needing to be monitored."

Another rumble of thunder and lightning strike made Hank skeptical of such a claim since the storm wasn't going to be slowing down any time soon. "Ya' sure about that, kid?"

"Yes. The storm is already beginning to weaken and dissipate. I'm not in any danger, and if I experience another glitch, I will inform you immediately."

"Okay, then." Hank looked through the front window again at the flashing red and blue lights along the street. "Looks like things are getting under control and the storm does look like it's starting to pass. Get some sleep, hopefully we'll have the power back by tomorrow morning and the storm will be long gone."

"Okay." Laying back to enter rest mode Connor draped his entire left arm over his chest as he felt his heart beating at a proper rhythm and speed. "I'm okay, I swear."

"Yeah." Rising from the coffee table Hank walked over to the front window, gave the storm outside a spiteful glare, and pull the curtains shut over the glass to keep the lingering foul weather out of sight. "Damn storm. They never do us any good anyway."

Lifting up his head Connor looked at Hank over the arm of the couch as the senior detective walked around the back of the furniture. "Did you say something?"

"Nah, don't worry about it." Grabbing the blue blanket folded over the back of the couch Hank shook it out and handed it over to Connor to use. Needing to make sure Connor's L.E.D. stayed blue and his heart kept beating, Hank waited for Connor to settle in before heading down the hallway. "You're sure you're good?"

"I'm positive." As if to make a point Connor took in a deep breath and felt his heartbeat remain the same as he laid back. "No further arrhythmia, not sign of tachycardic response due to the remaining lightning strikes in the air."

"Okay." That answer was good enough for Hank for the time being considering he wasn't a technician, but he did trust Connor's judgement. "Goodnight, son."

Laying down for the night Connor closed his eyes and entered rest mode without any sign of further distress in his body or mind. "Goodnight, Hank."

Keeping quiet Hank trudged down the hallway to his bedroom and peered at Sumo still cowering under his bed. Reaching out Hank gave Sumo's chin a reassuring rub before sitting down on the edge of his bed to relax and process everything he had just went through. As he threw back the comforter to settle in for the night Hank looked out at the lightning flashing through his drawn curtains of his window with a sense of irritation at the intrusive phenomenon that was just causing problems for everyone all over Detroit.

As he laid down and pressed his head against his pillow, Hank stared up at the ceiling overhead and he listened to the thunder and rain with an intrigued ear. The man was trained to respond to certain sounds and behaviors, and he knew how to tune out one sound from another to ensure he got a proper night's rest without needing to get blackout drunk in the process. Not that he had been drinking all that much anyway, not with Connor around to keep him on the calm path to sobriety.

"I would've bet my bottom dollar that I would've been the one to deal with a heart attack, not Connor... Poor kid really needs to catch a damn break."

-next chapter-