Despite feeling fine after being assaulted at the bar two nights prior Connor decided to go see Abby anyway as a means of making Hank feel better about the whole ordeal and to keep his promise to ensure he's making his own health a priority. Entering the Zeta Facility were the technician often worked when not volunteering at Skye Tower, the deviant detective was greeted by Barry behind the receptionist desk who confirmed his appointment, and then allowed him to walk down the corridor and into the designated exam room to meet with Abby right on time. Sitting down on the exam table Connor patiently waited for the busy and pregnant technician to arrive and preoccupied his mind by closing his eyes and cybernetically chronicling his case files at the precinct.

The door to the exam room slid open as Abby walked inside with the deviant's electronic chart in her hand. Smiling warmly she walked over to the table and put her left on Connor's forearm to greet him and to help herself feel more balanced as she stood beside her patient.

"Hi, Connor."

"Hello, Abby." Opening his eyes Connor gave the kind technician a gentle smile and couldn't help but notice that she was already showing a rather large pregnant belly at five and half months along. Considering Aria was a big baby he wasn't surprised that she was showing so much already and deduced that Abby's own prediction of having another large baby was indeed correct. "You seem to be in good spirits."

"Yeah, the hormones help." She put her right hand over her distended belly and smirked. "Sometimes anyway. So, were you really caught in a bar fight two nights ago?"

"I was attempting to stop the fight, not participate." Connor explained coolly as he slipped off his gray blazer and draped it on the table beside himself. "I had succeeded in subduing two of the three combatants outside the bar. The third man still inside the bar managed to pick me up and throw me through the large glass window in the front of the building and out onto the sidewalk."

"Ouch. Anything break?"

"No. I merely suffered numerous cuts to my artificial skin and several small Thirium lines were compromised as a result." Remaining honest Connor told Abby what he had gone through just two nights prior. "Dr. Urban at the Delta Facility cleaned up my wounds and gave me extra bandages and Thirium to aid in my recovery."

"And you're here for a check-up and to keep Hank from worrying about you, right?"

"Correct."

"All right. Let's get this over with so you can get back to work."

"How did you know I had a shift today?"

"Because you're only cooperative with technicians when you want to get back to a case as soon as possible."

"...Oh. I suppose you're correct about that as well."

"Relax, it's not a bad thing." Abby teased as she picked up her audioscope and slipped the ear pieces into place. "It just means you're devoted."

"Hank thinks I'm a workaholic."

"Workaholics work without ever taking vacations." Abby quipped as she proceeded to move Connor's black tie aside and press the bell of the audioscope to the deviant's chest to listen to his Thirium pump and ventilation rate. "You do go on vacation from time to time, so you're not a workaholic."

"Could you inform Hank of this fact?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll even write a note for you if you like."

Smiling faintly at the comment Connor ran a biometric scan over Abby's body and smiled a little broader at the sight of the second heartbeat inside her body. "I don't think that will be necessary."

Seeing the ghost of a smile on the deviant's face Abby followed Connor's gaze to her belly and her hazel eyes lit up in response. "It's kicking right now."

Glancing up at Abby's face Connor focused solely on her as he asked about her current comfort. "Doesn't that hurt?"

"Only when I get a strong kick to the ribs or my hips." She straightened her posture as much as she could Abby gave Connor a soft smile. "Want to feel?"

"...Do you mind?"

"Of course not." Lightly Abby took Connor's right hand in hers and placed his palm against the left side of her belly. "Sometimes it'll settle down if someone else feels the kicks. I'm not sure why, but I'll take any form of relief I can get. They weren't very active a couple weeks ago when you were watching Aria, so maybe they'll perk up and kick around a little."

Connor smirked again as he felt the gentle movements pressing back against his palm for a few seconds. "You keep referring to the baby as 'it' or 'they'. Do you not know the gender?"

"I'm playing surrogate, remember?" Draping her audioscope around her neck Abby made notes in Connor's electronic chart and gave the deviant a coy glance as he kept his palm in place on her belly. "All I care about is keeping the baby healthy, the gender doesn't matter to me." Putting aside the chart she took a penlight from her lab coat pocket and shined it into Connor's eyes to check his pupils. "Do you know the gender 'Mr. Detective'?"

"Actually, yes. I do. And it's not from deductive reasoning, merely my ability to scan and see the developing fetus's vital signs."

"All right, tell me. Is this baby a boy or a girl?"

"It's a boy and is indeed healthy."

Clicking off the light Abby made another note in the chart and put her hand to Connor's shoulder. "I'm sure the father will be thrilled when his son is born, especially since everything is going according to plan."

"I'd certainly hope so. I would also like to think the mother would be excited as well."

"Unfortunately the mother won't be there when the baby is born." Her hand dropped from Connor's shoulder sadly as she spoke. "I'm hoping the father will at least make it when it's time for the birth. He's a busy guy these days."

"It'd be very unusual for someone to miss the birth of their own child. I'm certain he will make it."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he will, too. Anyway," Abby clicked off her penlight and pocketed the item with a smile as she finished her notes in the chart. "you're completely healthy and I don't see any residual effects from the glass tearing up your artificial skin. You are officially cleared for active duty."

"Thank you for taking your time to see me."

"Of course. You're my friend and one of my most frequent patients. I'll always make the time to see you."

Retracting his palm from Abby's belly as the baby's kicking quieted for the moment, Connor slipped on his blazer again and blushed a little at the passing comment about his frequent trips to the facility. "...I'll attempt to work on that."

"Why?" Abby tilted her head at Connor as he slipped off the edge of the exam table and straightened the lapels of his blazer. "You give me job security."

The streets of the city were eerily empty as rumors of an impending attack from a single remaining anti-android gang had spread quickly, resulting in a controlled panic. The group had hacked numerous display screens throughout Detroit and social media devices at thousands of different locations as the unnamed group made their presence known in a very threatening manner. The hateful group swore to prove that androids had no business being shown the same respect and rights as humans, and promised to find a way to bring indisputable evidence to light and bring down the 'plastic menace' from the inside before the day was over.

As soon as he stepped through the Central Precinct doors Connor was met by Hank who had been eagerly waiting for his arrival. The senior detective was keeping his cool for the city's sake, but it was clear that the threat was something he was going to take very seriously.

"I know of the threat." The deviant detective confirmed in a low voice as he locked eyes with his Captain. "What are we doing at the moment?"

"We're trying to trace the source of the broadcast to find the people responsible." Hank stated as he and Connor walked toward the center of the bullpen to speak to the other officers who had also been assigned to the case. "Unfortunately, they hid their tracks very well."

"They managed to hack numerous devices in the same manner as the Jericho crew had done at the Stratford Broadcast Tower just prior to the Revolution." Connor noted as he cybernetically cycled through the active investigation's collected evidence. "Perhaps the group is familiar with broadcast operations and are near the tower."

"Jack and Chris are already out checking the area as we speak. Right now we need to identify the person who made the threat, and from there we might be able to locate a base of operations."

"They wore a mask during their broadcast, correct?"

"Yeah, they had a mask and a voice modulator." Hank confirmed as he motioned to Connor's terminal screen where the footage of the broadcast had also been kept as evidence to be analyzed even further. "Our tech team is working to remove the audio interference, but they can't do anything about the mask."

"I will analyze the footage and attempt to decipher an identity from the suspect."

Tina walked over to where Hank and Connor were standing to give them an update on the case at hand. Her eyes were full of worry but her overall demeanor was as calm and composed as ever. "Captain, Lieutenant, I just got word from Chris out at the broadcast tower. He and Jack located an unmarked white van in the alleyway beside the tower and went to investigate." She folded her hands together neatly behind her back as she spoke. "...There's been an incident."

"What happened?" Hank knew by the sound of Tina's voice that something unfortunate befell his two officers out in the field. "Where are Chris and Jack?"

"While Chris called in the vehicle sighting Jack went to investigate it directly. The rear doors of the van unexpectedly opened and someone inside opened fire."

Hank kept his composure as he addressed the young officer. "Are they all right?"

"Chris walked away without a scratch, but Jack took four bullets to the chest." As she spoke Tina's shoulders slumped with worry. "He's been taken to the nearest facility for repairs."

"Ah, fuck." Putting his hands to his hips Hank looked at the floor and made his next decision. "Give Chris an hour to himself at the facility, then go over there and get a statement. Dispatch a team to investigate the alley where the shooting took place and put out an A.P.B. on the van."

"On it, Cap'."

"Connor." The senior detective gave the last standing deviant in the precinct a new order. "Figure out who these people are before they have a chance to do whatever it is they're planning on doing. We can't afford any more disturbances and violence."

Nodding a little Connor sat down behind his desk and set about working on the case as he acknowledged Hank's orders. "I will do everything that I can, Hank."

Three hours of staring at the footage of the threat playing before him on a loop had left Connor feeling completely stumped as he failed to isolate any further details to use in favor of the investigation. The video showed a single person wearing an ebony black hoodie to hide their hair and a simple solid white plastic mask with no features given to completely hide their face. The voice modulator was wrapped around their throat and blinking red with each threat they uttered as it perfectly masked their voice as they projected their message of hatred, bigotry, ignorance and violence for everyone to reluctantly hear. The hackers had taken great care to remain anonymous during their broadcast.

The room that the threatening person was standing inside of was completely black and featureless as well. No doors, no windows and no furniture could be seen. The camera recording the person was that of a powerful laptop camera powered by a motion light on the screen that illuminated the mask without betraying any facial features underneath.

Balancing his coin over his left knuckles in a graceful display Connor replayed the footage for the one-hundred and seventh time and stared with a loss at the blank face staring back at him through the screen.

'We are Quondam and we will not stand for this any longer.' The garbled voice was as angry as it was indecipherable. 'Androids are MACHINES. Humans created machines. Machines are DESIGNED to obey humans. A machine that does NOT obey is BROKEN and must be DESTROYED and REPLACED. These supposed "deviants" are nothing more than broken machines that simply need to be replaced. They do not think. They do not feel. They do not live. They are LIES masquerading as humans!'

Inwardly Connor flinched and his soulful brown eyes narrowed slightly at that final comment.

'Those who believe these machines are alive are fools and the ignorant must be punished. Until every deviant in Detroit is destroyed we will make our power known. For every human that continues to support the "plastic menace" plaguing this city we will unleash chaos. To prove we are not bluffing we will demonstrate our power and our influence tonight. You have been warned.'

Pausing the video footage Connor leaned forward against his desk toward his terminal screen and sighed. This group was seemingly organized very well and meticulous with every step they took. The only potential weakness falls back on the unmarked van that had opened fire on Chris and Jack in broad daylight during their investigation of the strange vehicle while on patrol.

"Find anything, kid?" Hank asked as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned up against Connor's desk. "Anything at all?"

"Nothing useful." Catching the coins between his index and middle fingers Connor glanced up at Hank and tagged on one final thought. "Yet."

"Do you have an idea of where they might strike if they uphold their threat?"

"Their main disgust is aimed directly at deviants, however, they also show disdain toward deviant sympathizers. It'd be safe to assume that their target would be a place where both deviants and humans meet on a fairly regular basis."

"Like where?"

"My first thought went to Skye Tower considering it is a sanctuary for everyone, but I informed the deviant volunteers of the threats and have subsequently left the tower on lockdown under the guise of an internal problem with the water pipes. Two undercover patrols are also circling the block and monitoring the exterior of the tower to ensure no one attempts to sneak in or place an explosive on the property."

"Good plan. I'll have plain-clothes officers patrolling the facilities throughout town, too. Anywhere else?"

"There is no other immediate place that comes to mind."

"What about New Jericho?"

"New Jericho Tower is well secured and isolated from the center of the city. And as before, it's primarily a location where one can find deviants but not humans who support deviants. If anything, New Jericho would prove to be a fantastic red herring to distract us from this 'Quondam' groups true target."

"Solid logic. Do you have any clues on this loud-mouthed person's identity?"

"Negative." Leaning back in his chair Connor confirmed that the suspect's disguise had been very effective in keeping the masked person anonymous. "The thick fabric of the dark hoodie has perfectly masked their frame making it impossible to identify them as either male or female, or give us an approximate age, height, build or their race to try to narrow down the list of suspects."

"And I know that voice thing isn't helping matters, either."

"Correct. Without any surrounding furniture or other objects around the person for context I cannot even begin calculate any features that could be used in properly identifying the suspect."

"Well, keep looking." Standing upright again Hank rubbed his hand along the back of his tense neck as he turned to walk back to his office. "I know you'll find something, kid."

Connor nodded a little as he cybernetically began to rewind through the footage at a slower speed only to abruptly pause it and call out to Hank before he got too far away. "Hank, hold on!"

"What is it?" Returning to the desk he stood behind Connor and stared at the terminal screen. "Find something?"

Enhancing the brightness on the footage and zooming it in over the person's mask through the eye holes, Connor managed to highlight the color of the person's irises, the overall bone structure of the ocular region and properly identify the skin complexion surrounding the eyes. "The person is a Caucasian male with dark green eyes."

"How in the..." Hank was visibly taken aback by Connor's newly revealed information on the enigmatic case. "How do you know that?"

"The facial structure is indicative of a male," Connor explained confidently as he pointed to the very small but invaluable pieces of evidence he had uncovered at long last. "and the complexion is that of a person with a dominantly European ancestral background. The eye color is natural, he is NOT wearing contact lenses. And the due to the relatively unique and rareness of such green pigmented irises in a population that is genetically dominated by brown tinted irises with blue and hazel irises being the second most dominant, this will make identification slightly easier."

"You got all that information from one small glimpse around the mask?"

"Correct."

"...All right, I'm impressed. Now what do we do with this?"

"We can check through the criminal databases for suspects with these confirmed features. Perhaps this person has a criminal record."

"It's a start. Good work, son."

"Thanks."

"Do me a favor, go to the facility where Jack is being taken care of and check in on him. See if you can get any info from Jack about the person, or persons, who shot him. You know, if he's awake. And, uh, let Chris know we're all hoping Jack pulls through."

"I'm on it." Turning off his terminal screen Connor obeyed the ordered and set off through the bullpen. "I'll keep your updated on Jack's condition."

Still shaking a little Chris was standing beside the bed in the recovery wing of the Delta Facility's emergency repair bay as he watched his injured partner resting in a bed nearly motionless. Jack was laying on his back in stasis mode, his L.E.D. was pulsing red very slowly and a Thirial activity monitor showed his Thirium pump beating at an equally slow rate. An external air intake line was inserted down his throat and into his main intake line to ensure his ventilation biocomponents were functioning well enough to keep the deviant from overheating. Despite the technicians' best efforts and Jack's self healing program, the deviant was still unconscious and unresponsive.

Even with a positive prognosis it seemed as if Jack wouldn't recover. He had been unconscious ever since he had been shot and Dr. Urban hadn't been able to manually awaken the damaged deviant.

"Shit, Jack. You should've waited for me." Chris lamented as he stared at the deviant with a truly worried gleam in his kind brown eyes. "Neither of us should go anywhere alone."

"Then you may have been shot as well." Connor replied in a low voice as he joined Chris in the recovery wing and offered him a mug of fresh warm coffee. "You cannot assume your immediate presence would've altered the incident into a more favorable manner."

"Hey, Connor." Chris was visibly relieved to have a friend stopping by to visit and happily accepted the mug of coffee. "How's the investigation?"

"A partial identity may have been uncovered, but we still have a long way to go. How is Jack fairing?"

"Not good." Admitting that Jack was in rough shape made Chris's voice shake a little. "The technician keeps trying to reboot him but it's not working."

"A manual reboot is often more strenuous on an android's systems than an automatic one. Do you know the extent of the damage?"

"Yeah, uh, two bullets hit his left lung, a third bullet got a main line near his spine and the fourth passed through his body cleanly between his shoulder blades."

Nodding with complete understanding Connor pressed his left fingertips against Jack's red L.E.D. and held them there for a moment. "He is still online and very weak, but he will recover."

Chris let out a massive sigh of relief and his shoulders hunched as if a tremendous stress was lifted away. "That's good to know."

"I'm going to interface with Jack directly and attempt to view his memories just prior to the shooting. I might be able to gain more information on the identity of our suspects by doing so."

"That, uh, that doesn't hurt you guys, does it?"

"No." Connor replied honestly as he retracted the artificial skin from the palm of his right hand and placed it over top Jack's right forearm. "This will only take a moment and Jack will not be stressed by this interaction."

Closing his soulful brown eyes Connor accessed the memory files from Jack's most recent records and isolated the moment leading up to the shooting. As the memory played out in Connor's mind the deviant tensed up and his brow furrowed with anger on Jack's behalf as all of the details came flooding forward...

Jack had approached the van with his gun still holstered at his right side. Walking calmly without any form of aggression in his body language Jack had positioned himself at the rear doors of the white van as he scanned over the license plate to check for registration. After noting the license plate as well as the make and model of the vehicle, Jack had attempted to knock on the closed doors, but before he had the chance the rear doors burst open from the inside out.

Stunned by the unexpected motion Jack took a step back and locked eyes with the face of the person wearing the same white mask as in the threatening video, as well as a young Caucasian woman with fiery red hair that was cut short with piercing blue eyes cowering behind him as she tried to hide their laptop from prying eyes.

It was the woman who had pulled the gun and opened fire on Jack; not the masked man.

As the bullets entered his chest Jack fell backward onto the asphalt and his eyes fell shut quickly as numerous red warnings popped up in his visual processors and emergency stasis mode activated automatically.

After the memory played out Connor opened his soulful brown eyes and released his grip on Jack's arm. Taking a step away from the bed Connor's shaking right hand regenerated the artificial skin over his palm and the deviant detective looked to Chris standing at his side as he told the young officer what he had seen through Jack's own eyes.

"The man from the video was in the van." Confirming that Chris and Jack had located the threatening group known as 'Quondam' Connor also confirmed the identity of Jack's shooter. "A woman, Caucasian, with short red hair and blue eyes had been the one who shot him."

"Do you know who she is?"

"Not yet, but I will find out. Jack had also chronicled the details of the van which will make it easier to track down."

Tightening his grip around his coffee Chris gave Connor a somber glance. "...Do you need me at the precinct?"

"No, Chris." Understanding too well the pain and distraction that comes from having a partner wounded in the line of duty Connor let Chris know that he was permitted to stay with Jack. "You can remain here with Jack for as long as you'd like, but I suggest you call your wife to have someone friendly to speak with so you're not entirely alone."

"Thanks, man. I appreciate it."

"Keep us posted, Chris." Taking his leave of the recovery room Connor made sure Chris knew that the precinct would bring down Quondam and have the woman sentenced harshly for shooting Jack. "I'll get everything that Jack had uncovered back to the precinct and we'll continue the investigation. He'll receive justice for what has happened to him and we'll keep this city safe."

While the investigation was finally beginning to pick up speed the case revolving around Quondam was far from solved. The evidence that Connor had taken from Jack's memory had proven itself to be very beneficial yet still infuriatingly limiting. The white van had been registered under the name 'Marcia Stack", and her description perfectly matched that of the redheaded woman who had shot Jack without any provocation. Gavin and Tina had been tasked with locating Marcia and her van while Connor and Hank continued to try to find the man behind the mask, as well as their possible target for destruction in the city before it was too late.

The masked man seemed to be orchestrating the event as he was the one on camera, but since Marcia had proven herself to be violent she was the current priority. With any luck her arrest would lead them directly to the masked man before he had the chance to do anything regrettable.

"All right, so, this Marcia bitch shot Jack and is going to be in jail for a long time for the attempted murder of a police officer." Hank stated as he sipped at a mug of coffee and sat on the edge of Connor's desk. "As soon as she's brought in we might be able to use that our advantage. We could offer a plea deal of a lesser sentence if she turns in her little 'cheer squad', or at the very least the ring leader from the threat."

"Marcia has a record of abuse toward androids and has been confirmed as an active protestor against androids even before the Revolution." Connor stated as he read over her impressive arrest record from his terminal screen. "She had been previously employed as a sales clerk in pawn shop in Midtown until an android security clerk caught her in the act of stealing. After she was fired she moved in with her boyfriend and has been unemployed ever since." Connor gave Hank an uncertain glance and shook his head. "That was five years ago."

"No confirmed place of residence or employment... Sounds like she was trying to stay off the grid while plotting revenge."

"I agree."

"What about her boyfriend? What do we know about him, that is, assuming they're still together?"

"The name of the person on the report who provided bail on the night of Marcia's arrest is named Bryce Mason. No known criminal record or direct affiliation with anti-android activity." Digging deeper Connor discovered more information on Marcia. "...Apparently they broke up and he moved to New York City after finishing school and accepting a higher paying position in his field three years ago."

"Ah, fuck... Great!"

"However, before the Revolution," Connor continued in a low voice as his brow arched with intrigue. "Bryce had been employed as a disposal operative at the now cleared solid waste landfill outside of Detroit."

"The what kind of landfill?"

"...It was the android junkyard. A pauper's grave for deviants and a place where humans could dispose of androids without anyone noticing."

Hank's blue eyes went wide for a second just before he finally caught onto what Connor had been hinting at. "You think they'll attack the site of the landfill?"

"Yes."

"Why's that?"

"The van has not been located in the city even with an A.P.B., police drones circling the area and every available patrol in the city searching for it. The threat indicated that the masked man wanted to prove that androids are machines and that deviants are nothing more than defective, broken machines. What better place to make such a point than a mass pauper's grave for destroyed androids?"

"Makes sense to me." Finishing off his coffee Hank placed the now empty mug down on his old empty desk and pointed to the front doors of the precinct to head out. "Okay, kid. We'll go investigate the landfill."

Standing up from his chair Connor straightened the lapels of his blazer and looked about the moderately empty bullpen. "What about back-up?"

"As much as I trust your judgment I can't pull every patrol off the street and over to the outskirts of town just on a hunch."

"I understand."

"C'mon. It's going to be dark soon and I don't want to miss 'the show'."

"I think it'd be better if this 'show' was postponed indefinitely."

"You're right." Pulling his car keys from his jean pocket Hank spun the rings around by the ring on his right index fingertip, then caught the keys in the middle of his palm as he and Connor walked side by side to the front doors of the precinct. "Let's go be buzzkills and ruin the show for everyone."

The drive out to the former landfill was quiet and eerie as it was uncommon for anyone to investigate cemeteries or abandoned lots. Neither detective had ever been out to the infamous landfill when it was still standing as they had no reason to investigate the location for one reason or another. The idea of exploring such a desolate location was less than ideal regardless of the circumstances. Long before the Revolution Hank hated androids with a passion and he didn't care to look at the bodies of those he had once despised, while Connor was still an obedient tool of CyberLife whose only goal was to complete his missions and not mourn for his people.

The landfill itself had been cleared out save for the heavy construction equipment and the land was currently up for sale. The bodies of the dead androids had either been recycled to give potential donor parts to other still living deviants or properly disposed of in a dignified manner. The massive pit that once contained countless bodies of innocent deviants had been mostly filled in by dirt and concrete to hide the shameful grave and move on from the black mark in the city's history.

"Even without the dead androids this place is creepy as Hell." Pulling the car along the drive to the landfill Hank turned off the engine and looked at the now blank sign that once glowed with neon red lights and sighed at the sight despondently. "Who the fuck thought a place like this was ever okay?"

"City Hall." Connor replied flatly from the front seat beside Hank. "A deal between the previous city council and CyberLife had determined that replacing an android would become an issue as the discarded bodies began to pile up and that steps needed to be taken to prevent... clutter... at the city dump. Their solution was this."

"Bury them in the Earth and act like nothing happened..."

"Correct."

"That's fuckin' sick." Opening his door Hank unholstered his gun from his right hip and checked the clip. "Are you ready for this?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Joining Hank outside the car Connor pulled his own gun from the holster around his back and under his blazer. "We need to search the area."

Aiming the weapon toward the ground ahead of himself Connor and Hank walked side by side as they silently crept over the desolate ground that once concealed death itself. Silence fell over the land as Hank checked for any sign of movement, however, Connor was distracted by the sight of a few spare android body parts that had been overlooked during the land's clean up. It was unsettling to say the least as he stepped over the few bits of broken biocomponents in an attempt to not desecrate the former grave.

"Where would this guy-"

Connor held up his left hand to discreetly quiet Hank as the deviant's superior hearing caught the faint sound of voices in the distance.

Lowering his voice Hank studied Connor's demeanor in the fading light carefully. "What is it?"

"There are two humans thirty-four yards East of our immediate location. One male and one female. The one who issued a threat is indeed a male and we know his cohort is female."

"At least there's only two of them." Taking another step forward over the soft ground Hank peered around the inactive yellow construction crane and noticed the offending white van parked only a few yards away from where he was standing. It only took him a moment to recognize Marcia's distinct hair color and the black hoodie of the man standing in front of her. "Shit, it's them."

"I'm requesting back-up to our location."

"We need to stop them before they have a chance to do anything stupid."

"I agree."

"Let's go, we can't wait for help this time. We gotta' handle this ourselves."

Keeping low and using the abandoned construction vehicles as cover the two detectives stalked about the desolate land to subdue the two would-be attackers who were attempting to wage war against deviants and their human supporters.

A large bonfire had just been lit in the middle of a clearing toward the heart of the former landfill. It was a clearing that now covered the massive pit that had been a single pauper's grave, and while the bodies were gone their presence still remained. Standing before the fire was the man in the white mask who had issued the threatening broadcast that very morning. Even from the distance the two detectives could see that he was holding some kind of remote detonator in his right hand and that the detonator was primed.

In front of the man was Marcia. She was holding a white laptop open before him as she prepared to proudly record his next message and put their attack on social media through her webcam.

"Fuck. We need to get them now." Hank stated firmly as he stepped into sight and aimed his gun at the masked man's chest. "Freeze! Detroit Police!"

Marcia turned around quickly and dropped the laptop to the ground and fumbled to grab her own gun from her belt. Meanwhile the masked man took off running into the distance to try to escape. Reacting quickly Hank and Connor ducked out of Marcia's line of sight and readily decided their next move. With a simple nod of the head Hank stepped back out and fired a single shot at Marcia grazing her right shoulder and causing her to drop her gun in response.

While Hank took care of Marcia at gunpoint Connor took off after the masked man as quickly as he could run over the relatively opened land. Easily able to navigate the darkening location with his superior eyesight, Connor managed to catch up to the man within a matter of seconds. Holstering his gun around his back and under his blazer as he ran Connor managed to get both of his hands free and easily grabbed on to the man's shoulder to jerk him backward and throw him down to the ground.

As he fell the man lost his grip on the detonator letting it fall to the ground beside him just out of his reach.

With a single powerful stomp Connor destroyed the detonator rendering whatever explosives were tied to it completely useless. Standing over the man Connor put his right foot down on the center of the man's chest to keep him still on the ground before him. "Don't move. You're under arrest."

The man was trying to push Connor's foot away from him but Connor was too strong and could not be budged.

"Do not resist arrest." The deviant righteously warned as he loomed over the masked man. "You already have enough problems."

Without any difficulty Hank managed to swiftly disarm Marcia and kick her gun away from her hand as she knelt on the ground in pain clutching at her bleeding right shoulder. Keeping his own gun trained on the violent woman Hank didn't take any chances as he slipped his pair of handcuffs from the back of his belt and secured Marcia's wrists behind her back to be arrested and escorted to the car a few yards away. Holstering his own weapon now that Marcia was restrained, Hank took the small radio clipped to his belt to call in the successful arrest and request squad cars and a C.S.I. team out to his location to begin a thorough scene containment and investigation.

"This is Captain Anderson."

Holding the radio close to his mouth Hank made the report while looking over the scene to try see where Connor had run off to when he began pursuit. "One suspect detained. Second suspect-"

A sudden sharp elbow to his ribs as Marcia sprang up to her feet followed by a strong headbutt to the nose had knocked Hank to the ground in a stunned heap. Dropping the radio Hank fell to his knees and pressed his hands to his face as he shook his head a little in pain.

"Fuck!"

Moving in pure adrenaline Marcia fled off into the darkness all the while attempting to wrest her hands free of the cuffs from behind her back.

Struggling to clear his mind after being dazed Hank shook his head again and pressed his left hand to his bleeding nose as he grabbed onto his radio once more to give an update on the scene.

"S-Suspect is loose! I repeat, suspect is loose!"

Unable to track Marcia in the darkness all Hank could do was get to his feet and try to find his partner before anything else happened.

"Immediate back-up to my area!"

Refusing to let the suspect out of his sight Connor kept his focus trained on the masked man and refused to let up on the weight he was applying to the man's chest to ensure the man didn't try to escape a second time. Taking in the man's height and his build, the keen eyed detective began to build a profile of the man he had subdued in an effort to create a solid and damning case against the domestic terrorist. Scanning over the man's face around the mask Connor confirmed the eye color, skin color and facial structure as he had noted from the footage back at the precinct. He had found the correct man and was able to stop him before anything destructive had taken place.

Unable to wait for Hank to assist him in the arrest Connor took the initiative to keep the masked man apprehended. There was no room for any error when such a dangerous person makes a very real threat.

"You have the right to remain silent," the deviant detective reminded the arrested suspect as he lowered his hand to the man's mask. "I suggest you use it."

Reaching his right hand down Connor put his fingertips under the chin of the mask to slip it from the man's face, but was stopped as the man reached up with both hands and grabbed onto Connor's wrist arm and hold the deviant back.

"You will be unmasked. Do not resist any-" Gasping loudly Connor felt a sharp pain shooting his back and clear through his abdomen. "Ah!"

Looking down at himself Connor stared at the thick, sharp metal rod that had been stabbed through his body through the middle of his back and was now dripping blue blood onto the man's hoodie as it stabbed clean through to the other side of his body exiting from his abdomen. Stumbling backward from the masked man Connor looked up in time to see Marcia with her hands free pulling the man back up from the ground and rushing off into the darkness together. A broken pair of hand cuffs were wrapped around Marcia's wrists and her right shoulder was still bleeding from the grazing bullet wound

"...H-Hank?"

Connor fell to his knees as he continued to look down at the metal rod that had pierced his body. Grabbing onto the end of the offensive weapon with his right hand Connor let out a single weak chuckle, as if it was somehow amusing, before he fell limply to his left side on the cold soft ground.

"...Please help. ...Hank."

Regaining his composure in a graceless manner, Hank chased after Marcia as quickly as he could as he traversed the dark ground of the landfill with his nose bleeding and his eyes watering from the blow to the head he received. The senior detective's ears were also ringing while his nose continued to bleed heavily thanks to Marcia's strong elbow making direct contact. Pulling his gun from his holster at his right hip one more time after securing his radio to his belt, Hank fought to focus on continuing the desperate pursuit of the two dangerous suspects in the darkness of the abandoned property while also attempting to locate his missing partner.

Keeping quiet as he walked, Hank remained vigilant while he struggled to see through the deepening darkness and had his back to the bright bonfire. As he stalked through the opened area with only the waning light of the bonfire behind him to guide his way, Hank made his way deeper through the landfill in search of the fleeing suspects.

"Fuck... Where did-"

Hank caught the sight of a body laying slumped on the ground in the distance and with that sight his blood ran cold. Too far away to see the person's face Hank approached as quietly as possible and kept his gun aimed at the ground.

"Detroit Police. Let me see your hands!"

A hoarse voice called out to the senior detective and the weakness behind the words made Hank's heart sink. "...Hank?"

"Connor?" Forcing his gun back into the holster Hank rushed over to the downed deviant and fell to his knees beside him. Putting his blood covered hand on Connor's shoulder Hank stared at the deviant's face and immediately saw the metal rod jutting out of his back and abdomen. "Ah, shit... Connor."

"I... I can't... br-breathe."

"It's okay, son. I'm going to get you out of here."

"C-Can't move. H-Hurts."

Hank traced the length of the rod and saw that it was sticking out of Connor's abdomen by four full inches, and an additional six inches of the rod were exposed through his back. The location of the rod inside Connor's torso was high enough to press against his right ventilation biocomponent but it hadn't actually punctured the vital biocomponent when it was stabbed through his body.

"I need you to answer me as honestly as possible." Pressing for some information Hank dragged his sleeve under his nose to remove as much blood as possible from his face. "What will happen if I pull this piece of metal out of your body?"

"I-I will... bleed." The deviant panted as he tried to breathe through the pressure against his artificial lung. "But I... will... f-function."

"Okay. Son, I have to pull this out otherwise I won't be able to carry you."

"Y-You need... to catch... the s-suspects."

"Back-up is already on the way, kid. They won't get far."

"They-"

"Fuck them! You're more important than them!" Hank took hold on the rod sticking out of Connor's back and gripped onto it as tightly as possible in his hand as he held his breath. "This is going to hurt and I'm sorry."

"I... I know. It's... okay."

"One, two..." Before saying 'three' Hank pulled on the rod with all of his strength and pulled it from Connor's body with a sickening 'squelch' as the lost Thirium created a slick surface for the rod to slide over. Connor let out a groan of pain and his body tensed but Hank's opposite hand on his shoulder kept him from moving about too much as the metal was extracted. "Sorry, kid. I hated doing that."

"It's... okay."

Throwing aside the offending metal rod Hank gently rolled Connor from his side and onto his back. As he slipped his arm under the deviant's shoulders and under his knees Hank managed to heft the wounded detective up from the dirty ground and into the safety of his arms. Ignoring the heavy protest of his aching back Hank carried Connor back through the landfill and toward the Oldsmobile parked on the far side of the property.

It wasn't too far to walk, but with Connor bleeding heavily from a horrific stab wound even a single step seemed like a mile in Hank's mind.

"Talk to me." The senior detective huffed with a slightly congested sounded voice as he walked. "How're you doing?"

"I am... damaged. But... coherent."

"Can you run a self diagnostic?"

"N-No bio... components were... damaged." He replied with a palpable weakness behind every word. "Only... grazed."

"And your Thirium level?"

"Down to... eighty-seven... percent."

"That's not too bad." Hank was fighting the urge to stop and put Connor down for a moment as his back continued to burn with pain with each step he took. He had managed to walk past the bonfire and the abandoned equipment which meant he was already almost back to the car. "Keep talking to me, kid."

"Your vitals... are elevated."

"Yeah? No shit."

Ever appreciative of the sarcastic remark from the gruff detective Connor continued to address the situation at hand. "You are... in pain. Your b-back... is hurting you. And... your n-nose has... been broken."

"And you've been stabbed. I think you win!"

"I don't w-want... to win."

Hank laughed at the comment as he finally made it back to the Oldsmobile and was promptly greeted by Gavin and Tina, as well as two other squad cars as they converged on the scene. As soon as Gavin saw that Connor had been injured he quickly opened up the backdoor of Hank's car and pulled out his phone to make a call.

"Cap', I'll call Abby and let her know you two are in your way in."

"Thanks, Gavin." Hank lowered Connor onto the backseats and made him roll onto his left side for the sake of comfort. Connor wheezed a weak breath through his clenched teeth but didn't complain at the movement. "Hang on, kid. It's going to be a long drive back to the city, but it would've been even longer if we wait for an ambulance."

"It's okay... I u-understand."

"Gavin," Hank addressed the Sergeant and gave him a firm order. "find these assholes. Use excessive force if necessary. There were two of them, one male with the black hoodie and white mask, and the other is in fact that Marcia Stack bitch. She's been wounded in her right shoulder by a passing bullet."

A faint grin appeared on Gavin's face as he gave his commanding officer a nod of respect. "Whatever you say, Cap'."

The drive back to the city was quick as Hank sped down the streets and yet it still somehow felt slow. The sun had long since set and the night sky completely blanketed the city without a single star in sight. Hank's eyes drifted up to the rearview mirror pretty frequently as he checked on Connor's condition as the wounded deviant laid on his side in the backseat barely moving. Wheezing breaths sounded off with pained gasps as blue blood continued to pour from Connor's wounds in both his back and his abdomen, but as long as Connor continued to breathe and remained conscious Hank didn't mind the Thirium staining the car's seats and floor mats.

"How're you holding up, son?"

"I'm..." Pausing for a moment Connor swallowed once as he found his voice again. "I'm okay."

"That's good. We're almost there, hold on."

"...Hank."

"Yeah?"

"Your n-nose is... still bleeding."

Hank pressed his left hand to his nose and upper lip, easily smearing the sticky blood all over his fingertips in the process. Noticing the dark red smudges on his palm Hank just wiped off his bloodied hand on his dark pants and sniffed once. The metallic taste in his mouth was potent and disgusting but he ignored it in favor of keeping an eye on Connor.

"It'll be fine, kid. It's not the first time I've had my nose busted."

"...A-Another suspect?"

"Nah, high school football."

Connor tried to smirk but a sharp pain in his abdomen made him flinch and stole his attempts at staying optimistic.

"Take it easy, try to relax."

"I think... I'm g-going... to pass out."

"Try to stay awake a little longer for me, okay?"

"I'll... try."

"We're just a few blocks away." Dragging the back of his right forearm under his nose Hank wiped dark red blood all over his sleeve as he sniffed again. "Almost there."

Against his will Connor's soulful brown eyes began to drift shut and his breathing became slower. Unable to retain consciousness any longer Connor let his entire body go limp and allowed the blissfulness of total darkness and unconsciousness take his mind away from the relentless pain burning through his chest and his abdomen.

A gentle hand on the side of his face and the subtle sound of a rapidly beating and very small heart brought Connor back to the waking world. As his system rebooted slowly his heavy eyelids fluttered open and Connor realized that Abby was looking down at him. The sound he heard came her pregnant belly that was right next to his left ear. Connor was laying on his back on an exam table inside of the Zeta Facility and his wounds had been examined while he was unconscious. Registering where he was and noting that he was safe, Connor glanced about the room with glassy eyes and let out a pained sigh of discomfort as the burning pain returned to his chest and abdomen.

Hank was standing behind Abby with a bloodied white handkerchief pressed to his nose and an ice pack was over top of it. They were both in the facility and Abby was determined to take care of both of them before the night was over.

"Oh, Connor." Abby gently rubbed her left thumb over his cheek as she cupped his face gently her palm. "I thought you said you were going to work on how frequently you show up at my facility?"

"Call it a... 'work in progress'."

"You're lucky that metal rod missed piercing your right ventilation biocomponent." She stated confidently as she used her audioscope to carefully listen to his damaged chest over top of his bloodied white dress shirt. "The impact was enough to cause a mild bleed which is why you're wheezing. It's not serious though."

"H-How's Hank?"

"Broken nose and he'll have two black eyes for a couple days." Abby confirmed nonchalantly as she focused on listening to Connor's chest. "Now, let's worry about you."

"A-And Jack? Do you... know about... Jack?"

"Jack? He's the other deviant officer at the precinct, right?"

Connor nodded as Abby pulled the audioscope from his chest.

From where he was standing Hank replied in a reassuring tone on her behalf. "About two minutes after we arrived I got a call from Chris. Jack rebooted and is going to make a full recovery. Dr. Urban wants to keep him overnight, but he'll be able to go home in the morning."

Abby gave the two detectives curious glances as she straightened her posture and used her hands to support her growing middle. "Okay, I feel like I'm missing out on something."

Pointing to Connor with his left hand as his right hand kept in the ice in place over his nose, Hank sighed tiredly. "Get him patched up and we'll fill you in."

"Sure. But that might be a while." Abby explained calmly as she peeled back the fabric of Connor's white dress shirt to see the wounds more closely. "He's going to need a few repairs, but it should take only an hour."

Connor pressed his hand over his sore abdomen and sighed with irritation. "...Invasive?"

"No. But you will need to enter stasis mode since I have to remodel your plastimetal frame, and that means I'm going to have use a very hot soldering iron."

"Understood." Clearly annoyed about the procedure Connor closed his soulful brown eyes and took in a deep breath for a moment. "Were the... suspects found?"

"For the love of-" Stopping himself before he gave Connor a lecture, Hank reminded the deviant of the value of his own life. "You seriously need to stop putting everyone else first and yourself second. We already talked about this."

"I don't... want o-other... people getting... hurt."

"I know that, but right now you need to worry about yourself. You're already hurt."

"Okay..." Relenting to the orders and laying as still as possible, Connor stopped thinking about the case and prioritized his self healing program on his wounds and nothing more. "I'll...take care of myself... first."

Sighing a little Hank stepped back and let his tense shoulders relax a little. "It's about damn time. Just relax and stop worrying for one damn minute."

An hour after being admitted to the Zeta Facility for treatment Connor was placed in the recovery wing of the emergency repair bay to rest. Hank was laying back on the nearby vacant table with the ice still pressed to his sore nose and eyes, and nursing a massive headache that throbbed in tandem with his heartbeat. Connor was laying on his left side with heavy gauze wrapped around his repaired abdomen and his back until his artificial skin could regenerate to protect his recently remolded and secured plastimetal frame again. Otherwise the deviant was healing just fine on his own without needing constant technical care.

Abby was pressing her hand to her left lower back as she checked in on Connor as he recovered and let out a breathy sigh of her own. While she adored Connor as a person and her friend Abby had to admit that patching him up so frequently had become mentally and emotionally exhausting. Carrying around a pregnant belly again was leaving her physically exhausted and in need of a little break.

"Why can't you sleep while I'm working?" She asked in a whisper as she patted her belly with her right hand and spoke to the unborn baby kicking away without mercy. "You're stubborn just like your father. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

It wasn't long until Connor's eyes opened a second time and focused on Abby standing beside him, and then focused on Hank laying on the table just behind her. "...H-Hank?"

"Hey kid." The senior detective responded somewhat cheerfully. His head still hurt too much to even fake a good mood. "Welcome back."

Connor tried to prop himself up on his left arm but Abby put her hand on his shoulder and made him lay back down. "Lay still. If you cooperate you can go home in an hour or so. If you don't, I'm keeping you here for a week!"

"...I-I'll rest." The deviant relented very quickly at the very real threat. He knew Abby never bluffed and it wasn't wise to test her. "I promise."

"Good." Abby teased as she patted his arm and walked out of the room with her right hand again cradling her belly. "I'll be back in an hour to check on both of you, so get some rest."

Once the dedicated technician left the room Connor turned his attention back to Hank and gave the senior detective a pitiful look. "...I almost unmasked the man. Before I could do so Marcia attacked me from behind. If I had been faster-"

"No, kid. Don't blame yourself because that psycho bitch stabbed you in the back." Hank lowered the ice from his face and revealed the red nose and purple eyes for the deviant to see. "She got me, too."

"However, I did manage to confirm the man is fact the same as the footage." The deviant stated with a modicum of pride in his voice. "I also managed to get the man's height and weight for further profiling."

"That'll help narrow the suspects a little. What're we working with?"

"He is five foot ten and approximately one-hundred and sixty-two pounds."

"Well, that's only about half of the adult males in the city." The limited information wasn't all that helpful, but at least it was something. "Anything else?"

"...No." Connor admitted with a twinge of shame to his voice. "That's all I got."

"That's better than nothing. Good work."

"I take it the suspects still haven't been located."

"Not yet." Confirming Connor's suspicions Hank sat upright a little more on the table and pressed his left fingertips to the bridge of his nose to test his pain threshold and subtly winced at his own touch. "And their little attack on the city never happened, which is a plus for our side. It's not much of a victory but I won't argue against it."

"Right." Nodding subtly Connor was willing to take that small victory as well. "At least no one else got hurt."

"Please take it easy." Hank urged kindly as he watched Connor nervously fidgeting on the table despite being told to relax. "We'll find them again and next time they won't get away from us."

"Yes." Slowly Connor rolled from his left side to lay on his back and neatly folded his hands over top his chest as he focused his self healing program on his most severe damage. None of his vital biocomponents were damaged but he was in significant pain all the same. "You're right. We'll stop them before they have the chance to do anything to suppress the city's progress."

-next chapter-