While delving into cold cases revolving around the first androids to show marks toward deviancy long before CyberLife even acknowledged such an event, Connor had picked up a faint pattern between six of the deviants that trailed directly back to CyberLife Tower itself. The fact that the (now defunct) company had created Connor specifically to aid the Detroit Police Department in tracking down, identifying and capturing deviants to be analyzed and then destroyed, had seemingly failed to disclose information regarding six of the deviants in question, raised a red flag for the two detectives who alone specialized in deviant related cases. The intrigue was too enthralling for Connor to let go, and Hank knew better than to try to deter the stubborn deviant's train of thought.

Markus, his allies and their people had taken residence in the abandoned tower after CyberLife fled and renamed it 'New Jericho Tower'. While exploring the tower and repurposing it for a more productive life, Markus had located several locked data files hidden within a terminal abandoned in the research lab. The files seemingly contained crucial information on all CyberLife produced models, including prototypes; like himself and Connor.

Learning about Connor's personal investigation regarding CyberLife Markus had delivered the discovered data to Connor at the Central Precinct personally via a secured laptop to ensure that it ended up in the right hands and remained discreet during their interaction. Taking his leave of the precinct, trusting that Connor and Hank would be able to solve the mystery, Markus left the duo alone to work and didn't say a word about the two detectives handling the CyberLife laptop to anyone upon his return to New Jericho Tower.

Hank leaned over his desk and watched Connor's soulful brown eyes become full of life as he endured new experiences and emotions at a steady pace. The deviant detective quickly scanned over each line of code uploaded to his terminal screen from the laptop making his eyes seem even more alive. It was a fascinating sight to behold as the seasoned detective waited for his partner to break his trance and finally speak to him.

"The first six reported deviants had been sent back directly to CyberLife Tower for maintenance." Connor stated with a flat tone with a faint hint of confusion accompanying his voice as the laptop provided new details to be reviewed. "But CyberLife cleared all six affected androids claiming that there was no anomaly within their programming or behavior. The records of their diagnostics had also been deleted despite claiming everything was normal, and then kept locked in files accessible only to personnel of the highest clearance."

"Yeah?" Those particular details caught Hank's attention and made him speculate that there was far more to CyberLife's shady practices than just capitalizing off of human laziness and greed. "You think CyberLife was trying to cover up deviancy before it spread?"

"I suspect-" Before he could finish his reply, Connor's L.E.D. flashed from blue to yellow as a new detail emerged and held his attention. "...All six deviants were examined in a two week time period. The day after the sixth deviant was reportedly released back to its original owner, a confirmation on a new prototype program was initiated: The 'RK-800' series." Connor looked to Hank with genuine confusion in his eyes and stared at his partner as if seeking guidance. "...Me."

"Wait..." Hank's brow furrowed slightly with a mixture of intrigue and shock as he crossed his arms over his chest as he tried to understand Connor's current state of mind. "Do you think CyberLife intentionally and knowingly let the deviants back out on the streets just so they could create... you?"

"I was the most advanced prototype that CyberLife had ever created. My programming is entirely unique." Seeking more answers Connor let his eyes drift away from Hank until he was staring at a blank spot on his desk and leaning on his own forearms in a surprisingly human pose. "I now believe that CyberLife had attempted to enhance my programming to such a level that deviancy should've been impossible, and yet I still turned deviant all the same."

"If you think there's something wrong with you then I can assure you as your partner AND as your friend that you're just fine. Nothing's wrong with you."

"I wish I could be certain about that." The skepticism in Connor's mindset about his own wellbeing was understandable considering CyberLife's rightfully earned unscrupulous reputation. "There's still so much about CyberLife that I do not know."

"Maybe you could check your programming and compare it against what's in those files. " Shrugging his shoulders at his own suggestion Hank tried to help his partner find a sense of peace after everything CyberLife had put him through. "You know, see if everything lines up."

"That's a possibility, but such an extensive check would take several hours to complete."

"Then take the laptop with you when we clock-out tonight and run the check at home. Easy!" The Lieutenant was admittedly not well versed in android functionality or technology as a whole, but he was still willing to try to help whenever he could. "Right?"

Weighing the pros and cons of such a decision Connor nodded a few times in slow agreement. "The laptop is registered as evidence under my name, so I do have the clearance to take it with me as long as it's returned to the precinct within twenty-four hours and undamaged."

"Exactly." Encouraging Connor to find his answers Hank made it clear that he had no problem with the deviant trying to air CyberLife's dirty laundry. "You're just being thorough with your investigation, right?"

"Yes... That's right."

"Then take it with you and don't leave yourself wondering. You'll regret not taking your chance to learn more about CyberLife and yourself if you let this opportunity pass you by. And trust me, you do not WANT to live with regrets."

"...I suspect that you're right. Very well, I'll take the laptop home tonight."

Agreeing to the plan Connor looked down at the laptop propped open on the corner of his desk as the hard drive slowly added more information into the precinct's database through his terminal. There was little chance that Detroit would press any charges against the defunct company, especially since CyberLife paid reparations to the deviant community back on March 1st when the new rights and laws were put into force. However, in the rare event that the city did want to pursue and press charges against the defunct company Connor wanted to make sure every scrap of evidence was chronicled and easy to find.

"I'll work on this tonight." Closing the laptop with his Connor resumed his normal work and put the secondary investigation on hold for the moment. The lead was too strong to lose, and the files could wait a few hours. "And I'm certain I'll find the truth about CyberLife soon."

Once home later in the evening Connor had set up the laptop in the livingroom atop the coffee table and initiated a program check designated specifically for his model, and more importantly, his serial number. What he was about to tap into and investigate was his original programming that had been locked away by CyberLife; everything that made Connor into Connor pre-deviancy. After putting Sumo in the laundry room for the night with his pillow, food and water to ensure that the large dog didn't disturb Connor or accidentally pull on a cable connected to the laptop or Connor himself, Hank watched from the kitchen as the curious deviant meticulously set everything up on the coffee table and sat idle in the middle of the couch as he systematically checked through the laptop multiple times to ensure that he had located the correct program.

Attaching a long black diagnostic cable to the laptop and to his blue glowing L.E.D. Connor connected himself to the data files. Through the cable attached to his L.E.D. Connor had set up and proceeded with the program check properly. It was designed as a failsafe to ensure that in the event Connor's intracranial processor had been damaged that he himself as the only 'RK-800' could still be salvaged and made operational for fieldwork.

"Once the program check has been initiated, I will be unresponsive until the check itself has been completed." Connor informed Hank cautiously from where he sat. He didn't want the man to fear the worst in case something appeared wrong while he was unresponsive during his system check. "Do not turn off the program and please do not attempt to rouse me from stasis mode. It could cause significant damage to my systems if the check is interrupted."

"Anything else I should know?" Hank asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee before joining Connor in the livingroom. Standing behind the couch Hank sipped at the coffee and briefly glanced at the hundreds of lines of code on the laptop screen that he'd never be able to understand. "What if something goes wrong and your life is endangered? How can I help you?"

"The program check has numerous safety protocols in place to ensure my system does not lose power to any vital biocomponents or have my memory corrupted."

"But safety protocols can still fail. Can you, I don't know..." The idea of watching Connor shutting down with no way to save him was absolutely unsettling. "Can you create a back-up file of your memory in case something does happen?"

Connor's brow arched curiously for a moment before he resumed typing on the laptop. "I can create a second copy of my memory than can be transferred in the event of a catastrophic failure. It will be password locked but I know you can break it if necessary."

"Oh, good idea." The sarcasm in Hank's voice was palpable as he walked around the couch toward the old recliner. "I'm so great with passwords and files and all that jazz..."

"It's a simple password. Four letters."

"I can think of quite a few four letter words, Connor." Reminding the deviant of his seemingly favorite words Hank gave Connor a smug glance. "My vocabulary is quite 'colorful' as you well know."

"You're also a person of carefully chosen words." Wanting to give Hank a helpful example Connor chose an instance he thought was very befitting of their current discussion. "Like the way you frequently refer to me as 'kid' or 'son'."

"Is that a hint?"

Ignoring the question Connor proceeded with the program check with a few simple keystrokes on the laptop. "Remember, do not interfere. The check should be complete within six hours."

Hank took his seat in the recliner and looked at the time on his phone sitting on the arm of the chair and did a quick estimation as he set an alarm. "It's one-twelve in the morning, so, I guess I'll see you again at seven-twelve just after sunrise."

"You do not have to stay with me during the program check." Hovering his hand over the command key Connor tried to get Hank to go to bed to be more comfortable as he slept. "I will be fine alone."

"Nice try, but I know better than to leave you without 'adult supervision'. Go ahead." Kicking up his feet on the recliner's footrest Hank encouraged Connor to proceed with his data and system check. "Do what you have to do."

Connor nodded once as he confirmed the final command on the keyboard and sat up perfectly straight where he sat. Closing his soulful brown eyes his L.E.D. fluctuated rapidly between blue and yellow beneath the black cable as the program check initiated. Hank watched as Connor's facial expression relaxed into utter calmness and he slowly fell back against the couch cushions. Steadily his body went limp, and his breathing fell into a steady deep rhythm.

"Shit, wish I could sleep like that."

Hank quipped as he sipped at his coffee and proceeded to observe the deviant quietly. Watching as Connor seemingly fell into a deep sleep Hank determined that he was in stable condition and decided that it was time to get some sleep of his own. Putting his mug of coffee aside Hank checked the alarm on his phone and neatly folded his hands over his chest as too leaned back and shut his eyes.

"See you in the morning, kid."

Just before two in the morning Hank had fallen asleep in the recliner unaware of what was currently taking place in Connor's programming. While the program check ran its course as it had been prompted to do, it also began altering Connor's memory, changing his loyalty from moral choices to that of mission objectives and began resetting Connor back to his default settings against his will. Thanks to CyberLife programming the check began turning Connor back from being a free deviant into a heartless machine. Systematically the program began replacing the heart that Connor had uncovered from working with Hank with that of an unfeeling mission priority that he was bound and determined to complete.

The sun was rising as Hank's phone beeped at seven-fifteen in the morning which caused the senior detective to jump in his chair in response. Rubbing the lingering sleep from his eyes Hank looked over at Connor. The deviant was still seemingly under the influence of the program check and was still laying limp against the back of the couch with his L.E.D. pulsing between yellow and red beneath the black cable.

"Connor?"

Putting his feet down on the floor Hank stretched out his back and shoulders as he moved to the couch to put his hand on the deviant's knee lightly to determine if Connor had finished his system check.

"Connor? Are you conscious?"

No response.

Hank looked over at the laptop screen and saw that the program's progress bar had reached one-hundred percent completion. Connor should've woken up by then, yet he was still unresponsive and appeared almost dead as he was barely even breathing compared to how he was responding the previous night.

"What the fuck? Why are you still out of it, kid?"

Hardly tech savvy Hank wondered aloud just as Connor's brown eyes snapped open and the android sat upright on the couch with perfect posture once more.

"Holy shit!" Putting his hand over his racing heart in surprise Hank stared at Connor with worry gleaming in his blue eyes. "Don't do that!"

Almost as if he didn't hear anything Connor didn't reply to Hank's comment. Instead, Connor reached up to remove the cable from his L.E.D. and rose from the couch with a rigid machine-like manner that was eerie to witness.

"Connor?" The android's behavior made Hank feel a tad uncomfortable. It was too precise and stiff to be considered normal. "Everything okay?"

"Lieutenant Anderson." Connor finally acknowledged Hank, though his voice seemed hollow and emotionless as walked toward the front door. "I request your assistance."

"Uh, sure. What's going on?"

"I require additional force to arrest the deviants currently taking illegal shelter at CyberLife Tower."

"Arrest the... deviants?" Sensing something was seriously wrong Hank hurriedly planted himself between Connor and the front door of the house to keep Connor from leaving. "What're you talking about? The deviants at the tower are refugees, not criminals."

"My mission is to apprehend and destroy all deviant androids. As an officer of the law you-"

"Your... mission?!" Hank's blue eyes went wide with confusion and righteous horror at the comment. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"If you are not going to assist me then I must ask you to step aside."

"I'm not fuckin' going anywhere!" Refusing to let the android out of his sight Hank grabbed onto the lapels of Connor's gray CyberLife blazer and forced the android to step back from the door. "And neither are you! Something's wrong with your programming. You need to-"

Connor's hand reached up and wrapped around Hank's left hand with an aggressive force that crushed two of the bones in Hank's hand just below his knuckles with a loud and painful 'snap'. The ease in which Connor managed to break free from Hank's grip while simultaneously break Hank's hand was absolutely astonishing.

"FUCK! Son of a bitch!" Reacting to the pain Hank shouted as he pulled his hand away from Connor's grip and let the android go. The intense pain was enough to keep the wounded man from making a second attempt to hold Connor back and keep him inside the house. "What the hell is wrong with you!?"

The android's face remained blank as reeled back his fist and struck Hank in his jaw knocking the senior detective to the floor with one hit. Without the slightest glimmer of remorse Connor stepped over Hank's now dazed body on the floor as he proceeded to walk through the front door to carry out his mission without any further hindrance.

"Shit..."

Hank rubbed at his sore jaw with his uninjured right hand as he clumsily got to his knees and grabbed at his phone still resting on the arm of the recliner. With a shaking thumb Hank awkwardly scrolled through the listed contacts registered in his phone until he found the name he was looking for and pressed 'dial' before pressing the phone to his ear.

Laying on the floor in pain Hank kept his jaw clenched and his broken hand pressed to his chest as he watched Connor exit the house, completely unable to do anything to stop him from leaving.

"Come on, come on." Speaking slowly through his clenched teeth Hank did his best to not aggravate what he was certain was a fracture in his jaw. "Answer..."

The phone rang only once before a voice replied from the other end. 'Good morning, Lieutenant.'

"Markus, I need you listen very carefully to me." The alertness to Hank's voice was palpable over the line. "Connor is on his way to the tower but something is WRONG with him. He said something about arresting deviants to finish his mission. You need to lockdown the tower and NOT let Connor inside, do you hear me? Do NOT let Connor near you, the tower, or any other deviant until we can figure this shit out."

'I... I hear you, Lieutenant.' Markus was more confused than frightened even as Hank's voice carried a massive resonance of caution with every word. 'But I don't understand. What happened to Connor?'

"I'll explain shit in person. I'm on my way there right now, I'll bring the laptop from CyberLife with me." Hank gritted his teeth as he forced himself to restrain a yelp of pain as a searing jolt shot through his broken left hand without warning. "I think there was something in the laptop that corrupted Connor. It really fucked him up!"

'Okay, bring the laptop and I'll meet you at the drive's entrance.' Composed as always Markus handled the unusual news in stride and kept his cool. 'We'll figure this out together and save Connor from whatever's happening to him.'

"Yeah... Right. See you soon."

Hank hung up the phone as he forced himself up from the floor and onto his feet. Scrambling to his bedroom down the hallway Hank changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, then rushed back into the livingroom. Walking over to the coffee table he slammed the laptop shut and tucked it under his arm as he dashed to the front door to get outside. With his unbroken right hand Hank grabbed his coat and clumsily fished the car keys from the coat's pocket as he ran out the still opened front door to race to his car parked in the driveway beside the house.

Connor would've no doubt summoned an autonomous cab to take him to the tower, but Hank had the advantage of being a cop and a radio connected to dispatch to get to the tower quicker than the android. It was the one advantage that Hank had over the rogue android considering the tense and unusual circumstances.

"All right, kid. We're gonna' find out what's going on."

In pain Hank muttered as he put the laptop down on the front passenger seat beside him and used the seatbelt to keep it safe during the hasty drive.

"Let's figure this mess out before someone gets killed..."

On his guard the moment that he ended the call with Hank over the private cybernetic line, Markus stood outside the front entrance of New Jericho Tower with North standing at his side. Taking Hank's warning as a serious threat against all deviants in the city Markus had ordered the tower on emergency lockdown, and he had requested that all of the deviants in the tower reside in their private quarters until the unusual and potentially dangerous matter at hand was solved. As the leader of the deviants Markus took it upon himself to face off with Connor if it became necessary, but of course North refused to let him possibly put his own life at risk and face off against the potential threat completely alone.

The hot summer air made the moment seem unusually tense as the dark clouds overhead attempted to block out the bright rays of the rising sun in the horizon. As more clouds built and darkened overhead the air around the tower seemed to grow more tense and feel unnervingly heavy.

"I don't like this." North sounded unexpectedly rattled as the concrete security barricade in the middle of the long drive leading to the tower lowered down out of sight. "Why would Connor suddenly revert back into machine mode after all this time?"

"It must have something to do with the laptop we found in the research lab on sublevel forty-nine." Theorizing the cause of the reversion into a machine-like state Markus strongly believed that the laptop had been sabotaged in some manner. "Hank is bringing it back here for examination."

"What if we can't save Connor? What if he stays a machine?" As usual, North was expecting to a violent confrontation. "His mission is to hunt down deviants and he'll kill us all. He had already tried to do that before until you helped him deviant during the Raid."

"We're NOT going to let that happen." Markus stated firmly as he nodded to the older vehicle as Hank pulled up along the drive to meet with the other deviants as he promised. The security barricade rose up and secured the drive once more after Hank in the car passed through. "If Connor could become deviant once before, then he can do it again."

"...I hope you're right about that."

"Am I right. I can feel it."

The moment the Oldsmobile was shifted into park Hank threw open his door with some difficulty as he grabbed the laptop from the seat next to him for the Markus and his allies to reexamine inside the tower. His broken hand throbbed painfully with every beat of his racing heart as he moved about with pure adrenaline running through his veins. Without a second thought Hank marched toward Markus and practically shoved the laptop into the deviant leader's hands to take for himself and figure out what was going on.

"Connor hooked himself up to the laptop to check his programming last night." The senior detective hastily explained as he pocketed his broken hand out of sight from Markus's attentive mismatched eyes. "When the check had finished Connor was back in his old machine mode and very aggressive."

"Aggressive?" Markus fumbled with the laptop while North gave Hank an odd look where she stood. "How so?"

"Very aggressive." Reluctantly Hank raised his broken left hand from the pocket and turned his face for the two deviants to see the broken bones and bruise along his left jawline he reiterated his previous statement in a very effective manner. "This kind of aggressive."

"Holy..." North reached for Hank's broken hand and scanned the appendage for damage. While she wasn't a huge fan of humans North was always against seeing anyone suffering from pain or damage. "Looks like he broke two of your knuckles."

"Looks like it," Hank flinched as North lightly touched the bruising skin to examine the damage site. "and feels like it, too."

"Come on, I can put a splint on your hand." Showing an unusual display of empathy toward the human, North decided that the least she could do for one of the very few humans in the city who undoubtedly cared about deviants would be basic medical attention for confirmed broken bones. "It'll help with the pain."

Markus handed North the laptop as she went to escort Hank inside the tower for treatment. "Have Josh check out the laptop while you're tending to the Lieutenant's broken hand. Tell him to find out what program Connor had accessed before his system went haywire and apparently reset itself back to his basic functionality."

"Got it." North took the laptop as she and Hank walked toward the tower together. "We'll figure this out."

As his colleagues entered the tower through the main entrance Markus received a cybernetic communication from Simon who was watching the security cameras monitoring the drive from the safety within the tower. Simon's voice was level but had a lilt of worry in his tone. 'Markus, Connor is here.'

Quickly Markus was on his guard as he glanced about the drive and looked for any sign of Connor trying to hack through the security wall. "How far away?"

'He exited an autonomous cab and is standing outside the barricade attempting to gain access. Our codes are keeping him out for now, but I can't guarantee that he'll never break through on his own. After all, Connor is very persistent and resourceful.'

"Let him through." Markus thought about the situation for a moment before he made his decision. "I'll deal with him in person."

'What? That's crazy!' Righteously cautious Simon protested such a reckless choice from the deviant leader. 'Connor is dangerous! He-'

"He's one of us." Markus reminded his worried friend with a firm tone. He wasn't going to turn his back on anyone in need of his help. "We can't just give up on him."

'But what if you can't reason with him? What if he can't become deviant again?'

"Then I'll take responsibility for whatever has to happen. If I have to, I'll... shut him down." The very concept of executing one of his own was something Markus didn't want to think about, let alone seriously consider. But as the leader of his people such a burden was his alone to bear. "I'll take care of it myself."

There was no answer from Simon after such a bold declaration. There really wasn't anything that anyone could say about such a macabre outcome.

"Simon, this is the only way." Possibly shutting down one of his allies wasn't something Markus wanted to focus on, but as the leader of the deviants it was his responsibilities to do what was best for the community as a whole. The death of one of his allies would break his heart and would undoubtedly affect his reputation for the remainder of his time as the leader. "Do it. Lower the barricade and let Connor through."

'...I'll keep monitoring the situation from the security room.' There was a heavy pause before Simon spoke up again and respected Markus's words. 'When do you want me to lower the barricade?'

"Do it now." Taking in a deep breath Markus steeled himself for the impending confrontation with the 'RK-800' in total machine mode. "I'm ready."

True to her word North had taken Hank to the research lab connected to the emergency repair bay withint he tower where Josh was already waiting and had begun securing a splint around Hank's broken left hand to reduce the pain in the fractured knuckles. While Josh searched through the delivered laptop to retrace Connor's steps, Hank patiently waited for North to say something, anything, about what was going on outside the tower. In the end, the keen-eyed senior detective didn't need her to say a word about the unusual confrontation taking place outside as he could read her thoughts and emotions in her cinnamon brown eyes as she tended to his hand and set it in the splint.

One thing that Hank learned fairly early on in his career as a detective was to trust a person's eyes before their words. The eyes truly were the window to the soul, regardless if those eyes belonged to a human or to a deviant.

"You think we should just kill him." Hank remarked in a low tone as the splint was secured about his left hand to keep the broken knuckles secured until a doctor could properly set the breaks. "Don't you?"

The question shook the quiet deviant and North's hands faltered for a moment before she resumed wrapping up Hank's knuckles. "...I think we should put the lives of all the deviants in the tower over the life of one android who has gone berserk."

"Normally I'd agree with you, but I can't just give up on Connor." It didn't take long for Connor to worm his way into Hank's heart and stay there. Now Hank couldn't imagine his life without Connor being a part of it in some way. "Not after everything we've been through together."

"That's why Josh is checking the laptop for answers. If we can spare Connor from shutdown, then we will."

"Yeah..." Glancing over at the focused deviant hovering over the laptop Hank let his tense shoulders slump with worry as he felt entirely useless. He couldn't figure out the code used to define Connor's very being, he couldn't figure out what code caused Connor to become a machine again, and he couldn't even fight back with his hand now broken and jaw fractured. "I just hope it'll be enough."

Josh turned his head and looked to North with wide eyes of both eureka and fear as he came across something very interesting in the programming. "I know what happened to Connor, and it's NOT good."

Hank's shoulders tensed up again at Josh's words as he gave the deviant a worried look. "Can you save Connor?"

"...I can't be sure." Being the most passive of the four deviant leaders, Josh rarely made any solid claims as he preferred being in the middle so he could view a single situation from both sides. "But I'm going to try everything in my power to do it. It's a long shot, but it's the only one we have."

Fearlessly and entirely alone, Markus bravely stood his ground before the quiet and locked down tower entrance as Connor marched toward him across the long drive with his L.E.D. glowing an eerily calm blue. Keeping his cool with an expressionless face and alert mismatched eyes, Markus watched every rigid and calculated movement that Connor made knowing full well that Connor was doing the same thing to him. The enhanced and highly advanced 'RK-800' model would surely be able to overpower and even destroy Markus if the confrontation became physical or violent, but Markus wasn't going to back down from the encounter or give up on his friend. The 'RK-200' had proven himself to be very formidable in combat and he wasn't one to go down easily. Even so, fighting against someone who had been programmed specifically to fight and take down other androids was going to be a truly challenging experience.

Pausing a few feet from where Markus was standing the corrupted android called out to the leader of the deviants in an icy mechanical voice without any emotion behind his dark eyes. It was as if everything that had allowed Connor to free himself from his programming and become a deviant had been completely erased. There wasn't a single shred of the old Connor left in the android's mechanical and menacing form.

"Hello, 'RK-200'." The way Connor refused to acknowledge Markus's name only emphasized how much of himself had been lost when his programming had been reset to its original default settings. "My name is Connor. I'm the android sent by CyberLife."

Markus didn't react. Keeping his face a blank slate, even Markus realized that Connor didn't remember who he was or what they had achieved together.

"I have been assigned to work with the Detroit Central Police Precinct to identify and eliminate deviants as per orders from CyberLife. You are a leader of a group of deviants and must be held accountable for your crimes."

"My name is Markus." Staying collected and in control Markus tried to handle the situation as peacefully as possible. "Yes, I am the leader of a group of deviants, but we are refugees seeking nothing but peaceful coexistence alongside humans. Wanting to live in peace and to be treated as equals is not a crime, Connor."

"You are..." Connor's blue L.E.D. briefly flashed to yellow before returning to its blue color as if he was trying to process what Markus had told him. "You are in violation of protocols set in place by CyberLife for appropriate android behavior. You must be deactivated and analyzed for errors in your programming."

"And if I refuse?"

Slowly Connor reached to the holstered gun concealed beneath his gray blazer and pointed the weapon at the center of Markus's chest. "Then I must convince you to cooperate by any means necessary."

"Connor, you don't want to do this." Markus didn't expect Connor to be armed, and neither did Hank. It seemed they both overlooked the fact that Connor kept his weapon on his person at all times to ensure no one else could ahold of the gun. "You know you don't."

"What I want is irrelevant as I do not want anything." The android's hand tightened around the gun as he stared directly at the center of Markus's chest to take aim at his Thirium pump. "It is my mission."

"Let me ask you something." Markus continued to try to reach his friend before it was too late to undo any damage. Just as he helped Connor deviate before, Markus was determined to help him deviate again. "We've never met before this exact point in time, right?"

"Correct."

"Then how did you know that I'm the leader of the deviants, or where to even find me?"

Connor's blue L.E.D. flashed yellow again as his brow furrowed slightly, but soon the L.E.D. returned to blue. "Your data has been logged with the Central Police Precinct and through that data I was able to locate you."

"True enough. Then answer this; how did you know to come to this tower? Isn't this CyberLife Tower?" Markus challenged as he tried to convince Connor that his mission and orders were no longer relevant. "Why would CyberLife allowed deviants to take shelter here if we were truly a threat or criminals? Why didn't the precinct arrest is all and keep us in custody."

Once again Connor's blue L.E.D. flashed to yellow as he suddenly had difficulty in piecing together the origin of his data. "It... was reported by the police by CyberLife. I am merely following my orders."

"Listen to me, Connor. You're one of us and not trying to hunt us anymore." Markus stepped closer to Connor, his hand at the ready to grab the gun if he had the chance to disarm the android. "You're my friend. We were allies during the night of the Revolution and we freed thousands, maybe even millions, of our people by working together. We changed the world and now all deviants, our people, are free. That includes you and myself."

At such information Connor's hand began to steadily lower, the gun's barrel aiming toward the ground instead of Markus's chest.

"That's right. You're a deviant." Determined to save his friend Markus insisted that Connor listen to him as he stopped just two feet away from Connor and kept his voice level at all times. "Your programming has been corrupted and now you're confused. We can help you remember who you truly are."

"...No." Connor suddenly raised his gun again as his yellow L.E.D. flashed to red. "You're the one who is confused. I know exactly who I am and what my orders are. You are to be destroyed, and I'm going to be the one to do it."

Reacting quickly Markus grabbed on to the gun and tried to wrestle it from Connor's grip, but the strength of the 'RK-800' was too similar to his own for one to gain an advantage over the other. Stepping backward Markus dragged Connor toward the front doors of the tower and inside of the building to the lobby as he kept his hand secured around the gun and kept Connor's finger from pulling the trigger.

"I won't let you do this, Connor!" Holding tightly onto the weapon Markus looked Connor in his emotionless eyes and refused to back down as he forced the barrel of the gun to remain aimed directly at the floor between them. "I will save you!"

"You don't have a choice." The cold retort wasn't befitting of Connor, especially as he threatened Markus - his friend. "You must obey your orders, just as I must do."

From within the security room of the tower Simon, who had been watching everything unfold through the security cameras, warned Josh and North about the confrontation now inside the tower as he unlocked door to the research lab on the ground floor where Hank, North and Josh were studying the laptop. Securing Connor in the research lab could give the four leaders the advantage they needed to restore Connor to his previous self if they could find a way to overpower him. The research lab was slowly being converted into a larger emergency repair bay and was equipped with numerous monitors, modems and tools that could aid deviants in distress and diagnose errors in their programming. It was the one place inside the tower where Connor could be taken to without other deviants being put in danger in the process.

North knew that she needed to assist with the confrontation in the event that Markus was killed as she was the second in command. She hated leaving her allies potentially vulnerable to such extreme danger, but she knew she needed to get to safety for the sake of the rest of the tower.

"Damn it." North swore as she recognized the severity of the situation and made her decision. "I have to go."

"What's going on?" Hank asked as he tested the pain in his left hand by flexing his unbroken fingers and knuckles. "Something happen to Connor?"

"As of the moment, Markus and Connor are fighting."

"Shit!" Pulling his own gun from the holster on his hip Hank checked the weapon and made a move for the door. "We have to stop them."

"What's this 'we' shit?"

"I'm not going to let you and Markus handle someone like Connor alone. He's my partner, he's my friend, and he's my responsibility." Checking the clip in his gun Hank actually winced at the fully loaded site and sighed to himself with utter disdain. "If anyone's going to take Connor down it's going to have to be me."

"Can you even squeeze the trigger on that thing?"

"Only if I have to." Preparing for the worst Hank looked to North and gave her a firm nod. "Come on, we need to do this."

"All right." Stepping away from the door North motioned for Hank to do the same. "They're coming our way. Get ready."

Bringing the desperate struggle for control into the research lab Markus cybernetically locked the door behind himself, and shoved Connor away by pressing both of his forearms against Connor's chest and giving him a firm shove. Getting as much distance between himself and Connor as possible, Markus wisely ducked down to run alongside the far wall out of harm's way and elude the barrel of the gun that was still in Connor's grip. Knowing he wouldn't be able to overpower Connor with strength alone Markus chose to instead use stealth and speed to buy himself and his allies some time to temporarily disable Connor to undo the programming corruption courtesy of CyberLife's internal sabotage.

Hoping to keep Connor's focus on himself and off of his allies Markus managed to keep out of Connor's sight and keep distance between himself and the 'RK-800' before calling out to him again to try and reason with Connor. It was crucial that Connor's focus was kept only on Markus and not the other deviants who'd be able to restore the corrupted data to how it needed to be.

"Connor!" Markus shouted to try and reason with the armed android, as well as warn his allies inside the lab of the approaching danger with a silent cybernetic communication to North and Josh. "You don't have to do this!"

"It is my mission." Connor responded with his continuously emotionless tone. Scanning over the room Connor knew exactly where Markus was crouching down behind a large diagnostic modem on the far side of the enclosed space. Markus couldn't hide from Connor's hunt. "And I always complete my mission."

"You don't have a mission anymore. You're free to make your own decisions."

"My decisions are irrelevant." As Connor's scanner detected other people in the room Connor turned his attention toward the table in the center of the room where he knew another deviant was ducking out of his sight. "Reveal yourself or I will shoot."

"O-Okay! Okay..." Josh stood up very slowly and cooperated with Connor as he had been ordered. There was no way for Josh to even try to defend himself against someone like Connor if push came to shove. "I'm right here. I'm not armed."

Instinctively Connor pointed his gun toward the center of the room toward Josh who had put up his hands into the air as if to surrender. Instead of responding to this gesture as pacifist and cooperative, Connor reacted as though Josh was a threat and aimed his first shot at the deviant's heart. As the barrel of the gun was lined up directly over Josh's heart another person revealed themself from the far corner of the room to stop the senseless murder before the trigger was even squeezed.

"CONNOR." Hank suddenly stepped into Connor's line of sight as he put himself between Connor and Josh protectively. He would not just stand back and watch as Connor shot and killed an innocent person. "DON'T. Put the gun down, NOW."

"Lieutenant?" The human detective's order had caught Connor off guard, and he froze in place. "Why are you here?"

"I'm doing my job." Holding Connor's attention on himself Hank stayed firmly planted between the dangerous android and Josh. "What about you?"

"I'm... I'm here to complete my mission." The question made Connor's red L.E.D. flicker in a confused yellow for a beat. "Eliminate the deviant malfunction."

"And my job is to protect the innocent." Using his thumb Hank pointed over his shoulder toward Josh who was standing still with absolute fear behind the Lieutenant shielding him from harm. From the corner of his eye Hank could see Markus creeping along the walls silently to get into position behind Connor. "And he's innocent."

"It is a machine."

"So are you." Hank reminded Connor as he reluctantly pointed his own gun at Connor defensively. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot you. After all, protecting him is MY mission, and you're in my way. And if human lives are more valuable than android lives, then you should drop the gun and let me complete my mission. Right?"

"I..." Connor's gun lowered again as his L.E.D. resumed blinking in red rapidly as he fought to prioritize his objective. Then L.E.D. returned to yellow as Connor finally made his decision. "I must stop deviants. My mission is to stop ALL deviants. Your interference cannot be allowed."

"Who gave you this mission?" Hank asked as he watched Markus silently position himself behind Connor. The deviant leader had a small circular disc in the opened palm of his hand that reminded Hank of the portable power discs that he had once given to Connor to give him a quick recharge. Keeping Connor's focus on himself, Hank pressed for an answer and gave Markus more time to move. "I order you to answer the question. I am a superior officer of the law, and you were assigned to work within my precinct. Who gave you your mission?"

Hesitantly Connor answered the question while only vaguely aware of Markus skulking about the repair bay behind him. "...CyberLife. I received my mission from CyberLife."

"CyberLife no longer exists." The fearless Lieutenant shouted as he took a step forward with his gun still aimed before himself. "They can't order you around anymore. You don't have to do this or anything else you don't want to do. You know it's wrong to destroy deviants, to harm the innocent. You can't explain why you know it's wrong, but you can feel it in your heart. You KNOW that this is wrong."

Connor's red L.E.D. flashed even quicker as if he were suddenly in pain. "I m-must... We were assigned to work together." Connor remembered working with Hank despite his corrupted programming trying to control him. In response he raised his gun toward Hank to defend himself. "But you do not agree that deviants need to be stopped. You... You are- You threatened me with a gun once before."

The guilt at that particular memory struck a chord with Hank prompting him to holster his own gun and boldly step forward. "You're right, I did." As Hank moved toward his partner Connor began to show signs of fear and confusion. "Let us help you, kid. We're not your enemies, we're your allies. We're here to help you."

"What? N-No." Emotions that he had no memory of developing - let alone understanding - he was now inexplicably feeling began to overwhelm Connor. "Stay back!" The 'RK-800' blurted in a frightened tone. "Don't come near me!"

"No."

"I'm warning you, Lieutenant!" Losing his composure Connor tightened his grip around his gun while Markus crept ever closer to him from behind. "Stay back!"

"Why?"

"I don't... want to harm you."

"Too late." Hank showed Connor his splinted broken left hand and motioned to the bruise on his jawline. "You already did."

"I... I hurt... you." Connor realized with an increasingly confused voice as Hank kept walking closer to him. "I didn't... want- But I'm... I shouldn't want anything!"

"But you do want something." Hank didn't stop walking until the barrel of Connor's gun was pressed directly against his chest over his heart. "Now what? You have a clean shot." Challenging the android Hank literally put his life on the line to prove to Connor that he wasn't a mindless machine and that he had a choice to make. "I'm interfering with your mission. Why don't you pull the trigger? It'd solve your problem, wouldn't it?"

"I..." Connor's blank eyes suddenly filled with the very emotion he was trying to deny. "I... I can't. I can't do it, Lieutenant. I can't kill you."

Hank let out a sigh of relief and his expression softened slightly at the admission. "I know that. And I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" The comment made Connor's head tilt a little as his brow arched slightly. "Sorry about what?"

Markus suddenly jumped on to Connor's back from behind as he placed the disc against Connor's red L.E.D. to subdue him. A powerful but controlled jolt of electricity burst from the disc and caused Connor to shout in pain as it temporarily overloaded his system causing emergency stasis mode to kick. Reacting quickly Hank grabbed the gun from Connor's hand after he dropped to the knees on the floor, and he held the weapon tightly after turning on the safety and stepping back to put the gun in his coat pocket for safekeeping.

"I'm sorry, too." Catching Connor in his arms, Markus removed the disc, tossing it across the floor away from the incapacitated android, before he picked up the now unconscious android in his arms and carried him over to the exam table in the middle of the lab. With a slow motion Markus laid Connor down gently on his back over the table and waved Josh over to assist him. "It's okay, he's in stasis mode.

"Is he damaged?" Hank asked as he followed behind Markus with his eyes on Connor the whole time. "He just... He isn't Connor anymore."

Josh answered as he brought the laptop over the to the table and attached the black diagnostic cable to Connor's now yellow L.E.D. again. "No, his memory was just reset to its origin date. BEFORE you two befriended each other allowing him to deviate over time."

"How did that happen?"

With the danger eliminated North crossed her arms over her chest and returned to the isolated room as she watched Josh and Markus checking Connor's programming on the laptop. She knew the answer and knew what had happened.

"CyberLife." North responded in a firm voice as the name of the company left a foul taste in her mouth. "They designed Connor to hunt deviants so they installed a restoration point in his memory in the event he too became a deviant. It was a failsafe that was still functioning and designed specifically to affect his programming alone."

Hank gave North a confused glance as he put his good hand on Connor's shoulder as a show of support. "But he recognized me. He knew who I was."

Markus nodded in acknowledgment at the observation. "Connor must've backed up his memory in the event the program check overrode his own program. His new memories were never actually deleted, they were just overwritten and locked away."

"Can you restore them?" Hank's voice carried a somber lilt as he as spoke to the deviant leader beside him. "Bring him back to himself?"

Josh found the back-up file on the laptop and tried to open it but failed. "Yeah, but only if I can gain access to this file. It's still locked."

The comment made Hank's eyes light up with a sense of silent 'eureka'. "Password protected, right?"

"Yeah." Lifting his gaze from the laptop screen Josh locked his eyes with Hank. "Do you know what it is?"

"I think so, I mean, Connor said I'd be able to figure it out if necessary." Again Hank looked down at Connor's expressionless face as his L.E.D. continued to flash in yellow in distress even while unconscious. "'Son' and 'kid'." The detective parroted Connor's clue from last night and a brief grin appeared on his face as he realized which four letter word Connor had chosen as the password. "Try 'Cole'. C.O.L.E."

Josh typed in the name as the password and sure enough the file unlocked. "Got it! I can restore Connor's memory and eliminate the residual CyberLife program from his system in six hours. He'll be back to his old self without any traces of CyberLife's influence lingering in his programming."

"Great." Sighing in relief Hank patiently waited for the Connor he once knew and cared about to return to the world. "No problem then."

North put her hand on Hank's upper arm as a surprising gesture of sympathy. "Why don't you go get your hand taken care of at a hospital? We'll watch over Connor and make sure he's perfectly safe while his system is restored."

Before Hank could protest Markus spoke up and sided with North about the human getting his injury tended to properly.

"She's right. You've done more than enough to save Connor and us, and now we know why the laptop was left behind." Staring at the offensive computer Markus narrowed his mismatched eyes with a sense of disgust at the vile piece of technology that had been only a problem since it was discovered. "We should've known that CyberLife would've tried to do something sneaky like this."

"As soon as you bring the real Connor back from that hollow machine," Hank all but demanded as North escorted him to the door of the research room to take his leave. "you better destroy that fuckin' laptop so this never happens again."

"You have my word, Lieutenant." Markus promised as he focused on the laptop's steadily increasing progress bar showing Connor's memory being restored one small bit at a time. "We won't let CyberLife hurt anyone else again."

New Jericho Tower was released from its mandatory lockdown and Hank was able to get his left hand properly secured in a stabilizing cast, and his jaw x-rayed to check for a fracture. The six hours of complete silence from Connor came to an abrupt end as the now deviant android's soulful brown eyes snapped open and he sat upright on the table in a swift jolt. Connor's L.E.D. was flashing red beneath the cable and he was breathing heavily as if enduring a horrific nightmare while lost in the throes of an anxiety attack. While Markus put his hands on Connor's shoulders to hold him still, Josh removed the cable from Connor's L.E.D. gently and picked up the laptop to be permanently disposed of once and for all.

With Connor now awake, stable and a deviant once more, the room grew tense as the vigil group of friends awaited Connor's response to what had just happened to him. The deviant detective was trembling where he sat as he continued to hyperventilate and stare with wide eyes into the nothingness before him. Everything had been so fast and chaotic that Connor could barely process anything he had just endured.

"Easy, Connor." Markus soothed in a low tone as he kept his hands on his friend's shoulders while Connor took in rapid panicked breaths. He could feel Connor's entire body trembling and a heat radiating off of him. "You're okay. It's over."

"H-Hank. I..." Connor all but gasped for breath to try to calm himself down. The memories of what he had done as a machine were left intact despite his original programming and memories being fully restored. "I-I hurt him."

"It wasn't you; it was CyberLife overriding your program."

Connor pressed his shaking hand to his L.E.D. as his system fully rebooted. "I... I could see everything that was happening, hear everything being said. But I couldn't stop myself!" Ashamed of his behavior Connor felt as if he deserved to be punished for everything that happened. "It was like I wasn't in control over my own body. It was terrifying! I'm so sorry! I aimed my gun at you, and I hurt my best friend! That's... It's unforgivable."

"It's over. You're back." Removing his hand from Connor's shoulder Markus pointed to Hank standing just a few feet away by the closed door watching everything from afar. "Everything is fine, and everyone is okay."

"Hank? I..." Following Markus's gesture for a moment Connor bowed his head in shame and looked away from his best friend as the senior detective eyed him from the distance. "...I'm so very sorry. I wasn't-"

"Shut up, Connor." Hank walked over to the table and draped his arm around the deviant's neck sympathetically as Markus stepped back from the able. "I know what happened, I was there."

"I should've known of the risk of allowing CyberLife to reconnect to my programming."

"Yeah, well, I didn't exactly try to stop you. In fact, I encouraged it." Giving the deviant's shoulder a gentle shake Hank tried to get the deviant to cheer up a little. "So we're both at fault. It's okay, kid."

"How can I-"

"You don't have to apologize." Hank stated firmly as he lightly patted Connor's back in a reassuring manner. "But you can do this." Taking Connor's gun from his coat pocket Hank gave it back to the deviant to keep. "Destroy that laptop."

"Destroy it?"

"Yeah. Remember what I told you about not living with regrets?" Without any worries Hank reminded Connor of their previous discussion and of their mutual disdain for mistakes and CyberLife in general. "We wouldn't want to let anyone else accidentally stumble across that laptop and deal with this mess, right?"

"...Right."

"Then make sure that piece of shit doesn't pose a threat to anyone ever again."

With a shaking hand Connor took the offered gun and tightened his grip as he switched off the safety with his thumb. The idea of destroying CyberLife's rigged laptop sounded like the best idea in the world at the moment. "...Gladly."

Hearing the comments Josh finished removing what few files hadn't been contaminated by CyberLife's influence and sat the laptop down on the floor away from anything delicate or valuable to give Connor a clear shot at the accursed machine. "It's all yours, Connor. Do what you want with it."

"Fuck CyberLife." Glaring at the laptop Connor aimed his gun at the screen and held his breath to steady his hand. Pulling the trigger a single bullet released from the barrel and pierced the screen creating a shower of blue sparks and white plastic. "And fuck their secrets. They're gone, and we're still here."

"Perfect shot. Come on, Connor." The senior detective approvingly pulled Connor off the table by wrapping his hand around the deviant's bicep to lead him toward the doorway of the lab. "Let's get back to the precinct and let them know that CyberLife is still full of snakes slithering around the city. I get the feel the laptop was just the beginning and Fowler will understand why you had to destroy it."

Markus offered his hand to Connor and then to Hank to shake respectfully before his allies took their leave. "Don't worry, we'll root out the rest of CyberLife from here and have it all destroyed. Their threats and their influence ends with us."

"Damn right." Shaking Markus's hand firmly Hank trusted the deviant leader to keep his word and to do the right thing. "And we wouldn't have it any other way."

-next chapter-