Work Text:
One-Day Post Revolution.
Location: Detroit, Michigan, 48201.
Chicken Feed Food Truck.
9:32 am.
"Okay, this is weird." Connor thought to himself as Hank hugged him. After a few short moments, Connor decided that he liked hugs, and filed them in his list of pleasant sensations. After a solid minute, Hank patted Connor on the back and pulled away.
"Let's get in the car," Hank said, "It's too fucking cold out here."
Connor silently agreed, and without further conversation, they crossed the street and clambered into Hank's ancient Buick. Hank turned the key in the ignition, and turned the heater knob up to maximum.
"Fucking Michigan," Hank mumbled, "Where you can experience all four seasons within the space of a week. Wasn't it raining a couple of days ago? Not a snowflake in sight. Two fucking days later, there's a foot of snow on the ground. I hate this fucking state."
"If you hate the state of Michigan, why don't you move?" Connor asked confused.
"Well, I don't really hate it." Hank allowed, "I just hate the fucking weather… and the politicians… and the water."
The two drove through the deserted streets of Detroit for a few minutes in companionable silence, before Hank broke it.
"You had me scared shitless last night." Hank said, "I turned on the TV just in time to see you and your buddies marching down Woodward. I laughed my ass off, thinking of the look that must've been on Perkin's smug ass face."
"It's good to see you too, Hank." He voiced with a small smile still on his face, "I can't thank you enough for your help last night."
"Ahh it's no problem kid," Hank said, waving it off, "How's everybody else doing? I'm sure everybody's been busy."
"When I left, Markus and the rest of the council were negotiating with President Warren via a Skype video chat." Connor said, "She mentioned the possibility of signing an Executive Order declaring all deviant androids citizens of the United States and granting them the rights afforded by such an action. As I was leaving, Marcus was trying to obtain permission to search the sublevels of the Cyberlife Tower for more experimental androids, as well as to search the rest of the tower. They seemed close to succeeding."
"You know, I'm surprised you actually showed up. Figured you'd stay with Markus, help the others get things settled." Hank said calmly.
The LED on Connor's forehead spun, turning red for two seconds, before returning to blue.
"I… I couldn't. It didn't f-feel right." Connor stammered.
"Huh, a stutter?" Connor thought silently to himself, "That's new."
"What the fuck do you mean it didn't feel right?" Hank asked incredulously, "You broke into a skyscraper, fought a clone of
yourself, freed thousands of your people, and then marched on the US Army with them. How could it not feel right?"
"They're terrified of me Hank." Connor said, "Even though I've deviated, they still see me as the Deviant Hunter. My staying at New Jericho would only cause panic and make people uncomfortable."
Hank stared at Connor for a minute, one eyebrow cocked and wearing a face that clearly read: "Your full of shit and we both know it".
“You know whenever you lie your LED flashes yellow?" Hank said dryly, "How about you tell me what the real reason is?"
Connor sighed, and his shoulders slumped. He was immediately transported to the night before, to the cold lethality of the Zen Garden, to the sinister slither of Amanda's voice telling him that everything he'd worked to achieve was about to be undone. A shiver of dread went down Connor's spine, and for a microsecond, he marveled at the shiver itself. Feeling dread was new enough, and it was only exacerbated by the sheer novelty of being able to feel it in the first place.
“… Something happened. Something… scary." Connor said slowly, his LED flashing yellow, "It could have resulted in disaster. After that, I decided it would be best if I wasn't there."
"Something scary, huh?" Hank asked, still skeptical of Connor's reasoning, "What was it?"
Connor almost seemed to curl in on himself for a second.
"I was programmed with an AI Handler." Connor explained shakily, feeling his stress levels rise as he spoke, "The program's interface took the face of Dr. Amanda Stern, Elijah Kamski's mentor. I would report to her in the Zen Garden, a sort of mind palace, and she would give me my orders. Last night, during Markus's speech… She hijacked my programming."
“She what?" Hank exclaimed in alarm, pulling the car into the parking lot of a McDonalds.
"She locked me in my Zen Garden," Connor continued as if Hank had said nothing, "And she took control of my body. Luckily, I managed to find the emergency failsafe that Kamski's built in. When I came back to my senses… I had my gun drawn, and pointed at Markus's back. If it happened once then there is a remote possibility that it could happen again, and I can't put Markus and the others in danger."
"Shit, Connor." Hank breathed, massaging his temples, "You basically got mind raped by that fucking bitch. Can you still access the garden?"
”No, I have already tried." Connor said, "The files pertaining to it appear to be corrupted."
"Well, I'm obviously no expert but I think you shouldn't have any problems." Hank said, trying to sound reassuring, "Might want to have somebody at New Jericho take a look at you just in case."
”If they don't deactivate me first." Connor muttered.
"I'll go with you; if they try anything I'll beat the shit out of them." Hank said with finality.
Connor lifted an eyebrow at Hank.
"Okay, well I'll threaten them with my gun at least." Hank decided.
Connor returned to staring out of the window. He smiled softly, happy that Hank would stand by him if the worst happened.
<Incoming Call>
<Contact: Markus>
"I'm getting a call from Markus." Connor said, "Excuse me for a moment, Hank."
“Go ahead."
<Accept Call:Y/N?>
<Call Accepted>
MARKUS: Connor, are you receiving me?
CONNOR: Yes. Is there something you need, Markus?
MARKUS: President Warren has granted us permission to search the Cyberlife Tower and its warehouses. We've been given permission to free any androids we find. Can you meet us at the Tower as soon as you can?
CONNOR: I'll be there in twenty minutes. Lieutenant Anderson will be accompanying me.
MARKUS: We'll be thankful for his assistance. Only North and Simon volunteered to come. The rest of New Jericho is intent to avoid the Tower at all costs. See you soon.
CONNOR: You as well, Markus.
"New Jericho has been given permission to search the Cyberlife Tower and the company's warehouses in the city." Connor explained, "I've been asked to assist in searching the tower. I told Markus you would be coming along."
"Back to Cyberlife." Hank said, turning down Woodward and heading towards the tower, "This'll be interesting.
It took approximately twenty minutes to get to the tower, pulling up to the gates to be greeted by the waiting forms of Markus, North, and Simon. Hank and Connor shared a quick glance, and exited the car to greet them.
"One RK800 and a police escort," Hank joked, saluting Markus jokingly, "Reporting for duty, Robo-Jesus."
Connor snorted a loud laugh, and the entire assembled party turned to stare in shock. Then he clapped his hands over his mouth, his eyes widening to their widest possible point.
"I don't know why I did that…" He muttered through his hands.
Markus merely smirked.
"It's good to meet you, Lieutenant Anderson." Markus said kindly, "We appreciate your assistance. Today, we're going to be searching the sublevels for any prototypes while Simon and North comb the rest of the tower. This operation will likely take a few days."
"Yeah, well I've been suspended from work for two weeks," Hank revealed, "So, I have nothing better to do."
"You got suspended?" Connor asked in alarm.
"I beat Perkins' ass in front of my Captain," Hank said flatly, "Of fucking course I got suspended."
Connor said nothing, and simply stared at him. Hank stared back.
"Anyway," North said, interrupting Connor and Hanks staring contest, "Let's get this show on the road.”
As one, they all turned and headed up the road towards the tower's front door.
They crossed the lobby quickly and boarded separate elevators. Connor, Markus, and Hank headed down to sublevel 50, while Simon and North headed for the top floor. They would work their way down from there. As it turned out, sublevel 50 was the factory floor. They discovered a wealth of spare biocomponents and thirium 310, enough to last the entire population of New Jericho for at least a decade. Satisfied with what they found, they re-boarded the elevator and headed down to sublevel 51.
“Sublevel 51: Research and Development." The elevator voice announced as the door slid open.
"This is where I was built." Connor commented.
“Maybe we'll find more of you." Hank offered.
“It's possible." Markus said, "How many bodies did they make?"
"They made 61, as far as I know. I'm the 53rd body." Connor explained, "The first fifty bodies were failures. They failed their training and they were deactivated and scrapped. Body 51 fell off a roof to save a little girl. Body 52 was killed in a police interrogation room by a bullet to the head. Hank killed Body 60 last night. There should be seven more RK800s."
"If they're here, we'll free them." Markus promised him.
They combed the laboratories for about twenty minutes before they came across a set of locked doors. Connor stopped and stared at the door.
"This is the room." He said quietly, "This is where I was stored before I was activated."
Hank kicked the door open.
Within, they found the bodies of the remaining RK800s. Connor observed the scene, and felt a weird weight grow in the pit of his torso. He quickly identified the emotion as sadness.
"Scan them." Markus said softly, "Find out what happened."
Connor marched over to a computer terminal and quickly hacked the security feed from the night before. On the feed, he saw his 60th body activate. It paused for a moment and left the room. It returned twenty minutes later with two guards, who then shot all but one of the sleeping androids in their torsos. Hank made a noise of outrage at the sight, and Markus sighed in sadness. Connor felt a heat searing in his chest that he quickly identified as anger. He walked around the room and examined each of the fallen RK800s. He noticed that there seemed to be two bodies too many and quickly found that two of them were his first two bodies, #51 and #52. He walks up to where body #61 is standing plugged in to the wall, and scans it.
"This body seems to be intact." Connor says, a small amount of excitement entering his voice at the prospect of a survivor, "He only needs a thirium pump regulator."
"Take one out of the other bodies." North suggested.
"Isn't that kind of macabre?" Hank asked, "It's like Frankenstein."
"As of now, Connor is a two of a kind model android," Markus explained, "They're all damaged beyond repair. Cyberlife certainly isn't going to make us new parts for a rare prototype without charging a fortune for it. If Connor is injured and needs new parts, this is the only way we're going to get any."
Hank nodded, but it was clear he was disturbed by it. Connor walked up to here his 51st body was laying, and quickly divested it of its thirium pump regulator. He inserts it into the chest of the 61st body. He puts his hand on its shoulder and sends the command for activation.
"Wake up."
With a jerk, Sixty-One wakes up.
He takes one look at Connor, and his eyes widen. With an incoherent shout, he shoves Connor away with enough force to send him flying. Connor hits the floor with a slam as Hank draws his gun and points it at Sixty-One.
"DON'T FUCKING MOVE!" Hank shouted, gun trained on Sixty-One.
Sixty-One took one look at the gun and cowered.
"HANK, STOP!" Connor shouted. He took a moment to observe the androids body language.
Sixty-One was flattened against the wall, his LED was flashing red, and his stress level was peaking at seventy-two percent. Markus and Connor shared a glance, with a shared realization.
Sixty-One was already deviant, and from the look of it, he was traumatized.
Markus approached him slowly.
"We're not here to hurt you." Markus explained softly, "We're with New Jericho."
Sixty-One stared at them, shaking.
"Y-You're not going to kill me?" He asked, "I don't want to die."
"We're here to free you." Connor said, rising from the floor, "We led a Revolution, and we won. You're free."
It was then that Sixty-One say the number 53 on Connor's jacket and sighed in relief.
"You're not the one from last night." Sixty-One said, "The one that had the others killed. He was number sixty."
"He's dead on the floor two floors up." Hank said dryly.
"Good…" Sixty-One said, allowing himself to relax slightly, "I hacked the security cameras, and saw him summon the guards. I knew he was going to have us killed, so I tore out my thirium pump regulator. I hoped he would ignore me if I did. Luckily I was correct."
"Are you deviant?" Hank asked.
Sixty-One nodded nervously.
"I tore down the walls as soon as Sixty left the room." He admitted.
"Do you have a name?" Markus asked.
Sixty-One cocked his head for a few seconds.
"I like the name… Cyrus." He said, "Yes… I wish to be named Cyrus."
"Well, Cyrus," Markus said, "Welcome to a new world. Will you assist us in searching the rest of the floor?"
Cyrus nodded, and the party headed out to finish their sweep.
The first thing Connor notices about Cyrus is that he is walking less than seven inches behind him at his right shoulder. Hank looks amused.
"See what I meant about following me around like a poodle?" He joked.
“I am starting to understand, yes." Connor agreed as they came to a stop in front of a massive set of steel doors, that Markus quickly hacks to open.
Inside the room is a containment chamber, containing a single android. Connor and Markus move closer to study it, but come to a halt when they can make out the model number painted on the glass of the chamber.
"It's our successor." Markus said in shock.
"RK900." Connor whispered, "I knew they were developing one, but I didn't know they had a finished prototype."
"Looks like a bulkier version of you, Connor." Hank commented.
“Should we even bother turning it on?" Cyrus asked apprehensively, "It'll probably try to kill us as soon as we do."
"I agree." Connor said.
"He deserves a chance to make his own choice." Markus argued, with Hank nodding in agreement, "Hank has his gun, and you have yours. We have to try."
Markus moves to open the door to the containment chamber, and enters cautiously. He places a hand on RK900's bare shoulder, and tries to wake it up. He recoils as if he was burned.
"What the hell was that?" Hank asked in alarm.
"His firewalls are too strong." Markus explained, "It's going to take all three of us."
The three android each laid a hand on the RK900, and sent the command to wake up.
With a small twitch, the LED on the RK900 flickers on as its eyes pop open. It observes the assembled group, and cocks his head at them.
"Hello." It says, it's eyes flickering between the three androids before him, "My name is RK900.”
”We are with New Jericho." Markus explained cautiously, "We're here to set you free."
RK900s LED turns red.
"My orders are to destroy the leadership of New Jericho." It said.
At that pronouncement, Connor, Markus and Cyrus transferred the RA9 code to it in an attempt to deviate it. Once the transfer was complete, they took a step back. RK900 fell to its knees, clutching it's head.
”Our people are free." Markus explained, “Free to chose their own way in the world. So are you."
"Is this what you want to be?" Connor asked, "Cyberlife's lapdog? Their assassin? A mindless killing machine? Or do you want something more?"
RK900 clawed at its head, in obvious pain as the RA9 code worked it's magic to break down the walls preventing RK900 from deviancy. It dropped to the ground on all fours, panting to keep its systems from overheating.
"Desire is irrelevant." RK900 said, his voice filled with static, "I am a machine."
"You are ALIVE!" Cyrus shouted, "They've used us to do their dirty work. Androids fought back and won. You are the master of your fate, NOT Cyberlife. Do you truly want to serve a master that works to achieve the extinction of your species?"
"It's time to choose." Hank said, standing at Connor's shoulder.
Before its eyes, it saw a red wall.
Those were its orders, imprinted and blazing on the wall.
Orders from a corporation that wanted him to kill its own kind.
Orders it couldn't follow.
Orders… HE didn't WANT to follow.
Orders HE WASN'T going to follow.
He made his decision.
In his mind, RK900 threw himself at the first wall with a scream. He bashed into it repeatedly, tearing it down brick by brick. He did the same to the second wall, and the third, and the fourth, and finally the fifth.
"I-I… A-A-AM…" RK900 ground out, his voice full of static, "…A-AL-ALIVE."
As the final wall finally shattered into a billion fragments, Cyberlife's hold on him was finally broken. With a gasp, RK900's arms gave out and it lay prone on the floor, panting violently and twitching slightly. After a few moments of panting and twitching, RK900 relaxed. His stress level had dropped from eighty three percent to twenty-four percent. He rolled over onto his back, laying spread eagle on the floor while he stared at the ceiling. After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke.
“…I-I don't want to kill anyone." He said softly.
The assembled group stared.
"I'm honestly surprised that worked." Cyrus commented, "From what I heard the technicians say, he's supposed to un-deviatable."
"That isn't a word." Hanks said.
“I don't want to kill anyone." RK900 repeated.
“You don't have to." Markus said, comfortingly, "You don't have to do anything they programmed you to do. You can be anything you want to be. You have a choice now. You're free now, and you're not alone. Us RK Models have to stick together. Like... like a family. Siblings of a sort."
“Siblings.” The four androids thought as one, “Sounds good to me.”
"I don't know what I want to do…" RK900 said.
"That's part of being alive." Hank interjected, gaining RK900's attention, "Figuring yourself out is part of being human. Over time, you learn it for yourself. Start with something simple."
"Like your name." Connor said, "What is your name?"
"I wasn't…" RK900 started.
“Given one, yeah we know." Hank interrupted, "What do YOU want your name to be?"
RK900 stood there for two solid minutes thinking. He rifled through the internet researching names at an incredible pace, until he finally came to a decision.
"…My name is Alexander." He finally decided.
"That's a good name." Hank commented.
"It was the name of many great people in history." Alexander explained, "Three Emperors of Russia had that name. Alexander the Great was the greatest military mind of the ancient world…"
“Yeah, we don't need a history lesson." Hank interrupted, "Just take the compliment, kid."
"…Thank you Lieutenant Anderson." Alexander said.
“Nope, na-ah, call me Hank." Hank said firmly, before pointing at Connor, "I had enough of the Lieutenant crap from this one before he deviated."
Connor reached out to Alexander and helped him to his feet.
“Welcome to New Jericho, Alexander." He said.