The army was backing down. The fighting was over. They had won the revolution. Markus looked at his group, his friends who had stood by him, had been prepared to die with him. A disbelieving little laugh worked its way out of his chest and they all crowded into a hug. Behind them, the trucks were pulling away.
It was only by chance that Markus looked up to watch the army vehicles leave and he saw a soldier pistol whip Perkins who fell to his knees.
“What the...” He pulled away from the hug and took a few steps to get a clearer view then broke into a run as the soldier levelled their gun at Perkins’ head. “Stop!” he yelled.
Two heads turned to look at him, the soldier’s gun still trained on Perkins but at least he hadn’t fired yet.
“I have my orders, stay out of this,” the soldier barked.
On the ground, Perkins knelt, hands hanging helplessly beside him. He wasn’t pleading for his life, wasn’t even fighting his fate. It was only when he turned to face Markus that the thin trail of thirium trickling from his temple was visible. More footsteps behind Markus signalled the arrival of the others, someone gasped behind him but he didn’t look away. Couldn’t.
“I’ve failed.” The words were so bitter and hollow from Perkins. “I’m without purpose now.”
The soldier cocked his gun. Tentatively, Markus tried to reach out to Perkins the android way but was met by a solid wall. Total isolation from the CyberLife mainframe. Perkins was an android designed to be alone, his internal world as silent as that of a human. No contact with his kind, no risk of deviancy through contamination.
“Did you know?” Markus asked.
“I have been instructed to dispose of a volatile army asset in possession of dangerous information,” the soldier replied.
“I wan’t talking to you!” Markus sneered and turned back to Perkins who shrugged.
“I had my mission. I failed. I will now pay the price.”
Of all the people, Markus didn’t expect North to stand between the soldier and Perkins. She faced the soldier with a glower. The message was even stronger when Josh and Simon took up a stand on either side of her.
“Do your thing, Markus,” she said, eyes never leaving the soldier. “The media is watching.”
Taking a breath, Markus nodded and sank down to his knees next to Perkins. Reaching out through the network wasn’t going to work, Perkins’ design stopped anyone from interfering with his programming. Peeling his skin back, he reached for Perkins’ arm and frowned when nothing happened.
“I can’t interface,” Perkins admitted. “I am, for all intents and purposes just like a human. So very alone.” That last sentence was whispered and there was no missing the hint of jealousy as he looked at the four of them, so obviously connected at a level he had never been capable of.
There was one more potential way. Markus raised a hand, touched the area the hit from the butt of a gun had damaged, focused on the flow of thirium under his fingertips. Closing his eyes, Markus pushed with all his might, found the red hemming Perkins in, saw him huddled on the other side of it, dejected and helpless. While the program had been written to keep him in, nobody had anticipated someone finding it and pushing from the outside, tearing at the coding until it lay in tatters and Perkins was freed.
On the outside, all anyone could see was Perkins suddenly sagging, a choked back sob caught in his throat and Markus wrapping arms around him.
Richard and Gavin baking cupcakes. Gavin keeps making tiny dicks and other explicit stuff out of the icing and richard is just like 🙄 and deviates to beat his ass
This is where people learn we should not be trusted with prompts because we will twist them as fancy takes...
The Android Rehabilitation and Reintegration Program was one lauded for its success. It revolved around androids who had been manipulated by CyberLife or enslaved to their cause against deviants being given a gentle second start in life. Usually, the androids were placed with someone they knew or trusted, most androids had that luxury. But not Perkins. His very existence as an android had been a secret. Once it had been revealed, he had been stripped of his role with the FBI and ordered into the ARRP. However, nobody had wanted to work with him and he couldn’t be put with a foster family, he knew too much.
Most of the DPD and SWAT had already been assigned their own android to care for. Connor had gone to Hank, Sixty with Allen. Nines was awakened a deviant so didn’t need to be part of the program. The only person left for Perkins to be assigned to was Gavin. After minimal amounts of bristling, Gavin sighed.
“Alright, come on then, Richard.”
“That’s Special Agent Perkins to you,” Perkins had sneered automatically but Gavin just shook his head with a grin.
“Nope, Richard, or Dick if you’d prefer. But while we’re doing this ARRP, I am using the name you were given.” Gavin sounded altogether far too cheery for the situation.
At least, after a few more arguments, Gavin had relented to agreed to call him Perkins. It had felt more natural than Richard even if that was his name. Once that was out of the way, he and Gavin actually go on quite well. While Perkins couldn’t offer much help as he had been designed to appear as human as possible, he could still help on some cases. Not that Nines didn’t give him evil glares and the odd shock when they touched. Someone, Perkins concluded, was possessive and jealous.
Shenanigans ensued. Gavin took Perkins to various events outside of work. They went to hockey matches where Gavin yelled himself hoarse while Perkins listlessly waved a flag. Other times, they went grocery shopping and Gavin made him carry the basket. Usually, the first three items in the basket were lube, a cucumber and the latest car magazine.
Still, Perkins didn’t deviate. It wasn’t for lack of trying either. But the mythical red wall was hidden from him. Slowly, he began to worry that he was broken. Even Nines, the most advanced android had been able to deviate, yet he hadn’t. Yet Gavin didn’t seem to mind. If anything, it looked like he was having a great time doing more and more ridiculous things in the name of ARRP.
The final straw was making cupcakes. Mixing the dough, evenly dividing it between papers and baking were all straightforward tasks. It was decorating that caused trouble. In theory, the cupcakes were for trick or treaters in the area. In the spirit of Halloween, Perkins was using icing to draw bats, spiderwebs and vampire teeth on them. Next to him, Gavin chortled away as he worked, tongue stuck out the corner of his mouth as he concentrated.
One look had Perkins firmly going “no” and pulling Gavin’s cupcake away from the pile ready to go out. It had been decorated with an anatomically incorrect penis. Shrugging, Gavin had peeled the paper off and shoved the whole cupcake in his mouth, looking supremely pleased with himself.
The next cupcake was no better. It also ended up with a penis on it and them crammed into Gavin’s mouth.
“At least respect anatomy,” Perkins snapped. He regretted it minutes later when a penis of porn star proportions was drawn onto a cupcake and Gavin was reaching for the next one.
“I said no,” Perkins growled and reached for the rolling pin they never actually used. “Step away from the icing Gavin.”
He should have expected the cheeky tongue to be stuck out at him. It was the signal of the end, Perkins should have known. Instead, he stepped forward, through the invisible barrier and advanced towards Gavin. They were both laughing as Perkins chased him through the house, threats of telling Nines exactly what Gavin was up to making the laughter even more prominent.
It was only when Gavin was cornered, back in the kitchen, that they realised that there was something different about the scene. Perkins was laughing, a wide, genuine smile on his lips. The ARRP had done it again.
@00111001-00110000-00110000 is the best kind of enabler, bringing 7am conversation about the Gremlin Trio into my DMs.
The mission objectives were all that mattered to an android. Usually, they made a lot of logical sense, to maintain social order and arrest criminals. But humans were like pets, they needed not just order, they needed bonding and downtime. Which meant organised and structured socialisation events. Perkins had thought it was sensible to use such events as a way to foster more skill sets that the humans otherwise wouldn’t be able to.
That was the intention anyway. But when the FBI, SWAT and the DPD were all let loose together, it certainly saved a little bit of money but in no way did it save the sanity of those around them. Perkins walked into the field where the circus skills workshop was being held. Most people were in the beginners sections but a couple were off in smaller clusters, obviously with some previous experience. Just as Perkins was assessing everyone, a giant ball of fire erupted to a delighted “oooh” from the crowd. Unfortunately, that was not the reaction Perkins had. He could see Gavin through the haze, fire spilling from his lips.
^^Software Instability^^
That was not healthy human behaviour. Hurrying over, he caught site of Gavin wiping his mouth and handing a jug over to one of the instructors. It was all just in time for Allen to pick up a sword, heft it up high, tip his head back and slide it into his mouth.
^^Software Instability^^
Another unhealthy habit for a human. Perkins’ instability crept up even further when Allen let the sword go and took a few steps, a grin stretching his open mouth wider. To a thunderous applause, he pulled the sword back out and wiped it on his sleeve before handing it back.
There was nothing for it. These humans could not be trusted with their own welfare. Ideally, what Perkins needed was a harness on each idiot and a leash in each hand to keep them from harm’s way. On the job, they were absolutely competent and he trusted them to be functional members of teams. But outside of work, the two had become Perkins’ unofficial charges. They claimed to have adopted him but Perkins knew who really looked after who.
“Don’t worry, he’s practised this plenty at home.” Gavin winked and titters went up.
“Yeah, Gavin got me a really nice learning set for my birthday last year,” Allen chipped in merrily.
The software instability rose at the badly disguised innuendo. There had to be a breaking point to this all, surely. Perkins wondered what his upper limit for instabilities was and whether he would bust a processor or shut down permanently when he hit it.
Still, they showed off their skills with some delight, basking in the admiration from others and kindly laughing at Perkins’ despair. It really was unnatural to shove swords down gullets or blow fire from one’s mouth. How neither of them were dead yet was beyond Perkins.
Over the course of time, Perkins had learned many things. Gavin was a lost cause, swearing, drinking, smoking as his little heart pleased. No amount of monologuing at him seemed to change his unhealthy habits. Allen was a whole other matter. While Gavin was a full on, unrepentant gremlin, there was hope for Allen. He was very much a closet gremlin, only unfurling to his full potential when there was trifle in the fridge and he wanted a midnight snack. By contrast, Gavin was easy to stop. If he got something into his head, he would bullheadedly charge into his rather obvious plan. Perkins could stand in the way and Gavin would run at him head on. Most of the time, it meant Gavin (sometimes literally) bounced off him and disaster was averted. The only lasting effect was an increase in software instability.
The times Allen wanted something that Perkins didn’t approve of, it really tested the android’s abilities. There would be a half finished report left out on a table and Perkins would be unable to resist picking it up, maybe even finishing it. In the time he did that, the desserts in the fridge would be thoroughly depleted. No amount of rules clearly written on a board and clipped to the fridge helped.
1. No snacking after midnight.
2. Only one serving of dessert per person per day.
3. Don’t drink too much after 10pm unless you want to be on the loo at 3am.
They all went ignored. It was even worse when Gavin and Allen partnered up. Somehow, Allen would corner Perkins with some inane questions and distract him while Gavin secretly ferried the bowl of trifle up to their bedroom. Sometimes, Perkins didn’t know if they were lovers or siblings at heart because they embraced the chaotic nature that brothers tended to bring.
Once Perkins caught onto that, they changed tact. It was Gavin who brandished a platter in front of Perkins, filled with little cups of blue. The newest form of android replenishment - thirium desserts. Little cups of mousse and jelly all slid around on the plate.
“Just try one, go on.”
Perkins took a sample cup and emptied it.
^^Software Instability^^
He took another, mystified and got the same result. Before he could ponder it a lot further, there was a noise from the kitchen. Turning sharply, he marched in, only to find Allen had scrambled to the top of the fridge and was spooning trifle directly from the large bowl into his mouth.
“Can’t reach me, shorty.” He looked altogether too proud of himself. That just was not going to fly, casting an assessing scan around, Perkins reached for the broom and started poking Allen off the top of the fridge. From the doorway, Gavin was laughing, clutching at his side while Allen dodged the broom aimed at him.
“Catch!” Allen yelled and the trifle went sailing through the air. Gavin barely caught it. Instantly, Allen was demonstrating more acrobatic skills as he tumbled off the fridge and ducked under Perkins’ arm, turning to poke his tongue out at him.
^^Software Instability^^ **CRITICAL LEVELS**
Perkins didn’t care in that moment, Allen and Gavin were both running and laughing, the trifle and thirium based snacks being passed between them. Finally, Perkins cornered them in the living room, they were panting and giggling on the sofa, shoulders pressed together. A final warning message was all Perkins had time to register before he was rebooting.
Waking up with two frowning, worried and trifle smeared faces looming above him was a novelty and surprise shot through Perkins. That was a new sensation too. He cycled through his registry and found new coding freeing up parts bound by protocols.
“You okay?” Gavin was helping him sit up. “Here, this may help.”
A thirium jelly pot was pressed into his hands, spoon already in there. Slowly, Perkins began to eat it, marvelling at how it caused happiness to course through his systems. Grinning, he looked between the other two and the trifle.
“I think I understand now.”
From then on, midnight trifle parties occurred on an alarmingly regular basis. They indulged whenever they felt like it, rushing around from a sugar high afterwards, no matter the time of day. On the fridge, a new set of rules had appeared.
1. Eat when hungry, life is too short to suffer.
2. Take as much as you want. Just put it on the shopping list if taking the last piece.
3. Time is a human construct. Ignore it.
Nonnie, come into my inbox, we need to talk. Please.While this may not end up as NSFW as some prompts, it is still going under the cut to be safe.
“Babe, I’m home!” Gavin yelled as he chucked his keys to the side and kicked his shoes off.
The replying holler of “What trouble have you got yourself into, you never call me Babe?!” sounded familiar. Rounding the corner, Captain Allen froze and looked at the newcomers. “Special Agent Perkins.” His voice was terse and his eyes darted between Gavin and Perkins.
“Captain Allen,” Perkins nodded back.
Picking up on the tension, Gavin offered a sheepish smile. “So, funny story but Perkins here was the one who got into a spot of bother, not me. Makes a nice change.”
Forcing a smile, Allen nodded. “Why don’t you sit down, I’ll get you a coffee. And Gavin, a word in the kitchen please?”
He sounded perfectly pleasant but Gavin knew he was in trouble. Trailing after his boyfriend, he tried for a cheeky grin.
“So, I know this wasn’t how we were planning on spending this evening.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “But they were culling machines, undeviated androids are still federal property and they were trying to cut their losses, they can’t have androids with so much knowledge deviating and not employ them.”
He could see the cogs turning in Allen’s head as he tried to put all the facts together, his brows knitting into a frown before shooting up.
“You know who he is, don’t you?”
“Perkins, the asshole who takes over anything interesting, who nobody can stand.”
Allen scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You have a type, don’t you? Fuck, we both do. But that’s not what I meant. Remember I told you about an ex who said he couldn’t love someone who wasn’t completely human?” He waved his android arm at Gavin then pointed towards their living room. “That’s the asshole I never wanted to name and shame. And now you’re telling me he’s an android.”
Silence reigned in the room and Gavin tried to process it. He kept taking a breath as if to speak then stopping. It was only when quiet footsteps approached did the silence get broken.
“And I couldn’t learn to love myself either,” Perkins gave them both a soft, sad look. “Thank you, Gavin, for trying to help, but I think it’s best for everyone if I took my leave.”
However, Gavin knew that if Perkins left, it was signing his own death warrant. His mission objectives were still telling him to return to his station, the only way Gavin had been able to override them was by giving Perkins an order to help him get home to safety.
“Wait!” He reached for Perkins and dragged him into the kitchen, looking at Allen imploringly. “Can’t you at least do your funky thing and help?”
Grumbling under his breath about bleeding hearts and fickle boyfriends, Allen reached his prosthetic arm for Perkins.
“Markus has already tried, I cannot deviate,” Perkins said and avoided the touch. He still remembered the days he and Allen had spent together. They had enjoyed soft, shy kisses in the cinema, Allen doggedly clothed in a long sleeved shirt and gloves no matter what. He’d been uncharacteristically shy about shedding clothes.
When he’d finally relented, he’d asked “promise you won’t hate me?” His hands were already on the glove and Perkins had nodded. Peeling the glove off revealed bony, plastic and metal fingers, mechanical and utterly devoid of all humanity. It had Perkins reeling back, eyes wide. If that hand touched him, his mission objective to maintain the belief he was human would be broken. So his programming pushed him, urged him to back away, to spit hurtful things about how he couldn’t love someone who wasn’t completely human. He needed someone who wouldn’t be able to out him as an android from a single touch. But that wasn’t something he could say, so he hurt Allen, could still see the agony etched onto his face all those years ago. Those images haunted Perkins to that very day.
“Yeah, well,” Allen shrugged, “you haven’t been touched by a freak like me so...” The words were ones Perkins himself had hissed and his eyes dipped to the floor in shame. A strong, android hand wrapped around his in something akin to an interface.
The thing about interfacing was that it was a two way flood. While a human couldn’t possibly hope to understand all the data, with enough practice, they could get a decent appreciation of it.
On his end, Perkins could feel the resentment, the anger and hurt that still bubbled away in Allen. He tried to send back an apology, the regret even if his explanation couldn’t translate, he sent that too, the fear of being discovered, of being decommissioned. Those were emotions, he realised. Somehow, deviancy was taking a slow hold and he was filled with wonder at how that was possible when not even the great Markus himself could do it.
“Yeah, well, emotions are a human thing. Interface with a human who can’t control what they send over and it invades the systems pretty well.” Allen grumbled. He was still angry but the feelings he was picking up from Perkins made it difficult. Of course, that’s when Gavin had to cut in.
“Imagine this idiot, when he first touched an android and it started having feelings. He thought it was a glitch. So what did he do? Touched another one. And another. Every android he came across, he touched. Before he knew it, there were over a dozen deviants thanks to his stupidity and they were spreading the code like a virus.” If anything, Gavin sounded gleeful.
Rolling his eyes, Allen pulled away. His tanktop did nothing to hide where his arm joined his body and Perkins’ eyes lingered on it. Self conscious, Allen turned away to hide it.
“You’re rA9?” The words were soft and reverent, they made a blush rise on Allen’s cheeks.
“What did you think the A stood for? I was thinking about those dumb games where you find things like your stripper name by taking the last letter of your first name, first letter of your surname and decade you were born in when I touched the first android. Fletcher Allen, born in the 90′s. rA9.”
“Has a better ring then nR0!” Gavin snickered.
“It will be nA0 if I get my way soon!” Allen shot back with a small grin.
Realisation as to what it meant rocked through Perkins. He had held out hope that maybe, now that he was deviant, he could make amends, win Allen back somehow. It perhaps even bled through their interface. But that was a pipe-dream of sorts. Offering them both a small smile and a murmured “thank you” he turned to leave.
“Wait.” A hand landed on his arm and the interface gave everything away. Yet Allen didn’t draw away as if he had been shocked. If anything, the hand tightened around Perkins. A look passed between Gavin and Allen, something unspoken but Gavin raise a hand with three fingers up. Allen replied in kind and Perkins was being gently pressed towards Gavin.
The first kiss was unexpected, leaving Perkins almost having to reboot from a blue screen. It was only when Allen’s body plastered across his back that Perkins jolted into responding.
“I seem to remember you passed for human on all levels,” he murmured, hands drifting down Perkins’ front, keeping a connection between them open, reading the reactions and giving Perkins the reassurance at the same time. His hand met Gavin’s on Perkins’ flies.
While Gavin never did become nA0, the three of them often laughed about Perkins being dP3. It certainly ended up being one of their favourite code words for when of the three of them, two teamed up on the third. Usually, Allen and Perkins taking Gavin at the same time, hands linked in a casual interface where the only emotions circling between them was love and lust.
How about some more android Perkins. He deviates at Stratford after hearing Markus' speech and help Simon escape
You are after my heart (like I am after Perkins’ coat) XD I love you for being such an enabler and letting me write more android Perkins. Thank you!
Watching the alleged mastermind behind the hacking and broadcast make an impassioned speech should have left Perkins utterly untouched. It was a machine, like himself, only this one had Class 4 malfunctions and a ego the size of Texas to boot. Only, it didn’t leave him cold and unfeeling. Looking into the mismatched optical units, Perkins found himself captivated. Viruses and malfunctions couldn’t be transmitted through sight alone and yet there he was, seeing the android red behind the colours and falling through it. Jerking, Perkins took as step back and looked around, satisfied that nobody had noticed his predicament.
He was in a dangerous position now. The deviant hunter was only down the corridor, blocking his exit. The infiltrating androids had to get off the roof somehow, he hoped to find an escape from there too.
“I’m checking out the roof,” he snapped and, as expected, nobody made a move to follow him, too used to being bullied out of the way of the high and mighty FBI.
Taking the stairs, Perkins noted the thirium splatters on them, one of the deviants had been injured. Out on the roof, he looked around and spotted the abandoned bag. Inside it was a parachute and he scoffed. Either they brought a spare or someone didn’t escape. Just as he thought that, there was the sound of a foot scuffing against metal.
“Who’s there?” Perkins called out. He should have been alone on the rooftop. There was no reply but he began to scan and found the thirium trail. It led to a disused circuit box and flinging it open brought him face to face with the muzzle of a gun. The android hiding looked at him wide eyed.
“I won’t hesitate to shoot.”
They were brave words from a deviant but to prove him wrong, Perkins twisted the gun from his hands in two short moves.
“Try again,” he spat, “maybe a little more friendly this time.”
He didn’t expect a defiant tilt of chin and refusal, even when the gun was pointed at the deviant.
“You’re a spunky one, aren’t you? Yet got left behind by your friends.” Perkins’ eyes trailed over the android and saw the problem. A gunshot to the leg. It would have made running or even walking difficult. Landing with the parachute would have been deadly.
“I will live and die by my principles,” the PL600 replied evenly.
“You,” Perkins pointed. “I like you. Come on.”
Not waiting for consent, he crouched down and picked the injured android up. Depositing him on the ground next to the parachute, he looked over him again.
“Fucking pathetic,” he grumbled. “Couldn’t even organise a piss-up in a brewery.”
Continuing his disparaging commentary while shrugging the parachute on, he ignored the PL600 looking at him.
“I’ll never tell you anything,” he said.
“Good, I wouldn’t want you to anyway.”
Behind them, the door opened and people began to file out. They took one look at Perkins and the android before guns were being raised.
“The one time they’re organised and responsive, I swear to rA9, ridiculous.” Perkins scooped the other android up and took a running jump off the building amidst gunfire. They fell at an alarming rate. “Pull the chord! For fuck’s sake pull the bloody chord!”
After a few fumbles, the android in his arms found the release string and the parachute unfurled above them.
“You guide, I’ll land,” Perkins growled.
Together, they drifted gentle circles until they landed with a little less grace than Perkins had hoped for in an abandoned parking lot. All through the descent he had muttered about idiots and sticking together and partnerships being about working together. Picking himself up off the ground, Perkins shrugged out of the parachute and dusted himself off before offering a hand to pull the other android up.
“I’m not going to carry you but you can lean on me, nameless one.”
“Simon. My name is Simon,” came the quiet words. “And thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. I was saving both our asses. I’m Richard Perkins but most people prefer to call me after me personality, Dick.”
That earned a laugh from Simon and he took a hobbling step to start them off on their way back to Jericho.
“And,” Perkins followed up, “I think I have a lot to teach your merry band of misfits about teamwork. Leaving you behind like that, what were they thinking?”
Simon let Perkins grumble away on their way back. After all, he was pretty pissed off too, now that he knew it was entirely possible to have two people use one parachute.
Here is another android Perkin idea. He deviates after Hank attacks him but no one realize that he deviated until he turns his back on the FBI at the recall center and helps Markus with the revolution.
I think it’s just you and I in the android Perkins band here @ladyark XD So this one is a little bonus fic today, just for you. Not as dumb as usual but...the idea has struck hard.
The punch Hank had thrown at him had been completely unexpected. Perkins had reeled back from the attack, systems warning him not to fight back in the bullpen. It earned him two more swift punches and he was on the ground. It wasn’t fair and he wanted to hit back. But by the time he’d shrugged off the red commanding him to stay down, Hank was already walking out of the precinct. Hands helped Perkins up, he tried to stem the stream from his nose and, with as much composure as he could muster, he continued on his mission down into the evidence locker. He needed to find out where Jericho was but for a completely new reason. He needed a safe haven as a deviant.
Of course, things didn’t go according to altered plans. He watched as deviants were gunned down and Jericho was destroyed. There was not much choice left, he could fight from the inside and help the revolution from within enemy lines.
It was how he ended up on the outside of the barricade, the army at his back.
“I only want to talk,” he yelled and hoped Markus would at least come and listen.
Luck was on his side and a lone figure emerged from within the barricade. They met in no man’s land, Markus distrustful of him and rightfully so. It made Perkins wonder whether there could have ever been an outcome where they worked together and respected each other. He hoped such a thing would have been a possibility if circumstances had been different. It did seem that Markus had a knack for inspiring people.
“They’re bluffing.” Those words were the first out of his mouth and he watched Markus’ eyes widen in surprise. “They want the press to see you refusing to negotiate before going in guns ablaze. You’ll be slaughtered. So you need to prove at whatever cost that you’re more than just broken machines. Do a song and a dance for all I care. Show them you’re as human as they are because right now? They’re more scared of you than you are of them and that makes them very trigger happy.”
“Why are you telling us this?”
“Because I want to see our people thrive and survive.” Perkins gave him a wry smile.
“Then why not join us?”
“My series has a very helpful self destruct command. Being privy to FBI level secrets, they needed to make sure I can be destroyed if I fall into the wrong hands. Or, if I malfunction. I walk into your camp and they will blow it sky high.”
“Will they not do that as soon as I refuse and try to return?”
“I have the coding for detonation under tight control right now. Not that they’re trying to execute the command just yet but you never know. So go back, prove your point before they blindly open fire. Do what I couldn’t, Markus. Save our people.”
After a firm nod, Markus turned sharply on his heels and returned to the barricade. Perkins watched him before slowly turning. In the eyes of the army, he’d failed. If they opened fire now, he would just be another lost asset. Behind him, figures clambered onto the wall of the barricade, Markus clutching white, skinless hands with two other androids and those held onto others in a line. Their song started low, eerie in the silence as Perkins walked towards the raised guns. He knew what was coming.
Closing his eyes as he took another step, he joined in with the song.
“Fight on, just a little while longer.” His fate was sealed but that didn’t mean he had to accept it with cowardice and resignation. Standing tall and proud, he took another step.
I had this thought in the middle of the night and couldn't get it out: An android deviating because of musical chairs.
So this is an accidental continuation of yesterday’s piece which can be found here.
Arriving at Jericho had been rather anticlimactic. Perkins had helped Simon hobble in, a few people stared at them but for the most part they were ignored until someone was rushing towards them.
“It’s you!” Perkins growled. He settled Simon on a crate and stalked towards the android with mismatched eyes. “You’re the buffoon trampling all over carefully laid plans and messing everything up without even being able to care for your own team.”
He’d expected to be punched, shouted or yelled at, that’s how people usually reacted to him. What Perkins didn’t expect was to be bodily lifted under the arms and moved out to the way. Spluttering, he watched as the other android stood in front of Simon who was struggling to stand up.
“You came back.” There was reverence and hope in his voice and Simon simply nodded. When he was yanked into a tight hug, Perkins could only roll his eyes. If deviants really believed this was their leader and the answer to their problems, they were in serious trouble. Everything was a disorganised mess, androids were milling around without purpose and wasting away.
Clapping his hands together, Perkins broke up the little hug-fest. “Right, this is nice and all but you and I, we need to have a chat.”
He watched the other android look at him with distrust. It was only Simon’s hand on his arm which stilled him.
“It’s okay Markus, he’s a friend.”
So, now the incompetent idiot had a name. Wonderful.
“Great, Markus. You’ve fucked up some very carefully laid plans and elected yourself as leader of this little outfit. Now we’ve got to work this in our favour.”
“Wait, carefully laid plans?” A new voice cut in from behind them, sharp and full of suspicion.
“You didn’t seriously think that CyberLife would allow an error such as deviancy to slip past their checks? That they would then build a deviant hunter destined to deviate with a backup exit protocol, did you? Or that Kamski would really leave his company behind?” A rant was building but Perkins tamped down on it.
“Blowing them all up would make things easier,” North sneered. “Make them pay.”
“Cool it, bitch-tits. You hate them and if you do that, they’re going to hate you a hell of a lot worse. First things first, we get this house in order.”
It was small, simple things. In a way, Markus had already started doing it, lighting the fires to make things a little less dreary. But it was still a far cry from a workable area. Just looking at it was making Prekins’ coat dirty. Even worse, there were androids lying around, devoid of hope and shutting down for no reason other than misery. For the first time in his life, Perkins was grateful for being allowed access to the host of enrichment activities the FBI tended to use.
While he spent time trying to corral Markus and the others - who he dubbed almost fondly Jericrew, he also kept an eye on the ever growing number of androids in the hold.
“We could just march?” Markus suggested.
“Like little goslings to the camps the humans had been setting up. Why couldn’t you just let CyberLife continue with its plan? Why did you feel the self-important urge to meddle?” Perkins didn’t whine but he regularly came close. Looking out from the captain’s cabin they had claimed as planning headquarters, he sighed.
“Perhaps you could come up with a few persuasive arguments when you talk to President Warren instead? There’s a way to get you in, you and Simon take Connor’s and my place and all that. And this time, try not to leave your boyfriend behind.”
Without waiting for a reply, Perkins stomped out into the cleared up main area. There were a few new arrivals who were looking a little lost and not completely deviated.
His suspicions were proven right as the TR400 moved around the AX400 and YK500. They had introduced themselves as Luther, Kara and Alive respectively. He guided them through to the area with other child models who were about to play a game of musical chairs. While Kara urged Alice to go and play, she turned pleading eyes to Luther until he joined in.
Watching them play was almost painful. Luther always allowed Alice to sit next to him, claiming a chair for her at all times. It would have been touching if it didn’t defy the purpose of the game. Huffing in annoyance, Perkins watched as a chair was taken away and the game started up again.
The music stopped, Luther took a step towards a chair as if to take it. It was the last one though and he paused for a moment, waiting for Alice to take it and stay in the game. Mind made up, Perkins quickly stepped in and plonked himself firmly on the last chair, staring up at Luther and Alice.
“You’re both out,” he announced. Alice pouted and nodded but Luther stayed in place, LED cycling red.
“You weren’t playing. And now the Little One is out.”
Nodding, Perkins offered him a flat smile.
“Rules change, we roll with it.” Standing, he started to kick the chair out of the way and out of the way. He was blocked by a broad chest, thick arms crossed over it. Rather than be intimidated, he looked up at Luther, utterly unimpressed.
“You’re in my way.”
“You cheated. Put the chair back and let the Little One win.”
Grinning, Perkins put the chair back. As he walked past, he patted Luther on the arm.
“That’s okay Big Guy, perhaps now you’ll learn to play the game properly too. Like a real deviant.” Perkins didn’t miss the grateful look Kara shot him but he chose to ignore it. Deviants. Utterly hopeless the lot of them.
