Chapter Text
The loud and violent noises of a storm reaches the woman's ears and wakes her up from her slumber.
With a groan, she pushes herself up from the floor and stands up on shaky legs. She looks around in a panic, not recognising the environment that she's in.
'Where the hell am I..? What is happening?'
She is on top of a commercial building overlooking the city of Detroit. She covers her face to shield it from the rain and walks over to the edge. As she uncovers her face, the sight that greets her shocks her to her core.
"...Holy shit."
She sees a giant storm heading straight for Detroit. The storm's trajectory seems to not collide with the building that she's on, which means that she is safe... wherever she is.
Her relief is short-lived, however, as a piece of concrete flies from the storm and strikes the taller building to her right, making it crumble.
Right as the structure collapses on top of her, she blacks out.
...
"Whoa!"
The woman was snapped out of whatever trance she was in and looked around in a panic. She took a deep breath and forced her body to relax as she remembered where she is.
'Right... I'm at the DPD for my first day back on the job... I'm okay...'
She took another deep breath as she walked through the doors of the department.
'I know I didn't fall asleep, and that didn't feel like a dream... Weird.'
She shook her head and walked towards the reception. Even after the android revolution, some androids had chosen to keep working where they were before the deviant uprising. The female android receptionist of the DPD was one of them.
"Hello, ma'am. How may I help you?"
The woman cleared her throat before answering.
"...I'm detective (Y/N) (L/N). I took a month long break and now I'm back. Captain Fowler should have authorized my return."
The android smiled and nodded. She seemed to scan (Y/N) for a moment before gesturing to the entrance of the station.
"Welcome back Detective (L/N)."
(Y/N) gave the android a genuine smile. "Thank you."
She turned and walked through the gates. The first place she wanted to make a stop at before Fowler's office was her old desk, which was connected to the now retired Lieutenant Anderson's desk. She wasn't surprised to find his desk cleaned out, but what she was surprised to see was someone new working at her desk.
Just from a glance, she could tell that he was an android. Most androids post-revolution preferred to take off their LEDs, but this one was an exception. She meekly approached her desk to speak to the android.
"Uh... Hello."
The android turned his head to look at her and scanned her for a moment with his LED flashing blue and then stood up to greet her properly.
It was then that (Y/N) recognized him. The android detective prototype that Gavin kept bitching about over the phone, and one of the leaders of the revolution... She was surprised that he chose to keep working as a detective despite playing such a huge role in the revolution's success.
And also... he looked so much prettier in person than he did on TV.
"Hello Detective (L/N). My name is Connor. I apologize about occupying your desk while you were away."
The young detective was snapped out of her ogling and shook her head.
"Oh, no, it's totally fine! You can keep using it, in fact. I'll just use Hank's old desk."
Connor looked unsure but nodded.
Just as (Y/N) sat her bag down on her new desk and was about to sit down, Fowler opened the door to his office.
"(Y/N), Connor, in my office!"
The woman took a deep breath. This was it. Now she would know if her request to open up a missing person's case about her best friend was approved or denied.
Sensing her mild distress, Connor approached (Y/N) with a concerned look.
"Are you alright, Detective? You seem very nervous."
(Y/N) noted in her mind that the android could probably see her stress levels with a simple scan. She waved him off.
"I'm fine. Let's go see Fowler before he blows up."
(Y/N) made her way up the stairs to Fowler's office with Connor tailing her. The two detectives entered the room and Connor closed the door behind them.
Fowler looked at the case on his monitor while talking. "Ever since the android revolution, android laws have been rapidly passing every single day. From now on, any case of an android being harmed will be treated as a crime. With this in mind..."
He looked up from his monitor and addressed (Y/N).
"...I have decided to approve your request of opening up an investigation on Leah's disappearance."
(Y/N) let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Captain."
Fowler continued. "However, given your emotional connection to the missing person, I cannot let you investigate by yourself. I decided to team you up with Connor, as he is already assigned to all cases concerning androids."
(Y/N) looked to Connor with a pleasantly surprised expression, only to find that he had already been staring at her. She hastily averted her gaze and looked back at Fowler.
"Alright. Thank you so much for accepting my request, Captain."
Fowler shooed them off without another word.
...
"I have read the file about Leah's disappearance. It is said that she was last seen in the Jericho headquarters during a celebration party."
(Y/N) added to Connor's explanation. "Yeah. The party Markus organized to celebrate the passing of the law that ended segregation for Androids. There have been smaller celebrations for the minor laws, but Markus always throws a big party for the more important laws. Have you ever attended them, Connor?"
Connor shook his head. "I unfortunately haven't had the time due to work."
(Y/N) smiled. "Well, it won't be to celebrate, but... We will probably be able to attend the next big one. A new law did just get passed after all."
"You mean the one in three days? Markus did invite me again, and told me that I could bring someone with me."
"Unfortunately, we will be there to investigate. Leah disappeared during the first ever Jericho party, after all."
(Y/N) got up from her seat and approached Connor.
"Until then... Let's try to see if we can contact anyone in Jericho and ask if they've seen Leah since then."
Connor nodded in agreement and stood up from his seat.
"I've notified Markus about our investigation. He isn't available at the moment, but he says that a few of the androids that attended the first Jericho party are willing to be questioned."
(Y/N) clapped her hands. "Great! Let's get going then."
The android detective scanned (Y/N) for just a moment to gauge her stance towards him.
(Y/N) - Neutral
As the two detectives made their way to the car park, (Y/N) saw a bird perched on the fence and inspiration struck her. She grabbed Connor's arm to stop him and without a word, slowly took out her polaroid camera out of her bag.
Connor scanned the device and then (Y/N). He was almost mesmerized by how focused and in her element she looked with the camera in her hand. She snapped a picture, scaring the bird and making it fly away. (Y/N) grabbed the polaroid coming out of the camera and shook it, revealing the picture.
It was Connor who spoke up first.
"I see that you prefer older technology, similar to the Lieutenant."
(Y/N) laughed at that. "I guess, after working with him for a while, he rubbed off on me." She then shook her head. "No, but really... I just like that I get to have the picture immediately, instead of having to wait for it to be processed." She put the camera and the picture in her bag and faced Connor.
"Ready to roll?"
...
The general consensus among the questioned androids was the same: Leah had attended the first Jericho party, but left pretty early on, and no one has seen her since then. The security cameras didn't show much of anything either. Just a small snippet of Leah walking towards the entrance of the Jericho building, but that was about it.
Connor found it odd. Very odd. If she was just leaving, how and why didn't she show up on any other cameras? And how didn't anyone else see her outside the building? There was something in the back of Connor's mind that told him this case wouldn't be so easy to solve.
(Y/N) sighed. "So... any thoughts?"
Connor squinted in thought. "It's... weird. The way Leah wasn't seen by anyone else and that she wasn't caught by any cameras actually leaving Jericho. It's almost as if... she knew exactly the route to take to not get spotted."
"It's either that, or..."
The detectives looked at each other. It seemed like they both thought the same thing.
'She was being deliberately led by someone.'
(Y/N) shrugged. "We have one more person to question. Let's talk to them before we jump to conclusions."
Connor nodded. "Yes, you're right."
The detective duo entered the room where they would do their last interrogation of the day. Connor scanned the android sitting at the table in the middle of the room. 32% stress level.
Already a bad sign.
(Y/N) and Connor took a seat in front of the android. The woman began the questioning first.
"Hello. We're detectives from the DPD investigating the disappearance of an android named Leah. I'm Detective (L/N). What's your name?"
The male android looked a bit nervous as he answered. 39% stress level. "...Miles. My name is Miles."
Connor continued the interrogation in (Y/N)'s place. "Leah was last seen attending the Jericho party on the 12th of May, six months ago. Being one of the androids in attendance, we thought we could learn valuable information by questioning you. Did you see Leah during the party?"
Miles nodded meekly. 45% stress level.
"Y... Yeah... I just saw her walking towards the exit, but that's it."
"Do you know Leah personally?" (Y/N) asked.
Miles stiffly shook his head. 51% stress level. "No..! No, I didn't know her at all..."
Connor's eyes narrowed. He softly nudged (Y/N) without looking at her and then nodded at Miles.
"Alright. Thank you for your cooperation."
The young detective was surprised that Connor cut the interrogation short but knew better than to let her emotions show on her face. The two detectives walked outside of the building to discuss.
"Detective, I believe that Miles may be involved in Leah's disappearance."
(Y/N)'s eyes slightly widened. "Really? I thought the guy was kinda suspicious too, but... That could've just been nerves. I mean, everyone gets kinda nervous when they're questioned, right?"
Connor shook his head. "You maybe correct, but Miles' behavior was not simply because he was anxious. His stress levels spiked whenever Leah's name was mentioned. Additionally, he referred to her in past tense."
(Y/N)'s breath hitched at the implications of that. Seeing her distress, Connor rushed to reassure her.
"I'm not sure if that means anything, or if it was simply a mistake on Miles' part, but I feel that we should note it regardless."
(Y/N) hung her head and sighed. "Alright... I'll trust your intuition."
Connor smiled. "Thank you, Detective."
"You can just call me (Y/N)."
The android detective nodded. "Okay, (Y/N)."
^ (Y/N)
The two were making their way to the carpark when Connor suddenly stopped. The young woman slowed down to look back at him and saw his LED flashing yellow. Before she could ask him what was going on, Connor resumed walking and gently grabbed her arm. As the two walked, Connor slightly leaned down to talk to (Y/N) in a hushed voice.
"Don't be alarmed, but we're being followed. It's just one person. Follow my lead and everything will be fine."
(Y/N) began to slightly panic before pulling herself together. She's a police officer for God's sake, she should be able to handle one person following her! Besides, she was with Connor. Everything will be okay.
Connor led them to an alleyway and looked behind him to see that no one was approaching them. Still sensing the presence that was tailing them, he turned back towards (Y/N).
"I will keep watch over this opening of the alleyway, you should watch over the back."
The woman nodded before turning back. "I won't let you down."
It took a while of both of them keeping watch for anything to happen. From the corner of her eye, (Y/N) saw a blue butterfly fly towards her from nearby and land on the dumpster in front of her. Seeing as nothing was happening, she took the opportunity to take a photo. Grabbing her camera from her bag, the detective quickly snapped a photo of the butterfly before it flew away.
Just then, she heard the sounds of two people talking.
'Connor and... Miles?'
Hiding in the corner, she quietly watched the two.
"...Why did you leave Jericho to work with humans? You were a beacon of hope for the androids... You betrayed your own people by working with the humans."
"I'm sorry, but I don't see how what I choose to do with my life concerns you. Also, the only reason the revolution succeeded is because there are humans who support androids and wish to coexist with us."
Miles clearly hated humans. (Y/N) deduced that she would only escalate the situation if she stepped in. Regardless, she readied herself to step in if things got violent. Her hand went to her belt to grab her g-
Her... gun...
'Oh you've gotta be fucking kidding me..."
What kind of cop forgets to bring their gun to work? A cop that took a month off and suddenly came back on the day she had that weird vision, of course.
(Y/N) cursed herself and grit her teeth to keep quiet. It seemed the conversation between the two androids had gotten a lot more heated. Miles was stepping towards Connor menacingly, while the detective kept his ground. From where she was hiding, (Y/N) saw Miles' eyes briefly glow red.
What the fuck?
Without another word, Miles pounced on Connor and tried to reach for the detective's gun. (Y/N) watched the ensuing scuffle with horror. They were both androids, she would only get in the way if she stepped in... Right as she was trying to think of a way to help Connor, Miles managed to get a grip on his gun.
The weapon was stuck between them, with Connor trying to get it back from Miles' grasp. The latter's eyes glowed once again as he smirked. The expression looked foreign on the android's face.
"You won't get away from me this time, Connor."
Miles' voice crackled, and (Y/N) could almost hear a woman's voice beneath the android's. Something akin to recognition flashed in Connor's eyes-
"Aman-"
-before Miles pulled the trigger.
"NO!"
Stepping out of her hiding spot, (Y/N) reached out a hand. She didn't care if she got shot next, in that moment her only thought was Connor.
The scene in front of her almost seemed like it was in slow motion. Miles dropped the gun with a horrified expression, his eyes no longer red, as Connor dropped to the ground. (Y/N) could finally see that... Miles had shot him right in his thirium pump.
But then, right as Connor's lifeless body hit the ground, everything reversed in front of (Y/N)'s very eyes. Every event that had happened that day rewound in a flash and she blacked out.
...
(Y/N) opened her eyes with a gasp.
'Whoa! What the fuck?!'
Her eyes were blurry with tears. She blinked them away as she looked around. She was right in front of the doors that lead to the DPD again. She raised a shaking hand to check her watch.
November 6th, 10 AM.
What the hell... How can that be? She was just with Connor in that alleyway, waiting, before Miles showed up, and... killed Connor...
(Y/N) took several deep breaths. It was like her ears were stuffed with cotton as she made her way to the reception and then through the gates.
And there he was. Completely unharmed and intact, working at her old desk. With unsteady steps, she made her way over to him.
"Hello..?"
Connor turned his head to look at her and scanned her for a moment with his LED flashing blue and then stood up to greet her properly.
"Hello Detective (L/N). My name is Connor. I apologize about occupying your desk while you were away."
(Y/N)'s breath hitched in her throat.
"No... It's alright, you can keep using it."
Connor scanned her for longer than he did last time.
"Are you sure? Your stress levels seem unusually high."
Not wanting to draw any suspicion to herself, (Y/N) shook her head. "Oh, that's just because... I'm nervous about being back."
The android seemed dubious, but sensing her discomfort, let the matter go.
(Y/N)'s hands were still shaking as she made her way over to Hank's old desk to put her bag down.
'If Fowler asks Connor and I to go to his office... I'll know this is real.'
Right on cue, the Captain exited his office to yell at the two detectives.
"(Y/N), Connor, in my office!"
With a gasp, the young woman flinched and accidentally hit her bag with her arm, dropping it to the floor.
"Shit!"
Connor rushed over to help her and grabbed her bag from the floor.
"Are you alright, Detective?"
(Y/N) stood frozen before nodding. "Y... Yes, I'm fine..."
Connor looked at her with a worried expression for a brief moment as he handed her bag back to her and then turned to walk towards Fowler's office. As he left, the woman slowly opened her bag to see that her polaroid had broken. "I can't believe this..."
'Alright. If I'm crazy, might as well go all the way... Can I actually reverse time?'
(Y/N) held her hand up and simply willed time to rewind... and rewind it did. She watched the previous events undo themselves and end right before she pushed her bag off of her desk.
When she stopped rewinding, her bag was back with her polaroid intact inside it. She didn't even hear Fowler calling her and Connor to his office over her bewilderment.
'I'm a human time machine...'
(Y/N) looked down at her hands in wonder. She was finally snapped out of her trance with a hand on her shoulder. She flinched as she looked at the person trying to get her attention.
"My apologies for startling you Detective, but we should make our way to Captain Fowler's office."
Connor then stepped back to give her some space. (Y/N) sighed and nodded. She watched him walk in front of her for a moment before following him.
'I'm not dreaming. I can tell. This is real... Can I... still save Connor..?'
She clenched her fists in determination as she made up her mind. She didn't know who or what gave her these powers, but she would make sure to use them to help people whenever she can.
And hopefully... she would be able to use it to find Leah.
But first, she has to retrace every step she took that day up until the encounter with Miles. She can't tell Connor, not now at least. Not until she saves him.
It was time for her to be a hero.