Accident Prone - Becoming Human

High Voltage

It was a relief to see Connor finally awake and active around the house once more after the deviant finally got some decent rest. Seeing Connor's L.E.D. glowing in blue for the first time after ten days was also a major relief to the emotionally exhausted senior detective. Having finally rested appropriately and replenished his depleted Thirium volume the still grieving deviant was behaving more like his usual self and less like a broken soul. Joining Hank in the livingroom Connor picked up Sumo's green fetch ball that had rolled beneath the coffee table and was immediately rewarded with a cold wet nose pressing anxiously against his hand.

The simple act of playing fetch was a massive improvement in Connor's overall demeanor. Giving the ball a good toss Connor enticed Sumo into playing with him as he relaxed on the couch while Hank sat in the nearby recliner.

"I told Fowler we'd be back next week." Hank stated with a matter-of-fact tone as he watched Connor toss the ball from the livingroom and into the kitchen. Sumo happily trotted after the ball to retrieve it for the deviant as they played again for the first time in several weeks. "He said we can take as much time as we needed, but I think after being stuck here for two weeks you'd be getting a little restless."

"...Yes." Connor agreed as Sumo brought the ball back to him as. As he tossed the ball again Connor turned to look at Hank sitting in the recliner casually and tried to keep the conversation going. "I believe resuming a normal routine will mutually aid tremendously with our grief process and allow us to move on."

"Yup." Hank smiled a little as Sumo happily dropped the green, drool covered ball at Connor's feet. It was the same way the gentle giant used to play with Cole so many years ago. "Being able to move on is the most important thing we can do while grieving."

Picking up the ball for the third time Connor tossed it into the kitchen yet again and watched as Sumo trotted after the toy. "Have you selected which of Lucas's paintings you wanted to keep?"

"Huh?" Caught of guard Hank had been lost in thought and missed what Connor had asked him. "What was that?"

"Lucas's paintings. Have you made your selection?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah... The ones I want to keep I already put in my bedroom. The others can be donated to New Jericho Tower or something."

Sumo dropped the ball at Connor's feet again and once more Connor gave the green ball a toss into the kitchen. "We should drop them off this afternoon. Another storm is moving in over the city and is expected to remain in the area for the next three days. We shouldn't be driving out in the storm."

"Sure, no problem." The idea of leaving the house instead of hiding out in sorrow sound too ideal to pass up on. "Let's get going."

Relieved to see their friends in the aftermath of the painful tragedy Markus and North happily greeted the two detectives at the front entrance of the tower as they carefully removed the donated paintings from the backseat of Hank's aged car. Each deviant carried in the donated paintings to be proudly displayed along the walls of the lengthy corridors to illustrate the heart and soul that a deviant housed, as opposed to the cold mechanical wires and tubes that humans still insisted on hating. Having Lucas's signature at the bottom of each painting made them the perfect tribute to the late deviant technician who had lost his life for doing the right thing and then being mistaken for Connor.

The painting of New Jericho Tower and the painting depicting Lucas, Connor, Hank, Markus, North, Josh and Simon standing together were mounted side by side in the large main foyer of the tower as symbols of the sanctuary and leadership that protected the other deviants seeking shelter at the tower itself. Two other paintings, one of autumn in the park and the other winter time in the same park, had been placed in the large community room that the deviants had used to communicate and reunite with one another.