From Your Wires to Your Core

Registered

Reed sighed as he entered the precinct a couple of days later, tired from all the tossing and turning he'd done the night before. The case had made it hard to sleep, wondering when the next body would drop. He'd messaged a couple of contacts and set up two meeting points. One in a local park at lunchtime, and one at a small upmarket coffee shop across town for early evening. He looked around the quiet bullpen and was surprised to find Connor in Fowler's office. He was dressed a little differently that morning. He was wearing dark jeans and a black turtleneck that hugged his figure, somehow making him seem a little beefier than usual. It suited him.

"Good morning, Detective Reed." Connor's voice was right behind him. Reed jumped out of his skin as he whipped round, almost spilling the coffee in his hand. His heart was racing as he looked Connor up and down with wide eyes. He was wearing a white shirt and navy tie with a matching woollen sweater that swept down with a neat V-neck. Soft and school boyish. His usual look. Reed frowned as he did a double take between the Connor in the office and the one standing in front of him.

"But you...There's..." he stammered as he looked between Connor and the glass office. He winced as he realised. It's one of the RK900 androids. "Did you know about this?" he asked as he motioned to the office, where the tall android stood nodding his head in understanding. He didn't seem to say anything back. Connor nodded as he joined Reed in looking through the glass wall. The RK900 shared his own at ease position, as did most other models Reed had seen.

"I did. As a matter of fact, I was going to talk to you about it...There's something you should know," Connor confessed finally, looking a little grave as he did so. Reed lowered himself into his chair, somehow feeling he should sit down for this conversation. Connor folded his arms as he looked down at him. Reed took a long sip of his coffee, steeling himself. It was hot enough to just burn his tongue a little. "You remember I said we wiped his registry, so that he could choose his own handler?" Connor began cautiously, watching Reed lean forward to place his mug safely on the desk.

"Yeah. Not sure I get it, but you basically removed Cyberlife from his head, right?" Reed shrugged and sat back, watching Connor nod his agreement. It was a simplistic view, but basically that was correct. He lowered his tone as he stepped a little closer. He didn't want other humans to listen in on their conversation. It was a rather sensitive topic for androids. Reed sat up and leaned closer, sensing Connor's caution.

"Doing so makes un-deviated units vulnerable...If they register the wrong person as their owner, the results could be catastrophic. They could be forced into doing anything, even hurting people," Connor almost whispered, watching Reed's eyes flicker to the tall android within the office. It was true. Many humans were still using un-deviated models as slaves because they weren't protected by any laws. No android had to be deviated. The RK900 androids couldn't be deviated. "We thought the zero model would wait to register someone in the future, or perhaps the DPD itself, but when I interfaced with him a few days ago..." Connor trailed off worriedly, unsure how Reed would react to the news.

"What?" Reed was curious as Connor hesitated.

"He's registered you!" Connor watched Reed's green eyes snap wide in a mixture of shock and disbelief. No one would be that fucking stupid. He was an ex-AAL associate, well-known for hating androids. No android in their right mind would-In their right mind..."At some point during his recovery process, the RK900 zero model selected you as his handler, and registered your ownership," Connor clarified, bracing himself internally for Reed's reaction. Reed looked between the office and Connor a few times, his stunned jaw slowly working to form words. He looked quite shocked, but increasingly irate.

"H-he did what? Are you phcking kidding me? He can't just decide that! You don't just phcking give yourself to a person! I didn't phcking agree to this! I don't even want an android!" Reed's loud tone drew the eyes of both Fowler and the zero model, who looked strangely vulnerable as he listened to Reed's very vocal rejection. He would have gone over to give the android a piece of his mind if not for Connor's hand on his shoulder. Connor was sympathetic to Reed's point of view and actually agreed with him to a certain extent. This was an enormous responsibility. One that he wouldn't have recommended being given to Reed a few short months ago.