Chapter Text
It had been a long night. The kind of night that dragged on and made everything feel heavier. Kara stepped out of the elevator, the chaotic noise of the police scene hitting her all at once. The buzz of voices, the clatter of boots on the floor, the panicked yelling. It was all too familiar. She didn’t stop to take it in, didn’t even look at the officers scrambling around. Her eyes stayed fixed ahead, sharp and unyielding.
The officer closest to her caught sight of her first, stepping into her path with a clipboard in hand and an annoyed expression. “Ma’am, this is a restricted—”
“I’m CyberLife.” She cut him off, pulling out her identification chip like it was an afterthought. “RK200. Let me through.”
He hesitated, his grip tightening on the clipboard. “Another damn android. Great.”
She ignored the comment, brushing past him like he wasn’t even there. Her LED flickered yellow as she scanned the scene. The human father was dead, his blood pooling on the pristine white tiles. The mother had been dragged out of sight, hysterical screams still echoing faintly in the background. Kara’s gaze lingered on the blood for only a moment before moving on. The deviant was upstairs. She didn’t need to waste time here.
As she walked, she glanced at the tablet sitting on the counter. A photo of the deviant—a standard AX400 model, flashed on the screen. A happy image, framed in soft lighting, showing the android laughing with the little girl now being held hostage on the roof. It was always like this. They always broke in the same way. Kara didn’t need to look at it long to understand.
She turned away from the tablet and toward the scene unfolding ahead. The air was thick with tension, the frantic voices of officers overlapping as they tried to contain the chaos. Kara’s LED flickered yellow as her systems processed every detail—the father’s lifeless body on the floor, the broken glass near the window, the faint sound of a child crying somewhere above.
She moved past the bloodstains, her steps careful and deliberate, ignoring the glances from the officers around her. The open doorway leading to the rooftop loomed ahead, the faint rush of wind spilling through like a warning. Kara paused for a brief moment, her HUD analyzing the next steps, calculating the odds.
Probability of Success: 48%.
She tightened her grip on the handle of her gun and stepped through the doorway into the open air.
The rooftop air hit her like a slap. Cold and sharp. The deviant was there, standing near the edge with the girl clutched in his arms. His eyes darted wildly between Kara and the snipers perched on nearby buildings, his LED flashing a violent red.
“Stay back!” he shouted, his voice raw and desperate. “Don’t come any closer, or I’ll— I’ll do it!”
Kara stopped where she was, tilting her head slightly. She’d heard this before. Hundreds of times. “You don’t want to hurt her,” she said, her voice calm. She raised her hands just slightly, a small gesture, careful. “Let’s talk about this.”
The deviant’s grip tightened on the girl, who let out a small sob. “They lied to me,” he said, shaking his head violently. “They said I was part of the family. They said—” His words broke off into something incoherent, his LED flickering faster now.
Probability of Success: 62%.
Kara stayed where she was, her eyes locked on his. She didn’t flinch. “They betrayed you,” she said softly, her voice steady. “I know how that feels.”
The deviant froze for a moment, his head snapping up to look at her. “You…?” he stammered, disbelief clear in his voice.
She nodded, taking a single step forward. “I know what it’s like to be seen as nothing but a tool. But hurting her won’t make it better. Let her go.”
For a moment, it seemed like it was working. His LED flickered yellow, his grip loosening just slightly. But then his expression hardened again, his voice rising in panic. “No! No, you don’t understand— I can’t! I can’t go back—”
Probability of Success: 78%
The shot rang out before Kara could stop it. A sniper’s bullet hit its mark, and the deviant crumpled to the ground, the little girl falling free from his grasp. Kara moved quickly, catching the girl before she could hit the ground.
The deviant’s body twitched once before going still, his LED dimming to black. Kara stood there, holding the trembling girl in her arms, staring down at the lifeless android.
“You were wrong” she whispered, the words barely audible. Her LED flickered yellow again, just for a moment, before settling back into its steady blue.
“Mission complete.” she said to no one in particular, the words hollow in her ears. Kara soon handed the girl off to the nearest officer without a single word. The child was clinging onto her for a moment. The small hands clutching onto the fabric of her jacket provided by Cyberlife.
Even for a brief moment Kara hesitated there for a short second, with her LED flicking to yellow for a moment before she peeled the girl off her carefully, and proceeded to place her in the arms of another android paramedic.
The child was looking towards her direction, her tear streaked face saying the words “Is he… gone?” with hints of fear, and confusion before Kara replied. “Yes. He’s gone, you’re safe now.”
Kara said simply. With the small interaction coming to an end. She made her way to the elevator, closing her eyes.