Accident Prone - Becoming Human

Hope

A cold rain doused all of Detroit as a summer storm settled over the city with an unseasonably chilly presence. Enduring the harsh weather by remaining inside during their time off, Hank kept himself from getting stir-crazy by reading through his favorite book in the livingroom for the umpteenth time, while Connor laid on his bed with his guitar over his lap and his hands strumming over the chords in an attempt to create a new melody and song. Even Sumo was laying over the foot of the bed, his massive fluffy body already too big to stretch out without falling over the edges. Sleeping peacefully the massive pup was less interested in Connor's song and more interested in his nap.

As the gentle pattering of the rain struck against the glass windows Connor used the natural rhythm of the raindrops to inspire his rather somber melody that he was composing in honor of North's memory as he couldn't help but think of her impending shutdown. The brave deviant leader's lifespan was estimated to come to an end within two weeks and Markus was understandably devastated. Keeping her declining health a secret out of respect for her as a friend and as a leader of New Jericho, those who did know of her bleak condition had given her and Markus space to ensure they had as much time together as possible before it was all over.

A loud rumble of thunder in the distance shook the house as a single flash of lightning illuminated the dark sky. As a precaution Connor cybernetically began to track the storm's progress, only to have his processor go suddenly dark as the entire city fell under a blanket of deafening quiet as the power failed for all of Detroit. Sumo let out a loud bark in response to the odd silence of the house as the afternoon storm gave way to an early darkness over the city.

"Hank?" Connor called out as he noted the lack of lights in the quiet house as he placed his guitar back down on its stand in the corner of the room beside the bed. "We're in the midst of a blackout."

"Yeah, I noticed!" Hank replied sarcastically from down the hallway in the livingroom. "We should go to the precinct. I get the feeling everything is going to go to Hell tonight."

"I'll get ready." The deviant agreed as he proceeded to remove his casual clothing in favor of his work uniform. As he changed his clothes Connor caught sight of Hank passing by the opened door of his bedroom to change into different clothes in his own bedroom as well. "Have you taken part of a citywide blackout before?"

"Yeah, once." Hank confirmed from his own bedroom as he clumsily pulled open his closet to find his clothing in the poor lighting. "I had been a cop for only three years and everything was crazy. People panicking in the streets, looters smashing open store windows, idiots running around with guns and starting fights... It was not a great night for anyone."

Connor slipped on his gray blazer and tightened the knot of the black tie around the upturned collar of his white dress shirt. "What caused the blackout during that time?"

"Some massive chain reaction failure at the power plants along the East coast; New York if I'm remembering correctly." Now wearing what he deemed his work clothes Hank met Connor outside the deviant's bedroom door as they continued to converse. "Keep Sumo inside just in case things get weird. Make sure all the windows are locked while I go check the doors and the garage."

"Of course." Connor quickly checked his own bedroom window before doing the same to the other windows in the house. "Perhaps this blackout is related to the storm and can be remedied soon."

"That'd be nice." The senior detective shouted as he finished securing the deadbolt on the front door and pulled the curtains over the front window shut. "But I doubt we'd get so lucky, kid. We never do."

Thunder echoed in the distance and lightning continued to flash brightly through the dark clouds of the sky above the city. Hank drove through the rain drenched streets carefully as Connor struggled to cybernetically monitor the traffic to guide him through the dim streetlights to ensure they were not in any form of accident as they made their way to the precinct. The streets themselves were mostly vacated save for the autonomous taxis that had powered down and were left idle and abandoned in the streets, but that was no guarantee that someone wouldn't be driving recklessly through the city thinking that no one would pay them any mind.