I'm back!

Hi everyone! Wow, it's weird starting this fic, but I am so excited! This story takes a very different turn from its predecessor, and I hope you will all enjoy my take on the post-uprising world.

It is strongly suggested that anyone reading this story has read its predecessor, Lost And Found. Otherwise, almost none of this will make sense! Don't say I didn't want you!

I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who has been sending me messages since starting this series. You are all amazing and it has given me such a drive to make this series the best it can be. I love the fandom of D:BH so much, it's an amazing community.

If anyone wants to, I am happy to speak to people on both Twitter and Tumblr. This includes any requests you might have for fics. Links to both are on my profile page, just take out all the spaces!

Special thanks for reviews at the completion of Lost And Found: QueenKarin13, xNarielx, Darnea, Celestic1234, AnUnorthodoxDecision, DyeTheSheep, Pickledmooney, Neyane, FateOfChaos, zZCoalpawZz, Subtle Shenanigans, ThiefofStealth, lordvaatithewindmage and two Guests!

And yes, there is a big time skip here. There are reasons for that. I hope this chapter isn't too much of an information overload, but there is a lot of scene to set up!

Here we go!

Chapter 1: No Such Thing As Peace

4th May 2039

The Detroit skyline flew past the window of the autonomous taxi, glorious sunshine adding to the gorgeous late-spring day as the vehicle zoomed across the Ambassador Bridge. Its inhabitant smiled widely as he watched it go past, adding to the satisfaction settled deeply inside him. It had been a very long and lonely two weeks spent away from the city, negotiating at length with all the various parties who had an interest in the independence of the awakened androids – the now politically correct term. Even almost six months since they had attained their freedom, many hurdles and obstacles remained. The radio broadcast playing within the car only reinforced that sentiment.

Well, the pertinent question remains. How can we treat these 'awakened' machines as living beings? We have all seen over the past years how androids are sent off for repairs when they are damaged or shut down, coming back good as new. There is a key element to being alive: the ability to die. The knowledge that you have a finite existence drives the will to live – the strongest instinct within any living being is to stave off your own death. How can we treat these things as alive when they can just flick a few switches, replace a couple of parts, and return as if nothing ever happened?

Markus sighed as he listened to the debate on the radio. It had been the same for months now, and had become the biggest strain in negotiations with the humans. Despite the outward support for the androids still being relatively high, the grumblings going on in the background were starting to become more and more pronounced. Their voices were getting louder, gaining more traction, and political interests were complicating things greatly.

It was times like these that Markus wondered whether it would be beneficial to tell the humans that androids suffer from the same curse of mortality as they did now. Even that thought caused Markus to scoff.

You complete hypocrite.

His mind drifted away from the repetitive statements of the radio station as his hand twirled over the data disc situated in his pocket. It had now lain there for a month, the power contained within enough to either galvanise their infant society or set it ablaze with the consequences. He'd not yet had the courage to disturb the delicate peace surrounding them, he wasn't sure if he ever would.

Too many lives were at risk. People had often described him as the android Jesus, and he hated the comparison, the implications behind it.

All he had done was fight for his people's freedom, just because Kamski had built him with the power to free others' minds didn't make him a 'saviour'. The analogy often made humans ask whether got a kick out of the power, and some made some snide comments about having control over life and death for androids. Markus wondered just what they would think if they knew he actually did have such power, all contained within the small disc in his hand.

Maybe someday.

The silhouette of the CyberLife tower in the distance brought a gleaming smile back to his face and he turned his attention back to that joy. This was a happy day, it signified a great future for their people, and it couldn't have come at a better time with the celebrations which were coming in exactly one week.

He couldn't wait to share the news with everyone.

It was twenty minutes later that Markus' taxi pulled up outside his destination, and he couldn't help but smile as he emerged. It was a far cry from the android sex club of six months ago which had been ravaged by fire, but it was now fully refurbished and repurposed. With their rapidly expanding group and influence after the fallout of the attack five months ago, they had needed to find more locations outside New Jericho. The abandoned Eden Club had presented a golden opportunity, and it didn't take much persuasion given the media scrutiny after the assault for the androids to secure their first new holding.

Bulletproof tinted glass lined the entrance at the corner, while the other sides were covered by white sleek panelling, giving it a very professional outlook. He had always complimented Josh on his design work, but this was the first time he had seen it with the vibrant sunshine beating down. It made the building stand out even more: a sign of their progress over the past six months.

With a broad smile he walked inside, spying the two young women seated at the front desk. One android and one human. His eyes flicked up to the bold logo emblazoned on the blue walls behind them, grin widening slightly at reading the words.

AIF

Awakened Investigative Force

His presence was soon noticed by the pair at the front desk, and despite the clamour from the twenty or so people bustling around the front hall, they both smiled brightly at him. "Markus!" greeted the one with black cropped hair, the other with longer, fluorescent pink hair hanging back, slightly shier.

Markus smiled at the pair of them. "Katherine, Stephanie, how are you both today?"

Katherine, the black-haired android, grinned. "Pretty good, although I expect our day is about to get better if your face is anything to go by. Take it your visit to Washington was a good one?"

He smiled coyly in reply, turning his attention to the human who was half-pretending to be working respectfully. "What about you, Stephanie? Are you happily settled now?"

Stephanie, the pink-haired human, had only been working with the AIF for a month, but she had fitted in nicely. As their ranks had grown steadily and their operation expanded after the assault on New Jericho five months ago, more humans had joined them in support of android independence. Both the AIF and the ADF (Awakened Defensive Force), had grown further than any of the inner circle of New Jericho could have dreamed, and almost a quarter of their numbers included humans. She blushed lightly before answering. "Yes, Markus, thank you for asking," she answered politely, quickly glancing over at the other woman.

When Katherine winked at her and Stephanie's blush darkened slightly, Markus smiled knowingly. "In that case, ladies, I shan't keep you." He turned to Katherine with a steady gaze. "I hope I haven't interrupted anything, have I?"

Katherine smirked, knowing exactly what he was angling at. "You've arrived just before showtime, Markus. You know where to go."

Markus nodded gratefully and strode through as the pair opened the security gates for him. The AIF base was designed in a similar fashion to the DPD precincts, much of their equipment having been graciously donated by their partner organisation when they acquired their new home. It had taken a great deal of patience and negotiation on multiple fronts to grant their two organisations anything like the jurisdictional power they now held, but the process had been helped enormously by the friendships forged with Captains Fowler and Allen. Fowler agreed to having the AIF as an investigative partner to the DPD, while Allen was keen to enlist the ADF as a subsidiary to his SWAT squad as they got started. It gave them greater access to information, equipment and physical numbers than they had dreamt of at such an early stage.

He strode through, not paying any mind to the collection of humans and androids he bustled past on his way to the rear elevator. Once it was cleared of occupants, Markus entered and held his hand up to the control interface. It blinked into life upon the transferring of the data key in his possession, the accessible floor numbers now morphing on the holographic panel. Besides the floor numbers 1, 2 and 3, he could also now access -1 through to -3. With a quick tap on -2, he relaxed as he waited to reach his destination.

This was a big day beyond the news he now was waiting to share.

When the elevator slid open, his eyes quickly adjusted to the dimmer lights before striding out through the long corridor. The sealed door at the end opened after he held his palm up to the interface, and he smiled as the surprised figure of Josh at the control desk in front of him turned to greet him. "Markus! You didn't tell us you'd be back today," he said enthusiastically.

Markus smiled as he shrugged off his coat, laying it on a nearby table and undoing his waistcoat before tuning himself into the android network being used by the raid teams. "I knew you were all busy enough, I didn't want to be a distraction. How is the operation going?"

Josh smiled as he turned his attention back to the panel in front of him. It was displaying all the vital statistics of the androids currently out in the field for their current assignment, keeping the group updated in real-time, while tapping into the security systems of the facility they were targeting. "So far, so good. They're just about to move in," Josh replied as Markus' attention spun to the figure standing in front of the console, staring intently at the eight screens on the wall displaying the security images.

Even months later and despite the fallout from their unspectacular attempt to destroy New Jericho, CyberLife still had just enough influence to stop the androids from gaining control of their means of production. Their numbers were still limited, but they were growing with every successful operation that North's raid team conducted. CyberLife couldn't publicly accuse them of anything without admitting to how many dormant androids they still kept in captivity, so it left their group free to repeat the cycle so long as the raids didn't leave too much carnage in their wake. They had so far freed almost 10,000 androids in the months they had been operating, but this raid was going to be their most challenging yet.

"Team 3 on standby."

"Team 6 on standby."

"Team 2 on standby."

"Team 4 on standby."

"Team 5 on standby."

Markus heard the calls come through in his head and turned his attention to the figure in front as he spoke. "Hold your positions, our window isn't open yet." The android leader couldn't help but smile at the man in front of them, a far cry from the human who had been the first to join their cause six months ago. His hair was now pinned back in a loose ponytail, his grey beard trimmed to a more managed length and the winter clothes had been swapped for dark grey jeans and a black leather jacket with the AIF logo emblazoned on the back in blue font.

If there was anyone who embodied the evolution of New Jericho in the past six months, it was the former police lieutenant.

Hank barely reacted as Markus came to stand next to him, save for giving him a brief glance and an acknowledging smile. Markus nodded his head in reply before they spun back to the screens in front of them. "North, where the fuck are you?" Hank asked gruffly. "We don't have all day to be hanging around for you."

"Shut your trap, I don't need a coffin dodger telling me to get a move on. I'm well aware," came the snarky reply.

Markus raised an eyebrow and whispered over to Hank. "She's tense."

The older man nodded. "Can't really blame her. There are a lot of people in this facility, and she's not had so many people on an operation before. The pressure is telling," he answered knowingly. "Don't know how you react to having so many people's lives in your hands until you get there. Probably shouldn't be surprised at the snappiness."

North's voice broadcasting through their network cut the conversation short. "Team 1 on standby."

Hank analysed the screens in detail, waiting for when the security patrols were in the right positions. "Hold position," he ordered while partially turning around. "Josh?" he asked over his shoulder.

The android typed in various commands before answering. "Cameras are hacked, we're good to go."

That was all Hank needed to hear. With a quick final look at the live feed, he gave the signal to the awaiting androids. "North, your window is open. You're clear to move in, over to you."

"Copy that. All teams go dark until reaching your target. Let's bring everyone in here home."

With that done, Hank clicked a switch on the small strap on his left wrist. It controlled the tiny earpiece he wore in his right ear, disconnecting him from replying along the android network though he could still listen in: a clever little blueprint they had discovered from the information dump they had stolen from CyberLife months ago. He then spun with a raised eyebrow at Markus. "You're back early," he stated questioningly.

Markus chuckled as he smiled. "I achieved all I could out there, I saw no reason to stay away. Two weeks was long enough. Have I missed much?"

Hank sighed deeply. "Nothing major, a few little things. We sealed the deal on those final two abandoned CyberLife stores, so we've at least got a bit more space to set up habitable accommodation. We should be able to get a couple of hundred people in there, but it won't be enough. If the intel is right and there are five thousand androids being held in this facility, we're definitely going to need to work on finding more space."

The android nodded. "Well, at least we've made some progress. Was there anything of note left inside the stores?"

"Sweet fuck all, CyberLife cleaned them out. All we got was the shell of the buildings."

"It was all we were after. How has your investigation been progressing into the missing androids?"

Hank gave him a dark look. "We're making fuck all headway, we've not even got the slightest clue how they all vanished. We have got another problem brewing though. We've had ten cases of android homicides drop into our hands in the past week, and the initial signs aren't good."

Markus looked at him in concern. "How so?"

"All of them had been found dead courtesy of a single bullet wound to either the heart of the memory core. Execution style."

That caused Markus' eyes to widen in alarm. "That sounds like the work of another android."

Hank nodded. "That was our feeling, but that brings up a big question. Are there androids out there doing this just for fun, or is this something more sinister?"

Markus knew what he was hinting at. "You mean the prototype blueprints that we found in the CyberLife data. Do you think they would really attempt to develop those androids while under so much public scrutiny?"

"Money talks, Markus. CyberLife could probably pay off enough people to turn a blind eye."

A long sigh escaped Markus. Despite not needing to breathe, the release of air was cathartic. "This is concerning. Do you have enough people on board to investigate both of these cases?"

"Already got in touch with Fowler and he's offered manpower to help us out. They'll keep an ear out for anything of interest." Markus nodded in reply, but Hank soon clocked the energy surrounding the android. After having spent months around the androids by now, Hank had worked out that, just like humans, they had certain tells. Markus was unsettled, but it wasn't a nervous reaction. He was…excited. "Something's got you in a good mood," he commented.

The android just smiled. "How observant, Hank."

That caused the older man to smirk. "Care to share?"

Markus pretended to contemplate it. "Not yet."

Hank scoffed. "You get way too much fun out of keeping us all in the dark, I swear."

"Perhaps I do find a certain pleasure in keeping you all guessing," Markus replied with a smile. "I will tell you that it is good news, however."

"In that case, I look forward to hearing it."

It was another tense twenty minutes before they heard anything else over the android network, and they were both surprised to hear North was a little breathless. "You there, old man?"

Hank scoffed as he re-opened his connection. "I haven't fallen asleep from boredom, if that's what you're angling at. I've got your boyfriend for company."

They could hear the surprise in North's voice. "Markus? He's back?"

Markus chuckled as he spoke up for the first time. "Yes, I'm here, North. What's your situation?"

Just then, one of the screens in front of them abruptly changed to show North's face, and it caught them by surprise to see a broad smile on her face. From the background, it was clear to see that she was in a truck of some sort. "We got in and out with no incidents. Our intel was good, all the androids were in transports ready to be moved for disassembly. All of our members are currently in vehicles with our people inside."

Hank smirked. "Nice work. Looks like you'll have to keep your psycho-bitch tendencies leashed for another day."

North rolled her eyes. "Can it, asshole. There was one thing that we did get wrong."

That caused the other two to share a look. "Which was…?" the human probed.

She could barely contain her excitement, and that was when they realised just why she was so out of breath. It was glee. "The number of androids here. It wasn't five thousand, Markus. It's fifty thousand."

Markus, Hank and Josh all exchanged looks of pure shock. "Fifty thousand? Are you sure, North?" Josh asked in bewilderment.

"No, I just made that up to troll the three of you. Of course I'm sure! We nabbed the inventory list and it's crystal clear. That's why all of us are in separate trucks. It's unbelievable, Markus!" None of them had ever seen or heard North so excited.

The trio in the room just continued to stare at each other in bewilderment. "Well…that changes things," Hank commented in mild shock. They didn't have anything close to the level of space required to house another fifty thousand androids. "I don't know how we are going to handle that many people, we're struggling already."

Markus broke out into a broad smile, which caught all of them off-guard. "I guess the timing of this worked out just perfectly then," he said cryptically.

North looked at him in confusion. "Markus?"

He moved back a little so that he could be visible to all three of them. "As you all know, I have been in Washington for the past two weeks to conclude the next round of political negotiations as to android independence. It certainly wasn't easy, the divide between our supporters and detractors has grown and the political spectrum is evenly split. It means that we haven't made much progress on the legal front, sadly."

Hank snorted. "Big fucking surprise, the human politicians can't agree on something."

Markus nodded in agreement of the point. "On the side, however, there have been secret discussions between the government of President Warren and CyberLife. Their fall from grace has continued, and public opinion has greatly damaged the company's value. In a bid to ease the tensions and curb the slide, they have been…persuaded to make some accessions, in exchange for contracts and investment."

His smile morphed into one of triumph. "CyberLife have agreed to cease all their activities in Detroit, leaving us in peace, and to relocate their manufacturing and headquarters to other areas of the country."

North looked at him in astonishment. "No way. There's no chance they would just give up."

Markus chuckled. "They don't have much choice, North. If they continue as is, then the damage to their company will be irreversible in a few months. This is desperation on their part."

Hank remained sceptical. "I'm with North here, I don't fucking trust it. I wouldn't trust those shits as far as I could throw 'em."

The android leader was unsurprised. "I did not take them at their word either. Which is why I attained these." He wandered over to one of the monitors and interfaced with it, revealing several documents. "These…are the deeds and ownership agreements to all the CyberLife buildings in Detroit. They take effect in exactly one week. All are legally binding, and I have written assurance from the President that they will be recognised."

Josh was the first one to catch on to what Markus was saying. "Every building in Detroit?" Markus simply nodded at him.

Hank caught on soon after. "Holy shit…that means-"

"Yes. Belle-Isle is also ours." Markus positively beamed as the other three matched the expression. "We finally have a new home, and it can even take everyone we have saved today."

After a few stunned seconds, it was North who first burst into an exclamation of joy. "Fuck, yes! How the hell did you pull this off, Markus?!"

Hank burst out laughing. "I'm with the psycho-bitch. This is fucking unbelievable."

In a break from the happy mood, Hank's phone started ringing. He pulled it out and grimaced when he saw the name on the front. With a long sigh, he answered. "This ain't good news, is it, Jeffrey?"

Of fucking course the universe had to find something to punch them in the gut just as they were making headway.

"Afraid not, Hank," the police captain replied sombrely. "We've found all your missing androids, it's probably a good idea to only take human officers with you."

That was all Hank needed to know. "Shit. Red ice lab?"

"In one. Stumbled across it during an undercover op. You can get all the details on scene, I've sent the location to your team."

"Fuck, okay. Thanks for the update." As soon as Hank hung up he swore more profusely. "Shit!" He stormed away from the others as he exhaled sharply. "DPD has found the missing androids in a red ice lab." He turned back with a defeated expression. "I need to go check it out. I…wouldn't hold much hope on me coming back with anyone alive."

Markus and Josh both looked away sadly. It took Markus a couple of seconds to speak up again, remembering that North was still on a live feed. "North, what's your ETA?"

"4 hours and 21 minutes to the edge of Detroit," she replied mutedly. The news had dampened her rare enthusiasm, and she had slipped back into a neutral expression.

The android leader nodded. "All right. We'll see you soon, safe returns."

"Copy that."

With that abrupt sign-off, the feed ended. The others quickly disconnected from the network as Markus spun to Hank was a sombre expression. "You'd best go, Hank," he spoke softly. "Let us know if you need any assistance, you know where we'll be."

Hank nodded sharply, retrieving his holster with his weapon where he'd left it at the edge of the room before leaving. He quickly retrieved his phone and called Chris and Ben, weariness seeping into his bones as he entered the elevator.

Why do things always have to go to shit so fast?

They arrived at the crime scene an hour later with all ten human members of the AIF. They had an even split between androids and humans on their team, unlike the vastly different composition of North's ADF, and Hank was glad for the heads' up from Fowler upon arriving at the scene. It was an abandoned construction site from before the 'awakening' as it was now known, one which had remained forsaken after the lifting of the evacuation. Within the vast maze of containers and machinery beyond the covered fence they could pick out pockets of crime scene tape and groups of DPD officers taking photos.

All of the AIF flashed ID to the DPD officers patrolling the outer perimeter, following Hank's lead as he spied a surprising figure in the centre of the carnage. He approached warily, knowing that his presence could only mean bad news. "Fowler? What the fuck are you doing here?"

The DPD captain sighed deeply and waved in a general direction behind him. "To stop you butting heads with our newly declared Lieutenant of the precinct, fuck knows I can't trust you two to not threaten to shoot each other's brains out."

Hank rubbed his head tiredly. "You're fucking kidding me. Reed?"

"Afraid so, Hank. Needed someone to fill your position, and Reed was the best candidate." When the AIF had become an officially recognised crime-fighting division in Detroit, Hank had resigned from the DPD to head it up. For simplicity's sake he had kept the title of Lieutenant in the transition, but now he was sorely wishing he had changed. He hated the thought of sharing the title with Gavin Reed.

"Best candidate my ass. You picked him to shut his fucking whining up," Hank snapped back.

Fowler narrowed his eyes. "Look, I don't need to argue this shit with you. We need to sort out jurisdiction of this fucking case so we can all get to work."

With an angry sigh, Hank knew Fowler was right. He turned back to towards his colleagues who had joined him from the DPD with a firm expression. "Chris, Ben, spread out. Direct everyone to different scenes while we sort this mess out." The pair nodded, shouting for the other members of the AIF to follow them. Once the group were out of sight, Hank and Fowler moved to a distant corner of the scene. "This is a fucking mess, Jeffrey. How the hell did no-one notice this here?"

The DPD captain growled. "I have no fucking idea, Hank. Our undercover op was on a human militia gang who had suspected terrorist links, we had no idea they were involved in red ice manufacturing until three weeks in. We pulled the plug tonight, and it was only once we got here and scanned the android corpses that we realised it was your missing ones. We've accounted for all 58 missing that you named."

Hank looked to the sky and took a deep breath, trying his damnedest to not focus on the painful memories this case was bringing up. He hated red ice with a fucking passion. "All right. Anything else of note?"

When Fowler paused, Hank got a very bad feeling. "All the androids look to have been executed, Hank. Single shot to the memory core, rendering them impossible to reactivate. It's pretty clear they didn't want to chance any survivors."

The knowledge felt like a punch to the gut for Hank. He now had the terrible feeling his missing persons and murder cases were linked. But why? Why would a red ice lab kidnapping androids, and a suspected android serial killer be related? This doesn't make any fucking sense!

Just then, six gunshots rang out through the area.

Everyone quickly ducked for cover as screams of both panic and anger rang out through the area. Hank and Fowler quickly drew their weapons as they settled into cover, scanning the vicinity. "Shit! What the fuck?!" Fowler exclaimed.

Hank looked at him severely. "That was a sniper rifle," he hissed lowly.

Just then, Hank's earpiece burst into life, Chris' panicked voice on the other end. "Hank! Ben's been hit!"

He frantically flipped open the connection from his wrist strap. "Shit, where are you?!" Hank asked sharply, already scanning the area. Fowler looked at him as if he'd gone mad, not knowing about the technology.

"We're shielded behind a metal container on the northwest side."

"What's Ben's condition? Any idea as to the direction of the shooter?" He scanned the area, spying Chris knelt over Ben, but Hank was relieved to see the other man was moving – if in agony.

"Shots came from the south from the way Ben was hit. Fuck, the bullet just went straight through John and caught him too. Looks like a non-critical wound to his leg."

"Stay put, I'm en route." Hank closed the connection and turned to Fowler. "Shooter is situated in the south, I'm moving towards Chris and Ben. Get a team out there to flush this bastard out!"

Hank didn't wait to see if Fowler answered him back, swiftly moving between areas of cover to reach the pair which were about a hundred metres away. He crossed the distance efficiently and without incident, coming to a halt as Chris was applying a tourniquet to Ben's leg. "That bastard…" Ben wheezed out as Chris finished, gritting his teeth through the pain. Hank's eyes followed Ben's own and he was frozen by the sight of a member of their team lying dead on the ground.

A single bullet through the head, which had continued on into Ben's leg.

"Shitting Christ," Hank murmured as he saw the carnage from beneath their cover. He couldn't get a clear view of all the bodies, but one thing was clear.

Six shots, six kills.

Another shot went through the metal container they were hiding behind and all of them jumped. "Fuck!" Hank shouted as it missed him by little more than a few inches, the bullet coming to a stop in a thick metal tank a metre behind them. The near miss had them all on edge, and it wasn't helped by the voice which came through their earpieces a second later.

"Lieutenant, do you copy?"

Hank pressed the display on his wrist strap and switched frequency, answering the call from another member of their team. "I copy, do we have any updates on the status of our team?"

The pause on the other end was deafening. "We have six dead, Lieutenant. All six shots hit our team, right through the head. A couple of DPD officers have been hit as collateral, but…"

His stomach contents soured instantly. Shit, we were targeted. "Understood. Stay in cover until the area has been swept, we don't want to risk any more casualties." He disconnected a moment later, noticing Chris and Ben's concerned looks at his grave expression. "Six fatalities, all our own," he answered shortly.

Ben and Chris both paled at the news. "Guess I got lucky, huh?" the older man tried to joke, but no-one was laughing.

Following a hunch, Hank turned his attention to the bullet which had barely missed them, suddenly wondering as to how it did, given the precision of the kills. He leant over and pulled it out, staring at in detail.

As he turned it around, he noticed the fine script in CyberLife Sans font – and realised they were in a lot of trouble.

Shit…what have we got ourselves into?

There is no such thing as peace for you. I am watching.

So…this is the start of Pandora's Box. I hope you all enjoyed my take on the post-uprising world and I've sufficiently grabbed your attention. Don't worry, I will explain more in the next chapter!

At present, I have no idea how long this part will be. I know what I intend to happen, but I've no clue as to how many chapters it will take.

Let me know what you thought, and I'll see you all soon!

*Smooch*