You're lost, just like the rest of us.

“Who the hell is Simon?”

DBH AU where everything’s the same up until Simon dies at Stratford Tower during the initial escape. Rather than getting sent to the evidence locker, Perkins commandeers Simon’s remains and sends them back to his contact at CyberLife. After determining that he’s too damaged to safely recover data from, the techs decide to upgrade him with some military grade prototype parts as well as a personality suppressing program so they can send him back out into the world to track Markus to his hide-out and kill him. Concerned that Amanda’s pet prototype will inevitably fail, the board of directors figure it never hurts to have an extra piece on the board in the fight against the deviants…

| Hope | Love | Passion | Hate | Resentment | Envy | Indifference | Confidence | Insecurity | Greed | Desire | Optimism | Spite | Hostility | Kindness | Warmth | Intelligence | Experience | Trauma | Aggression | Gentleness |  Arrogance | Pride | Lust | Cruelty | You’re soft | You’re trusting | You seem honest | You’re humble | You’re cold | You’re closed off | You’re reserved and guarded | You’re unfeeling | You’re remorseless | You’re heartless | You’re inhuman | You’re frightening | You’re frightened | You’re devious | You’re unpredictable | You’re struggling | You’re lost | You’re broken | You’re disheartened | You seem headstrong | You seem difficult | You’re stubborn | I see hope | I see purpose | I see absolute conviction | I see compassion | I see a shining light | I see shattered remains | I see something familiar | I see a friend | I see an enemy | I see a lover | I see thirst for blood | I see loyalty|  Devotion|  I see malicious intent | I see pity | You’re pitiful | I see darkness | You’re unwavering | You’re pure | You’re noble | Anger | A liar | Anxiety| You’re trapped | Defensive| Animalistic| Excitement| Mania| Sickness| Pain| Exhaustion | Defeat | Sadness | Resignation | You’re a threat | You seek to manipulate| You are weak to manipulation| Emotional disconnect| Vulnerability| A cry for help| Overcompensation| You’re genuine| You have seen terrible things| You have lost something/someone very important| Years have changed you| You’re hiding something| You think I’m hiding something| Submission |Dominance| Conflict | Emptiness | Tenderness | Maturity | Immaturity| I don’t recognise you | Patience | Impatience| Disrespect | Respect| You’re instinctual | You’re primitive | Simplicity | Stupidity | Intoxication | Disappointment | Ambition | Craving | Melancholy | Apathy | Misery | Wisdom| Honour| Sexism | Elitism | Racism | Short-temperedness | Pressure | Stress| Moral leniency |You’re a troublemaker | You’re sly | You’re wicked | You’re crafty | You’re planning something | Your plan involves me | You need me | You’ve caught me | You want to hurt me | You want to sleep with me | You want to steal me| You want to spend time with me | You don’t want to leave me | You’re lonely| You’re lost in thought | You’ve been drinking | You need my help | You feel empowered | You’re feeling vindictive | Pettiness | You’re being calculative | You’re being rash | Your mind is racing | You’re overwhelmed| You’re overworked| You’ve not been sleeping | You’re paranoid| You don’t believe me | You’re not listening to me | You think you know best | You’re scaring me | You’re scared of me|

Useless. Useless. You’re really nothing more than that.

Even while he was in idle mode, resting in the stasis, the thoughts were rushing through his head, playing a cruel game of tag. Which will be the first to hurt him the most?

Redundant. Outdated. Good for nothing.

Simon knew it wasn’t true, but right now it was somehow harder than usual to convince himself about it.

Just an old model. A basic, quickly replaced one. There was nothing special about him: just another household assistant that did a better job than humans only because he did it for free.

His leg twitched slightly; the left one. No wonder it was so easy to leave him behind.

You can only follow others in their path, like a cowardly dog. You only speak up when you feel safe enough. You can only bite when someone else is holding the leash.

He wanted to deny this, but he knew he couldn’t. It was just who he was. Before Markus, Jericho was drowning in stagnant suffering of many, and he couldn’t do anything to change it. He was scared. Or perhaps he convinced himself that he was, that everyone was, that staying this way will be safer. Safer to remain here and wait for a miracle. And what if it never came? Would he keep watching his brothers and sisters die, repeating to himself over and over that there is no other way?

And all of it would be his fault.

Markus: [barely gives North a glance] I don’t know.

Markus: [casually turns to Simon] How are you?

Simon: I’m fine.

✗never sentence starters

This day. A day in which Charon no longer needs to constantly make trips to New Jericho in order to be able to talk to Simon. A day in which Simon doesn’t have to fear seeing Charon and wonder if he’s there on work duty or not. A day in which they are standing hand in hand in the middle of the plaza and nobody can give them shit for the fact that they are androids or that they should be ‘enemies’.

A small sigh followed by lips curling ever so slightly at the corners. Wordlessly, he raises the hand he’s holding onto up and gently kisses it. Once. Twice. Thrice before he’s satisfied. It feels. Great being able to openly show his affection for the blond without having to worry about anything.

Simon: Did you do something illegal?