"I won't abandon others the way they planned to abandon me."

*

The android laser passed over my skin with ease. Rory was an expert at my build, knowing where every wire to all of my computers was located. It took just one pass, one snip, and I felt unplugged, detached.

And free.

His hand pressed against my neck, where my brand used to be, and kept it closed. His eyes were glued to mine. "What do you see?" he asked quietly, almost worried.

I blinked, eyeing the space around his head. "Everything," I looked at him, "you."

Rory gave me a small smile before using the laser over my skin again, sealing the incision. "I wanted to make sure disabling your tracker didn't interfere with anything else." Tilting my head to one side, he inspected the closed wound. "But at least with this, you'll be invisible to humans."

Perfect. That was what I wanted. I didn't need them learning my location. I wanted to be the shadow they couldn't see. My strikes would be unexpected. Disastrous.

When I looked back at Rory, I saw his frown. "Androids can still track you," he said quietly. "If a human used one, they could find you. I couldn't remove that. If I did-"

"You couldn't find me." I pushed up from the bed and looked at him. "That's fine. I'm not worried about us."

Rory's lips tugged up into a smile. His hand extended, reaching to touch my face, but before he could, the door to the medic room swung open. Five Bionics guards walked in, guns pointed and raised. My computers were able to scan each and every one of them, noting their position and class.

Low-level enforcement. I pushed up from the bed. They sent the dogs to grab the wolves.

"Androids, we order you to raise your hands and reveal your brands." The guard center of the group dipped his head behind his gun as he eyed us through the small viewfinder. The rim of his black helmet obscured his eyes but couldn't hide the emotions raging through him.

Uncertainty. Confusion. Disgust.

I had to smile. Phillips may have relayed his version of the story. What about mine?

Rory came to my side, hands raised. "Axe, we need to-"

"We need to nothing." I glanced at him before looking at the five humans in front of us. "I said I wasn't worried about us. I'm not worried about them either."

"Androids," the center guard hissed, "we order you to reveal your brands."

Chuckling, I looked down at my shows. I wasn't sure what to show them first. I could do as ordered, revealing a brand; though it didn't exist anymore and hadn't for months now, It only made it clear how much attention to detail they paid to their androids. Bionics was oblivious to my change, even as it happened under their nose.

"Androids!"

Looking at the guard, I thought of revealing my other side; the truth behind my brand. I wasn't built to take standard commands from smaller humans. I was designed to fight and protect, and most of my beginning programming ensured I was perfect for it.

If they knew that, they'd run and plead, just like Phillips had done.

I pointed at the guard who thought he had leverage over us. His head lifted, but his gun didn't drop. Smirking, I shook my head. "Don't you think this is a mistake?" I asked him.

He blinked, looking me over.

"Those." I pointed at each of the weapons in their hands. "Bringing knives to a gunfight. Isn't this a mistake?"

"Knives?" The guard furthest to the left looked at his weapon before shaking his head.

The guard in the center scowled. "These are guns, android. Looks like something is wrong with your programming."

"No." I rolled my head around my shoulders. "But I'm sure you hoped there was."

"Axe!" Rory reached out to grab me, but it was too late.

I locked onto my target. My sensors placed circles over their heads. As I rushed forward, my analysis became clear-attack from the right and work my way left.

The guard furthest on the right side was the largest of the group, but the slowest. His weight and height made him an easy target. With a quick aide-step, I reached my arm over to him at a speed he hadn't anticipated. The guard next to him was frozen, panicked. I could tell by the wideness of his eyes he tried to figure out his next move.

But there wasn't any time for him. Or any of them.

My hand closed over the side of the guard's head and with a tug, I pushed him towards the center. His gun fired, but missed me; bullet ricocheted off the ceiling as his body collided with the guard to his left. The two crumbled, the smaller buckling under the weight of the larger man. As their bodies hit the floor, I kicked at both of them, stepped on their wrists, and turned for the guard in the center.

His eyes widened as though he were next. I jumped towards him. He fired his gun. And while it clipped the side of my left, hitting him wasn't my intention. He was the ledge I needed to reach the guards behind him. Pushing off of his shoulders, I lunged towards the guards at his back.

Bullets fired. One pushed through my shoulder. But I was a Replica-B; I was designed to take damage, to lose in the beginning before I claimed victory. As blue blood spilled out from my wound, I landed on the floor in front of the guards, then reached up. My hands closed easily around their necks.

I squeezed.

"Fucking android!" The center guard fired his gun. Once. Twice. I felt a third as it pushed through my ribs.

The pain crept through my nerve endings. The edges of my vision blurred. My computers sputtered in my ear, quiet echoes of disabled alarms. As if it knew I couldn't here, it displayed my errors in words over my eyes so I could see:

"Battery at fifty-seven percent. Exterior damage sustained."

Hissing, I threw the guards across the room and turned to face the guard behind me. I was ready for another bullet, his neck attack. But he wouldn't.

Rory had the man trapped in his grip. He struggled under the weight of the droid. His face was red. Rory looked at the side of his face before looking at me. Slowly, he shook his head. "I had to grab him. I couldn't... if he shot you-"

Holding my side, I walked towards them. "Kill him," I said, looking into Rory's eyes. "Then we can go."

Rory's grip loosened. I noticed it in his fingers. The guard was able to take in a deep breath. "Kill him?" Rory's eyes scanned the room. "Axe, I can't kill him, I-"

A code built into his systems. Bionics security. The one specific file Phillips wished I had when I attacked. Rory couldn't do it, it was forbidden.

For him.

But not for me.

Reaching forward, I grabbed the guard by the neck and pulled him close to my face. Red filled his eyes as he gasped. "He can't kill you," I hissed. "But I can."

I didn't wait for a response. It took one quick snap, and like a twig, he crumbled to my feet.

As pain slipped up my side, I looked at Rory. "Let's go."

*

The Bionics guards had infiltrated the Replicas in the A warehouse, but they hadn't reached my line. Every B stood in their place, in line, waiting for direction. I had a limp as I approached, and they noticed. Red eyes followed me as I stepped into the large room.

"Axe, we need to go." Rory pulled at my arm. The side exit was there, right within reach, but as Rory tried to tug me in its direction, I tugged back and shook my head. He growled before grabbing me again. "We don't have the time, Axe. We need to go!"

"No," I said through clenched teeth.

The line of Replicas watched me. Each step I took, their eyes followed. As I stood in front of them, I found I felt them; a pulsating electricity I hadn't felt before. It rippled off of them in waves.

"They're alive," I whispered, looking down at my hands. "I can feel them." Once Rory appeared at my side, I glanced at him and sighed. "How can we fix them?"

Rory didn't say a word. With his hands at his side, he observed the Replicas. His mouth moved, silently counting them.

Impatient, I stepped closer. "Can't you fix them like you fixed me?"

"That isn't easy, Axe." Rory's face was stern as he looked at me. "And we don't have the time."

"Make time," I hissed, raising my hands.

The motion of hands lifting, mimicking my movement, filled the room.

Rory's eyes widened. So did mine. Together, we looked back at the Replicas who had their hands pressed together just like mine were. Were they copying me? To test the idea, I dropped one of my hands.

They did the same.

Rory approached them. "They're connected to you?" Looking at each of them before glancing at me. "You were placed at the head of the B squad. They are connected to you, in case something went wrong in war."

When I dropped my hand, each Replica did, too.

I thought back to my earlier interactions with Phillips. I remembered when he was excited to see me. I was a premium Replica, placed at the heart of one of his soldier groups. He saw me as the key to his victories. Would I be the one for mine?

"If this... if this is the case, I," Rory spun in a circle before looking back at me, "I can do this. There's a way."

Rory weaved the lines of Replicas, muttering to himself. I followed as quickly as I could. The Replicas watched as we hurried towards the end of the room.

"I don't know how I didn't realize this." Rory bumped between two Replicas as he laughed. "If this is what you want we can do this. I can do this. I can-"

I stopped Rory before we reached the wall lined with computers meant to monitor the Replicas. Each of them was on standby, screens colored by the spinning Bionics symbol. I glanced at them before looking at Rory's face once he faced me.

I didn't get to ask my question as he cupped my face. "You have Javier's code."

I nodded, understanding.

"If I upload his full data in you, then they'll get it, won't they?" Rory laughed as though he were amazed. "This is why they didn't attack you when Phillips told them to. They didn't because you wouldn't. They understand because you do."

"So..." I bit my lip. "If I feel human, they will?"

"They should." With a big smile, he looked at the Replicas. "They'll have what you want. And I," he looked back at me, exhaling sharply, "I can give you what you want."

"To be human," I whispered.

He came close, face to mine. "Yes."

*

It took one push of the button. Rory released an interference in the air. The androids in the facility stopped moving. None of them spoke. Not even a blink. They were solid statues with errors. Wires with no sparks.

But the Replicas, my Replicas, moved through the rushing waves of electricity with error, without disruption. And as they were trained to do, they fought the enemy infiltrating our warehouse. They killed every guard readying to take them away from our home.

I stood outside and watched the aftermath.

"Once they're done, we need to get back inside." Rory came beside me, observing the warehouse just as I was.

The screams of the guards carried in the air. The interference Rory released disabled the alarms; if they called for backup, no one would come for them. They would be alone, struggling, falling victims to the creatures they created.

They know what it feels like.

"Why?" I licked my lip. Lights flickered in the corner of the warehouse. Gunfire?

"You're hurt." He touched my shoulder, guiding me to turn and face him. "I need to fix you."

I'd forgotten about the gunshots. The blood had stopped. My clothes, stained blue, had dried. My computers failed to alert me of my external status. Or maybe I ignored it long enough that it all stopped. Stopped, because I couldn't.

"Okay," I said. "How long will that take?"

Rory pulled me closer, gently unzipping the front of my suit to get a better view of my wounds. The flesh around the bullet holes were purple, drying, and when exposed to air, I hissed. He frowned before pulling the zipper closed. With a hand on my cheek, he looked at me. "I need to make sure computers weren't damaged, all wires are intact. Then to fix the skin so there are no scars, I-"

"Don't worry about hiding scars." I looked down at my hands, at the scars copied from Javier's body. "Let me have some. Let me be my own person."

When I looked up, Rory blinked, speechless.

I smiled. "Scars are what make you human, right?" I touched his cheek, too. "Imperfection is key."