All Aggressive Dogs Were Once Puppies

The cop blinked as he played with his silvery fringes. “Do I actually look that old?” he asked.

Celia threw a dumbfounded look. “Out of all the questions you could’ve asked first, it’s that?!”

“What? I’m serious. I haven’t turned forty yet. Am I that old already?”

“Uhm, not really? I mean, you can try shaving.”

He scratched his scruffy beard. “Oh, I guess that explains it.”

“Hey, stop acting like I’m not here,” I interjected, aiming my rifle at the cop. “Look—let me ask you something first—were you the guy snooping around in these places?”

I presented some holographic tabs of the cloaked figure standing in several dark offices for him, who in return narrowed his eyes.

“I see,” he muttered. “So you’re with them, huh? Impressive. I didn’t expect you guys to find me so soon.”

I tilted my head. “Who’s ‘them?’ I only know one boss.”

The man raised a brow. “Really? Only one? Who?”

The fact that I didn’t even know the Director’s real name made me twitch a brow. I clicked my tongue and said, “None of your business. You’re going to die anyway!”

I promptly fired, only to raise my brows as he activated a force field of his own. My face slowly stretched into a grin of amusement, and I raised my other arm, now aiming with two rifles.

“Ma’am, listen for my signal,” the cop whispered. “Once I tell you to go, run for safety.”

Celia nervously nodded.

I blasted away, raining laser bullets at the two. The cop expanded his shield and covered himself and the woman. He pulled out a pocket-sized, black sphere, pressed a button on it, and threw it against the floor, shattering it and releasing a flashbang. I winced and covered my eyes.

“Now!” he whispered.

Celia scurried without a hitch, rushing in the same direction as the other visitors.

I clicked my tongue and carefully opened my eyes, only to gape them wide open a second later, the cop’s fist inches away from my face. I hurriedly dodged out of the way and stepped back, using this split-second moment to fully scan his face, badge, and ID card peeking out of his pocket. By the time I finished identifying him, I grinned and pulled out a baton, slamming it against his shield.

“Detective Axel Holton,” I sneered. “I have no idea what you’re after, but I’m curious—is it worth risking your life for it?”

“Yes,” he bluntly said. He said that so fast I almost thought he was waiting for me to ask that.

Axel shoved his shield and knocked away my baton, and at lightning speed, he snatched my shirt and pinned me down. I gritted my teeth and tried wringing him off, but he stubbornly squeezed his grip.

“That triangle eye,” he muttered, creasing his brows. “You’re… an android?”

“Yeah? Of course, I am,” I said. “All AI citizens have triangle eyes so we can be distinguishable from humans. Did you not learn that from elementary school?”

“I remember androids are made to have both of their eyes shaped as triangles. Why is one of yours radial? Even in a different color, no less?”

“That’s because I’m an exception!”

I raised a leg, kicked at his abdomen, and shoved him away. I jumped back on my feet and picked up a rifle, shooting him immediately. He pulled up his force field again, and with a press of a button, he launched the shield and knocked my gun off.

“Not only that, you don’t behave like a typical AI,” said Axel, messaging his wrists. “This is the first time I've seen one that’s so sadistic—so furious and cruel—for no reason.”

I paused.

“Look upon this city, Radio. Beautiful, isn’t it?”

A fire sparked in my chest as the Director’s words flashed through my mind. Amid the sea of cries and shrieks from my fellow exiles, his voice rang the clearest.

“They promise every civilian absolute fairness, but here you are, still alive but decaying in a dumpster. Your creator disposed of you here because they thought you’re dysfunctional, a walking defect that deserves no chance. Don’t you think that’s unfair?”

“For… no reason?” I mumbled, twitching my fingers. “Hah… hahaha…”

I released my wires and let them dance around me, brilliant crimson sparks radiating off my sleeves. “What do you know, mister law enforcement?” I growled. “You and your so-called justice think I’m angry for no damn reason? Hahaha! Ahahahaha! Oh, that’s hilarious! How about you say that to me again after rotting in hell?!”

I slammed my wires in Axel’s direction, and he jumped out of the way as it sliced the floor. I snarled and bared my teeth, wildly slashing more walls and tiles as I chased after him. “Who gave you the right to judge how I behave?! You damn hypocrites know absolutely nothing!"

I kept swinging through the air, sparks flying as wires whipped around, crashing against display cases and metal structures. One of my hits ended up damaging the light circuits on the ceiling.

The lights flickered once before darkness flooded in, swallowing everything for a brief moment emergency lights switched on, casting a sickly scarlet glow across the room. It was still bright enough to outline the detective but dim enough to keep the chaos I’d left behind in shadow.

"You've never been there," I snarled, breathing heavily. "The disposal grounds, our graveyards, our hell. You've never heard how loudly my kind could scream. You humans call this city a beacon of equality, yet you refuse to extend your humanity to the outcasted androids?! What a joke! It’s all your fault! All of it!”

I pulled out a specialized gun of my own and shot a massive, red laser toward the detective, but he jumped away right in time before it blasted through a wall. The laser only lasted a second, leaving a sizzling hole. With ragged breaths, I spared a moment to wipe off some sweat and regain my composure before this throbbing headache of mine grew worse.

Meanwhile, Axel gaped at the opening revealing a dark office with a monitor flickering blue and white. A child with brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a matching shirt with dark pants and jacket, pressed his back against the wall, gawking at the hole and locking his gaze with the detective. He frantically ducked out of the way and went out of sight.

Axel swore under his breath and abruptly turned to face me. “Okay, fine, I get it. You have your reasons, and we’re all not that perfect, but killing me won’t help you like you think.”

I slanted my head and threw a tired glare. “That’s a fancy way of saying that you don’t want to die,” I scoffed. “I get it. Too bad though. The only reason I’m still alive is that I’m someone’s weapon—and I’m not planning on dying anytime soon either." I raised my rifle and fired another round, and while Axel blocked them with his forcefield, I pulled out a spherical device and rolled it toward his feet.

Drowned by the sound of gunfire, it quietly ticked before it made one, loud beep, alarming the detective to look down and directly facing the explosion head-on. A series of blinding, ear-deafening fireworks and crimson dust burst from his spot. I wasted no time firing more laser bullets, only to freeze when the smoke unusually shifted around.

The space around his supposed position shifted, distorted like a glitch in physical form. I hurriedly dived through the cloud and gave one hefty swing of my fist, only to punch some sort of holographic illusion—a digital curtain.

I whipped toward the hole I made and glared at the real detective as he grabbed the kid and swung him over his shoulders. I soared toward them, but as the detective sprinted, the kid locked his eyes with mine, pulled out a pyramid-shaped device, clicked on it, and threw it, releasing a green, misty fog filled with static.

“Urgh?!” I grimaced and covered my face, the static stinging my senses and driving me back.

I didn’t know whether I should be shocked that he had a sidekick this whole time or question why a kid was working with him in the first place, but in the end, I shouted curses and smashed a rifle when the two disappeared off my radar.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me…”

There I was, hovering over the exhibit hall now shrouded in darkness and filled with the scent of burnt circuits and ionized metal. Holographic displays flickered erratically while shattered glass panels and broken vintage robots littered the floor. In disbelief, I stared at the glowing, swirling green smoke as the alarms above me blared, drawing security closer with every passing second.

For the first time, did I… fail on my mission?