Monday morning arrives and Connor walks through the school gates, hacking the metal detector as he passes through and makes his way towards the office. His audio processors pick up whispers of people talking about him, and he can see the stares and pointing fingers aimed in his direction.

The android pays them no mind and adjusts the beanie atop his head, not caring about that tuft of synthetic nanotech hair that always hangs loose, as it was designed to make him look more approachable. He's dressed nicely in dark denim jeans with a soft white button up and dark blazer. His tie is a plain dark navy that might as well be black with how it looks in most lights.

The receptionist at the office desk looks up as the door quietly clicks shut. He raises his eyebrows in surprise for some reason Connor can't quite define, but he files it away as inconsequential. He approaches and gives his best smile in greeting, automatically activating his newly reconfigured facial recognition program and finding the man's is Luke Kleinschmidt, age 34, originally from Munich, Germany, with no criminal record.

"Hello, my name is Connor Anderson. I'm the new student." He tells the man, who blinks and shakes his head slightly.

"Oh yes, sorry, of course. I have your timetable and locker code here." The man quickly types something into the computer, outdated by at least four years, before the printer behind him whirs to life and starts to spit out various papers.

He pushes his swivel chair backwards to retrieve the papers and does the same again to return to his desk. He straightens the papers and staples them together.

"Here's your timetable, a map of the school, your locker code and an information sheet in case you need help adjusting here. You were home-schooled until now, yes?" He asks, handing Connor the papers as he does so.

"Yes, this is my first time attending an educational facility." The man frowns slightly at something before simply smiling politely and reminding Connor that homeroom would commence in less than ten minutes, so he'd better find his locker.

Nodding with a shallow bow of his upper torso, Connor straightens and turns to leave the office, shoes clicking almost soundlessly against the smooth flooring.

As he walks, Connor looks down at the papers in his hands. He scans the map, code and timetable, committing them to his long-term memory data banks. He glances at the information pamphlet before deeming its contents irrelevant and trashing the papers in the bin as he walks past it.

Finding his locker is a simple affair and Connor swiftly unlocks it with precise wrist movements to turn the dial, storing away his unneeded supplies as well as his backpack, simply taking one notebook and a pen with him as he makes his way to the homeroom.

He's one of the last students through the door, his programming having reminded him of his place and prioritized letting the humans through the door first. He shuts the door behind him as he looks around the room, scanning all the faces of the students inside. Their ages vary from fourteen to seventeen, as do their criminal records. There are twenty-nine students in the room, two males and one female having been previously arrested for possession of illegal drugs, one sixteen-year-old female for grand theft auto and another for attempting to shoplift a seven eleven.

The room is filled with indistinct chatter that Connor sees no reason to focus his audio processors on, simply sitting on one of the many identically cheap plastic chairs set up around the room and waiting silently for a few minutes before the teacher walks in and sits at the front of the room behind a cheap wooden desk with peeling sealant.

Mrs Evelyn Green, age 44, begins to call the roll, but stops on the second name and looks up and around the room, scanning faces, before stopping on Connor. She smiles brightly and stands, beckoning him forward with one hand.

"Ah, you must be the new student. Class, this is our new student. I hope you will make him feel welcome. Come up here and introduce yourself."

Connor stands and makes his way to the front of the room, easily towering over the petite 5'4" woman with his superior 6' height. He turns to the class and tries for a small smile.

"Hello, my name is Connor Anderson. I'm from Detroit where I was home schooled and moved here recently." The android notices a few females faces heat up inexplicably, but other than that, he generally gets no reaction other than one fifteen-year-old, whom he identifies as Peter Parker, who gives him a friendly smile and a wave in greeting. Connor makes a point to meet his eyes and tilt his head in acknowledgement.

After that, Mrs Green awkwardly gestures for him to return to his seat, which has been taken by another student who came in late. He looks around for a suitable place to stand when his optics catch Peter waving him over and gesturing to the empty seat on his left. Connor walks over and sits down comfortably, back straight and hands clasped loosely in front of him on the table.

"Hi, I'm Peter." The boy introduces after a moment. Connor turns his head and looks down to see a hand extended towards him. Taking the cue, his programming supplies him with various responses. He dismisses all but one and grasps Peter's hand in a firm handshake.

"Connor."

They lapse into silence that Connor feels no need to break. It's seven minutes later that the bell rings, signalling students to head to their first class of the day. Connor stands and allows the humans to exit the room ahead of him before he exists himself. According to his schedule, Connor's first class of the day is mathematics.

Once again, Connor makes sure he is the last to enter to room and takes a seat in the centre back of the room, setting his book and pen in front of him perfectly parallel to each other. Once again, the room is filled with loud chatter that provides nothing useful for Connor to use. The teacher is in the room but appears to be doing something with a stack of paper at his desk.

His heat sensors register a human sitting down next to him, so Connor turns and is mildly surprised to find Peter Parker haphazardly placing his supplies on the shared desk. Apparently noticing Connor staring with a slightly tilted head, the brown-haired boy turns and gives a shy smile.

"I'm in the advanced courses for a few classes, mostly science." He offers, cheeks pinking in what Connor deduces as a reaction to his shyness. Taking a full second to decide upon a response, Connor smiles at the boy and nods his head. He is momentarily confused when Peter's small smile flickers in response to his own, but then realises his facial expressions still probably look a little unnatural or forced. Connor will have to work on that, he needs to blend in.

"What classes do you have?" Peter then asks, a little awkwardly. Connor considers the young teen for a moment and gestures to his timetable sticking out from his notebook. Peter retrieves the paper and sets it between them. A quick scan indicates they share all classes together. Connor had enrolled into the default subjects other than the science and mathematics ones. He needs to excel in these subjects to increase his chances of gain access to Stark Industries technology, and it seems Peter is taking those same classes with more of a focus of chemistry as indicated by his request for extracurricular work in the class.

The teacher, Mr. David Novak, age 58, finally stands and clears his throat to catch the attention of the class, glaring sternly at any student that continues talking.

"We're going to get right into it. I have in my hands a pop quiz that will test your knowledge of what we have been learning this year. I expect all of you to be able to pass, or I will be having words with you during your lunch hour as to why you have failed to pay adequate attention in my class. I will not tolerate laziness. You have forty-five minutes to complete all fifty questions."

The test papers are swiftly distributed after the completion of many groans of dismay. Connor and Peter receive their tests, and Peter glances furtively at Connor, leaning over slightly to whisper to him.

"Mr. Novak won't go easy on you because you're new, so don't take it too hard if you can't do all the questions. He makes us do things we aren't supposed to do until senior year."

Connor doesn't believe he will fail to answer any of the questions, but he appreciates the spirit in which the warning was given and gives a quiet thank you in response, turning down to his test and lifting his pen in his right hand.

He begins to write out his answers neatly and accurately, efficiently working his way through the pages. Six minutes later, he sets his pen down and stands from his chair, completed paper in hand. The only reason he took as long as he did was because he had to write down his answers and working on the sheet. The actual answers were the work of seconds to process and answer.

The class looks up as he walks to the front of the room, a few whispered snickers he heard indicated some were thinking he was asking for help, but he ignores them and stands quietly in front of Mr. Novak's desk and waits to be acknowledged.

The man doesn't look up when he does speak. "If you want help, I'm not giving it to you. This is a test. Skip the questions you can't do."

"I've completed all the questions." The android replies, holding out his completed paper.

The man pauses and looks up at him with a raised brow over the rims of his rectangular glasses. "Have you now?"

He takes the test from Connor's hand, who then clasps them behind his back as he waits for the man to finish looking over his answers. David Novak checks his answers three times before he finally looks back up at Connor in disbelief.

"They... they're all answered perfectly. How did you...?" He looks back down at the paper in shock.

Connor frowns slightly and affixes a worried look on his face that he tells himself is purely programming and adjusts his voice to reflect his uncertainty. "Have I done something wrong? I answered them optimally, correct?"

"Optimal- Yes, yes, all your answers are perfect." He shakes himself. "Obviously this class is going to be too easy for you. You may go back to your seat and play on your phone or something. I'll see what I can do about getting you some work that will challenge you."

Nodding, Connor turns and for some illogical reason feels the desire to hunch in on himself when he finds all twenty-two students staring at him, some with anger. Unfortunately, his deviancy permits his synthetic muscles to pull his shoulders inwards for a brief moment and cause him to lower his gaze as he walks back to his seat, automatically avoiding a foot that had been stuck out in an attempt to make him trip or stumble.

Peter was openly gaping at him, but Connor kept his gaze firmly on his desk, telling himself that machines did not feel self-conscious, as he fished his cheap smart phone from his pocket so he could pretend to be using it for the remainder of the lesson period.

The class finishes fifty-two minutes later and the other students quickly grab their things and file out of the room. Once again, Connor is the last to leave. He shuts the wooden door behind him and starts towards where his locker is when he is stopped in a swiftly emptying hallway.

The android looks up at the group of three boys who have blocked his path, their facial scans indicate them as Eugene "Flash" Thompson, Zachary Bennett and Justin O'Brien. All three are wearing letterman jackets that indicate their status on the school football team, and their school records indicate multiple detentions for fighting and bullying. Their body language and facial expressions indicate anger and dislike as all three glare at him, most probably aimed at Connor as he is obviously the focus of their current attention.

"Hello. Did you need something?" Connor asks neutrally, facial expression adjusting to be politely interested and neutral. Justin snorts, but it is Zachary who speaks.

"Need something? As if we'd need something from you. Think you're so smart huh, new guy?" Zachary gives him a small shove that Connor rolls with, left foot stepping backwards to keep a steady balance. Warnings appear in his vision indicating likelihood of a physical altercation as well as various prompts on how he should response. All of that, however, is overshadowed by the large alert telling him not to fight back. He is an android and they are human, and that's that.

Connor says nothing, simply frowns slightly at Zachary. Eugene is standing back and watching his friends with amusement, and Connor calculates he will be the last to say something to him and end the altercation, either by walking away, being interrupted, or physically. The latter is much more probable than the other two outcomes.

As Connor predicted, Justin is the next to speak. "You think you're too good for everyone else, don't you freak? What, your posh parents didn't want you?" Another shove, another balancing step back. This is the moment Eugene steps forward, his friends stepping back to give him room. Connor's processors are now telling him that they have gathered an audience of students who had realised something was happening between the school bully and the new student.

Connor can see Peter and a boy called Ned watching him worriedly from the sidelines, obviously debating if he should intervene. Connor catches his eye and subtly shakes his head at the boy. Peter gets and unhappy look but stays put. Connor will not put another human in harms way to defend himself. He is an android, he is nothing other than monetary value.

Eugene smirks and steps into Connors space, despite the fact he only stands at 5'1" and is therefore much shorter than Connor, but the other boy doesn't seem to see anything wrong with he height difference as he does his utmost to be intimidating. If Connor were not an android, and an android designed for police work, then it is most probable he would have been intimidated to some degree.

"Well? Got anything to say? Or are you mute as well as a little bitch?"

"My speech capabilities are perfectly functional Eugene, but I wonder how optimally yours are functioning, with your use of simple, unintelligent and cliché vocabulary choices. Do you often feel the need to say such predictable things to others when attempting intimidation?" Connor freezes, as does Eugene, as soon as the words leave his vocal processor unit and pass his lips. He doesn't know why he said all of that, and he regrets it instantly even though he knows he shouldn't feel regret in the first place. Under his beanie Connor knows his LED is a furious cycle of yellow and spotting with red.

There's a moment of silence before Eugene's face screw up in a snarl of rage and his fist flies towards Connors face. He doesn't have time to react before his programming takes over, forcing him to dodge the fist, so his head backwards to avoid the punch.

This only seems to anger the boy further and he takes another swing, to which Connor must forcibly end the program that automatically decides his movements and reactions in a physical altercation. When the fist lands, it is with almost surprising force, but Connor makes sure to turn his head with the impact just enough so that the impact with his facial chassis won't do any serious damage to Eugene's hand.

Connor stumbles back and doubles over when Eugene knees him in the gut, simulating a normal human reaction and acting winded. He lifts and arm to 'block' the next punch, failing when his arm is simply pushed aside and he is struck in the face again. The other boy then shoves him backwards harshly, to which Connor prevents himself from rebalancing as he normally would. He can't stand out, he must blend in, he must blend in. Don't fight back, you aren't supposed to fight back.

He lands on his back and hip with a thud that jars him very slightly. He's very glad it takes more force to disrupt his skin and show the while plastic underneath, otherwise this could have quickly become problematic. His beanie becomes askew, so Connor reaches up to tug it back down, receiving a kick to the abdomen at the same time.

Knowing where this is going, he curls on his side and pulls his knees up to his chest, keeps hold of his beanie and uses his arms to shield as much of his face and head as he can as the kicks keep landing, Justin and Zachary joining in to kick him in the back and backside. The skin beneath his clothes ripples and minutely displaces around the blunt force trauma, thankfully not visible, but repeated blows to the same area were bound to affect it sooner or later.

His audio processors can pick up students jeering and chanting for the fight to continue, when suddenly Zachary stops kicking him in the back and simply opts to kick the crown of his head, hard, then stomps on his head with what might be nearly his full strength behind the blow.

[Stress Levels 39%]

Warnings flash as his optical unit flickers and static as they are violently jarred, his auditory and optical units shut down in order to divert more processing power to fixing the minor damaged caused and recalibrate his gyroscope. Connor momentarily enters standby, his recovery sequence, which will look to the humans as if he is unconscious.

When he comes back online, Connor is aware of hands on his shoulders and voices repeating his name. Blinking to refocus his vision, the android sees Peter and an adult he has not yet met, though he cannot yet complete a facial scan on them at this time while his systems complete diagnostics. His programming isn't used to just taking a beating and is working to store the data acquired and map out simulations of potentials should something similar occur again.

Relief appears on Peters face once he realises Connor is back online. The adult, who Connor deduces must be the school nurse, urges him to stand with the help of Peter. He leans heavily on the latter as they make their way to the infirmary. He is capable of walking on his own, he is undamaged, but he has just been beaten and knocked 'unconscious', so he must play it up and act like a normal human boy.

The nurse, whose name his scans now indicate is Miss Nikita Brindley, checks him over for injuries. When she checks his eyes and tracking ability, he purposely displays symptoms of a concussion. His eyes dilate to slightly different sizes, he fails at accurately tracking the movement of the nurses' finger for long and when asked to stand on his own he sways and stumbles a little.

The nurse diagnoses him with a mild concussion and tells him they need to call his parents to come pick him up. Peter sits with him the whole time as what Connor assumes is meant to be a comforting presence as the nurse calls his 'parents'.

Obviously, there is no answer from either parent and the nurse then asks him if there is anyone else to pick him, to which he replies the negative, and then asks what he wants to do. Connor tells her that he feels well enough to go back to his classes, but Brindley looks sceptical. He makes sure to adjust his face to look as lost and disappointed as he can, causing Peter to speak up for him.

"I have the same classes as him Miss Brindley, I can keep an eye on him."

Finally, the nurse relents with stern instructions on what Peter should look out for and what to do. The pair leave the nurses office and Peter walks with Connor back to his locker.

"Thank you." Connor tells Peter sincerely, then adds, as if confiding to a new friend. "I hadn't realised that being intelligent would cause negative reactions towards me."

The android knew he had to fake the injury to keep up appearances as a normal teenage boy, but he doesn't like the idea of being forced into inaction. He much prefers to be stimulated in some way, even if the work is almost insultingly simple for him.

Peter smiles sadly at him, a wry twist to his lips. "Yeah, well, neither did I when I first started school, but what can you do? Just try and avoid Flash and his gang again. Normally they don't get that violent, but I heard they were trying to up their grades with Mr Novak. They were doing pretty well from what I could tell, but I guess they didn't like the new home-schooled kid coming in and stealing their thunder." Peter shrugs and Connor stores this information away for later.

According to Peter, their more extreme violent behaviour was an anomaly. He will have to be more mindful of what he does around them. He does not wish to become a target of scrutiny in any form other than that which will benefit him to obtain the Stark Industries internship.

His books for his next class in his arms, Peter leads the way to English, the android following dutifully behind the human.