Title: Welcome to Metropolis

Plot: Shunsaku Ban came to metropolis to solve one simple case, only to find himself involved in saving the world. As a power-struggle begins between opposing forces over a mythical creature and the power to conquer the world, the question of what it means to be human, to be alive comes into play. Dedicated to Osamu Tezuka.

Chapter 2: Marduk VS Vampire

By: rockofmarduk

Last time on metropolis: Dr. Yorkshire Bell introduced us to metropolis and it's main characters. And while the all powerful Duke Red was exploring his Ziggurat, Rock of the marduks, was busy chasing down a terrorist robot and almost getting himself killed in the process. And an unknown individual watched all of this. I wonder who he is? **

The Marduk headquarters looked almost like a museum, with four large pillars in front. An all white building with a large Red banner hanging from the roof. On the front of the banner was a large design in the shape of a dragon rearing up on its hind legs. As marduks walked in and out of the large building no one seemed to notice two men standing on a swing- stage washing the many, many windows. The tall, skinny man was called Tick (Lamune) and the short, fat one was called Tuck (Kalpis). Both were zone-1 workers but had managed to get jobs up on the top zone. How we may never know? Neither one of them were very bright. But put them together and they would always find a way out of a tough situation. (Most of the time). This was the third job they had this week and both were hoping to keep it longer. Before the robots came to take it away that is.

"Will you watch it with that thing!"

"Watch it with what thing?" Tick asked a little confused. Looking over at his partner and friend he was surprised to find Tuck all wet and steaming mad. Spiting out water from his mouth he shouted, "What the heck do you think you're doing you numskull?"

"What! What did I do?"

"You hit me with that mop you dork." Tick looked at the mop he had been using to wash the windows in his hands. "Oh. Why didn't you just say so?"

Tuck looked like he was about to blow his top. "Why don't you use a rag like I do?" he asked showing him the rag in his hand. Tick just shrugged and continued mopping the windows. "It takes too much time."

"Then use a squeegee."

"We don't have a squeegee."

"Well why the hell not?"

"To expensive and we don't have the money to buy one. And anyway, were we going to buy a squeegee around here. Most squeegee's are built into robots who do this kind of work."

Tuck through his hands up in the air in defeat and started getting back to work. As he began washing his side of the window he noticed Rock heading towards the front door a little bruised and battered. "Hey isn't that Rock down there?"

"Really, where?" Tick asked as he swung around to look. Unfortunately for Tuck, Tick still had his mop in his hand and when he turned around Tuck found himself eating Tick's mop. "Ah there he is. There's a rumor going around that after that robot terrorist attack, Rock took off after one of the survivors and almost got himself killed. Luckily both Rock and that robot got away scot-free. You know they really shouldn't give a job like that to a kid his age. The kid is just asking for trouble. They should give the job to someone more qualified, like us. Don't you agree with me Tuck? Tuck?" Tick turned around wondering why Tuck wasn't answering him and saw his mop in an angry Tuck's mouth. "Uh, oh." **

As Rock entered the Marduk headquarters he thought he heard a crash and two people shouting at each other. Turning around he saw nothing and continued towards his office to get washed up. Taking off his shades he noticed a few Marduk's staring at him, but quickly turned away when he looked in their direction. They all knew when Rock was pissed off about something and they also knew not to get in his way, or else. Rock sighed as he pushed his bangs out of his eyes. "How could I let that robot get away?" Rock thought to himself angrily. He gritted his teeth as he remembered that thing actually taking him down and then leaving him. Acting as if he was nothing but garbage. " I hope father ever finds out about this..." Rock stopped in his tracks when he saw his "father" making his way towards the front door. "Oh crap."

Duke Red dressed in a warm coat and followed by his two bodyguards stopped right in front of Rock. "Ah Rock I'm glad to see you back here." He said in a cool voice.

Rock stood up straight and at attention. "Good morning sir." Rock said remembering not to call him father when at work. "What exactly are you doing here? Are there any problems that you wish me to handle?"

"No, no, I'm just here looking over my investment and making sure that all my money is being used wisely. I have nothing that concerns you today Rock. You're dismissed." Rock nodded and both himself and Duke Red started to leave in opposite directions.

"Oh and Rock."

Rock stopped in his track's and turned around. "I'd like a full report on the robot incident from this morning by tonight." With out turning around the Duke smirked. "I also suggest that you get those bruises looked at. That robot you fought gave you quite a beating." Rock watched in shock as Duke Red left, his two bodyguards smirking at Rock as they followed him. "How did he know?" Rock wondered out-loud.

"That's quite easy because I told him, ha, ha, ha!"

Rock flinched not when he heard that voice, but at the laugh. It sounded like a witch's laugh mixed in with screeching tires. It was that bad and he knew only one person who had that kind of laugh. Turning around he saw Polar, head of the Marduk Execution Force. They were considered the last line of defense and were only called in when the robot problem got too much out of the normal Marduk's hands. The group mostly consisted of sharpshooters and bomb makers who were trained to handle situations like the ones they had back in the war. That was something that Rock didn't want to think about right now.

Rock glared at Polar and gave him a look over. He sure didn't dress like a Marduk. He wore a white uniform with golden shoulder pads that made him look like a general of an army with black boots on. A white general's hat with an "M" on the front sat perfectly on his head. (The "M" stands for both Marduk and Metropolis). With a gun at his side and a white cape over his shoulders, with red lining, he looked more like he was going to a party then on patrol with the rest of his men. Rock then noticed Polar's cape ruffle a bit. A man with a big mustache and hair falling over his eyes popped up from behind Polar's cape. The man's name was Whiskers and although he was a man of few words, (if any), he was Polar's own personal bodyguard and loyal friend. Quite possibly the only person Polar ever trusted.

Rock glanced back at Polar's smirking face. "Is they're something that you want Polar?" Rock asked in a cold voice.

Polar grinned evilly as he pushed some of his sandy blond hair out of his eyes. "I just thought I'd tell you that my men have been complaining that your men have been harassing them and I'd like it to stop." "Gee, that's funny, my men said exactly the same thing except that it was your men who was bothering them. It came very close to ending up in a fight."

Polar just shrugged. "It doesn't really matter who started it, the point is I'd hate for a fight to begin between our two groups. It would be so tragic if an innocent got in the way. That would give "your" Marduk's a bad name", he chuckled in his witch like laugh.

"Is that suppose to be a threat?" Rock growled as he took a step towards Polar. Whiskers, true to form, jumped in front of Polar to protect him. Unfortunately Whiskers was a very short man and the green uniform that he had, (similar to Polar's), was a size or two too big for him. His shoes easily got caught in his pant leg and he fell flat on his face. Rock had a hard time not laughing at the sight of Whiskers sprawled out on the floor. Polar groaned at the sight of his bodyguard's clumsiness.

"No Rocky boy, that was not a threat." Polar continued. "That was a fact. I wouldn't want to disgrace Duke Red's good name now would I? And neither would you."

Rock, now angry at Polar started to walk away but then stopped. "Polar why did you tell Duke Red about what happened today?"

Polar's grin turned even meaner. "I believe it's my duty to tell your father about anything that I deem to be important. Oh that's right I forgot. Duke Red's not your real father. Your just some bastards child that he found and raised." Polar said sarcastically. "I'll see you later Rocky boy."

Rock, not answering continued on his way. He hated it when Polar called him Rocky boy. Whiskers by now was back on his feet. Polar glared at him. "You're so humiliating some times!" he snapped as he left with Whiskers trailing right behind him. **

Later that day...

Four Marduk's stood in an alleyway watching the street in front of them. A rouge robot had been sited near their area that was supposed to stay in zone-1. These Marduk's were rumor to be the best (besides Rock), and were said to be Rock's closest friends.

"Does anybody see it yet?" The youngest of this Marduk group asked. Mirum was a nineteen-year-old man with light brown hair and sky blue eyes. He looked somewhat like Rock. He was quite, kind, and usually went out with Rock on his assignments.

"No dame it! God this is so boring." The next oldest was Darrel, a hotheaded young man with spiky black hair and dark brown eyes. Usually losing his temper at the littlest thing; he seemed to dislike Rock for some odd reason.

"Calm down you guys." The next one was Gregory; a man of few words with blond hair, but strangely enough a brown mustache. Well known for being the strong silent type, he always broke up any fighting that started between Marduk's.

"Shut up you guys. I think it's coming." And the oldest of all the Marduk's under Rock's command was Hudson. He had dark brown hair (that matched his bread and mustache), and piercing blue eyes. He was the best sharpshooter of all the high-ranking Marduk's. So it was surprising that Rock didn't choice him to be his second in command.

Finally the zone-1 robot appeared and started heading down the street. The robot was armed with only a metal pipe as a weapon. The Marduk's waited until the robot had walked passed them before stepping out of their hiding places to start shooting. Smoke pored out of the barrels of their guns as the bullets flew out. All of them hitting both the robot in the chest and destroying its hand. The robot even though badly wounded still managed to stay on its feet. But before the Marduk's could finish off the robot, a strange bight green light shot from out of no were and hit it in the head. This shut down the robot completely. Without any more damage to it, it collapsed to the ground. The Marduk's stood there in shock.

"Shit what the hell was that?" Hudson shouted.

"There's no reason to shout Marduk boy. All you have to do is ask politely." A cocky female voice spoke.

The Marduk's watched as three people came out from another alley. The first two men knelt over the robot and began checking it over. One had the face shaped like an eagle and had blond hair. The other had a face shaped like a snake and had black hair. As both took care of the robot, the third person walked out and stood in front of the Marduk's. It was a woman about eighteen to twenty years of age. She had short red hair that was spiked out at the sides and large green eyes. All three of them wore uniforms that looked like the Marduk uniform except for a few differences. The turtleneck that the girl was wearing was colored plum while the men's were colored a golden nugget color. They also wore armbands but on there left arms. A wolfs head was their symbol.

The Marduk's all frowned when they saw her. "Well if it isn't Ruriko Iwaneyama, queen of the Vampires." Darrel said with a growl. The vampire group was well known in Metropolis by now. They appeared only a year ago and were causing uproar among the Marduk community. They were dedicated to protecting the lives of robots by stopping them from being destroyed by the Marduk's. And Ruriko was the second in command of the vampires, vicious, intelligent, and drop dead gorgeous.

"Well hello boys. Something I can do for yea?" she asked in a sexy kind of voice.

"Yea what on earth was that beam of light we just saw fry that robot?" Mirum asked.

Ruriko smiled. "That light you saw was a new type of robot stun gun. We call it the Crescent moon gun. With the gun, all of a robots internal and outer circuitry is shut down without damage to either the robot or any civilians around it. We save the robot and save the tax payers money to fix the damage that you guys cause."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Darrel shouted at Ruriko. "Robots are our enemy's. They're a danger to mankind! They should all be destroyed, not saved and fixed for later use!"

"I'm afraid I must disagree with you gentlemen." A voice spoke up. Everyone turned and saw a young man with silver and black streaked hair standing on the sidewalk. Toppei Tachibana was the leader of the vampires and the complete opposite of Ruriko. He was kind, gentle and quite handsome. He had bright blue eyes and wore a blue turtleneck as his symbol as leader.

As Toppei made his way over to the two groups an ambulance appeared. The vampires began loading the unconscious robot into the back.

"Why are you helping that thing?" Gregory asked angrily.

Toppei brushed back the tuff of hair on his head before specking. "To you guys it's a thing. Nothing but a piece of metal used to work only for humans. But to our boss, and us it's more than that. It's a living creature that deserves rights and protection like the rest of us. I wish that I could say the same thing about your precious leader Rock though. He's the most heartless creature in the entire world. He doesn't deserve any protection at all."

"Why you little bastard! How dare you insult our captain." Mirum bald his hands into fists ready to fight. Even Darrel and Gregory were ready to beat Toppei to a pulp. Hudson however grabbed Mirum by the shoulder and held him back.

"Why are you stopping me?" Mirum asked confused.

"Rock's here you idiot." Hudson whispered in his ear.

Mirum gasped when he finally noticed Rock standing on the street with a couple of other Marduk's. Rock had cleaned himself off and had deciding to join in the hunt for the rogue robot. As well as talk to the others about the conversation he had with Polar.

"Oh hello sir. How long have you been here?" Mirum sweated nervously.

"Long enough." Rock answered. He then turned to Toppei. "I must apologize for my men's outbursts like that. Sometimes they don't know when to keep their big mouths shut." He said coldly.

Toppei chuckled and tried to remain cheerful. "No apologies necessary. Just let us get back to our work and we'll speck no more about it." Toppei found he out he had a hard time concentrating on his work with old Rock-face walking around.

Ruriko suddenly stepped in front of Rock and casually made her way towards him. "Or maybe "we" can talk more about it some place else?" She said when her face was just inches from Rocks. "Some place quiet and alone." She continued as she began stroking Rock's cheek with her hand. Rock found himself beginning to blush.

"I... well...I." Rock was at a loss for words. But what Ruriko did next shocked everybody. Grabbing Rock forcefully by the chin she swept him into a passionate kiss. Everyone's mouths just about hit the ground. Rock gasped when he felt her slip him the tongue.

As the scene in front of them transfixed everyone else, Toppei was busy listening to one of his men conveying a message to him. "Hey Ruriko!" He called out. "We've got to go. Another rogue robot has been seen wandering around one of the malls downtown. If we hurry we can get to it before the Marduk's do."

Releasing Rock from their kiss she smiled at him wickedly. "I hope to be seeing you later Rock." She purred, licking the tip of his nose with her tongue. After letting Rock go she returned to Toppei's side and left. Rock stood there in shock for a moment before turning back to his men. The ambulance had already left leaving them in the middle of the street alone.

"Sir are you alright?" Hudson asked still a little shocked himself.

"Ah yea. I'm fine." Rock said. Finally knocking himself out of his shock he remembered why he had been looking for them in the first place. "Oh yea. There's something I need to talk to you guys about." **

As soon as Toppei, Ruriko, and the rest of the vampires arrived at the mall, they split into groups to look for the robot. As Toppei and Ruriko were riding up the elevator, Ruriko noticed Toppei staring at her.

"What?" she asked confused.

"Why did you kiss him?"

"You mean Rock? Oh, I don't know? I guess I was just in the mood for some sweet flesh against mine." She growled, licking her wet lips. "I wonder if I should invite myself over to Rock's place tonight? But in a more furrier form." Toppei then noticed that her eyes had changed into that of wolves' eyes and fangs had sprouted from her mouth.

"Don't even think about Ruriko." Toppei warned her.

Ruriko's mouth and eyes turned back to normal. "Oh stop worrying yourself. I really wasn't going to do it. It was just an idea."

"I have to worry Ruriko. Until my father and mother come back, I'm in charge of our people. Think about what would happen if we were discovered. We'd be hunted down like... like."

"Animals?" Ruriko finished for him. "Don't worry Toppei. I won't do anything to jeopardize our people's safety. Even for a night with Rock." She whispered under her breath.

The elevator final stopped on their floor and Ruriko got off. Toppei followed her frowning. "Just remember Ruriko, the fate of our kind rests in our hands." **

Next time on metropolis: A battle between the Marduk's and the execution force seems determined to begin, when they bump into each other at a local bar. And a Dr. Laughton and his assistant Mitchy pay a visit to Duke Red. Who are they? **

Writers comment: Toppei and Ruriko are from the manga The Vampires and belong to Osamu Tezuka. So do Tick and Tuck. But Polar and Whiskers are characters that I created and own. And the four Marduk's in my story are also in the movie but they were never given names. So I named them. Just clearing up a few things for you.