Chapter One

Astro Boy held his shoulder as he stood over his unconscious enemy, panting heavily. He looked around himself at the half-destroyed buildings and battered-up cars. Although most of the people in Metro City were clapping and cheering, some of them sneered at the damage of the battle. He couldn't help it if the bad guy always tried to destroy everything; there was no possible way of preventing even just a scratch. He picked up the robot he'd just fought and flew off with it somewhere to be properly taken care of. He then activated his rocket boots again and flew back towards the penthouse of which he lived in, along with his father and head of the Ministry of Science, Dr Tenma. Astro was glad that he was able to live a good life, but unfortunately he never usually had a good day. There was always trouble arousing on the streets, and it was up to him to keep the city safe. He landed on the balcony and entered, greeted by the friendly service-bot known as Orrin.

"Good evening, Astro!" he greeted as the super-robot set foot in the living room.

"Hey, Orrin!" Astro replied, giving a small wave. "Where's Dad?"

"Oh, he'll be home soon. He had to work extra for his new project."

Astro sighed and sat down, turning on the TV. He flicked straight to the news to see if anything was worth checking out before switching to the regular channels. The woman who was broadcasting the news suddenly popped up, giving an urgent report.

"We now bring you live where an unexpected rescue took place. No one knows what it is or where it came from, but earlier this evening a black and gold figure rescued approximately twenty-three people trapped in a large fire that took place inside the Metro City Hotels building. Investigators are still searching for the source of the fire. Witnesses and survivors were questioned on this phenomenon, but all the answers received resulted with no lead."

"Rumour has it that it's an alien!" cried a high-pitched voice that came from behind Astro, making him jump.

"Zoran! How many times to I have to tell you: stop startling me like that!" Astro replied, looking back at his little robotic sister.

"Hahaha! You mean scared!"

"Whatever."

"Anyway, that thing that keeps rescuing everyone is said to be indestructible! It sounds so cool!"

"I highly doubt that, and I don't think it's from outer space either."

"Well, you have competition at least. It rescued more people in one day than you did in a week."

"What?!"

Zoran giggled and hopped over the couch to sit beside her big brother.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you something! Dad's going to be upgrading me so I can fly just like you!"

"Whoa, really?"

"Yup!"

She looked down at her feet and swung them back and forth in excitement. She always wanted to be a hero just like Astro. She wanted to be famous and have people look up to her; living in the limelight sounded so dreamy. She stood up and skipped to her room to continue playing with her pet. Real animals were quite rare since the Surface became polluted, but with Astro's help the forests and rivers were beginning to form again. He switched to his favourite movie channel and watched several films before finally going to bed. He looked out the window and over the city, gazing at the cars and flashing lights going busily by. He flopped onto his bed and closed his eyes, hoping that the next day would be less stressful.

"Axis, on your left!" cried a young girl about the age of fifteen. She took out a long whip and lashed it out at a robot's arm, pulling it out of the way of an incoming projectile.

"Thanks, Electra," the robot replied, getting back on its feet and firing masses of bullets out of its arm at a bulky war-robot. Holes were soon engraved into its chest and it fell to the floor, exploding on impact. "Ha! These piles of junk are too easy."

"Don't get over-confident now! We got more coming!"

The girl pressed a button on the handle of her whip and it soon lit up with bolts of electricity, lighting up the dark room that the two of them were in. She thrashed the rushing robots with the flexible and deadly weapon, not only knocking them back but also sending electrical charges through their metallic bodies. The robot on her side knocked away an incoming punch to her face, sending the enemy flying backwards.

"The only ones getting over-confident are these guys!" the robot stated, activating a pair of rocket boosters in its back and hovering in the air. The rest of the war-robots didn't even come close to defeating the pair, and soon enough there were scattered and destroyed robot parts littered everywhere.

"You ok?" the good robot asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. A few scratches here and there, but this needs to be reported back to HQ. Whoever is making these robots needs to stop," the girl replied, turning off the electricity in her whip and rolling it up to place it on her belt. Her red hair was beyond tangled and would need a serious brush. There was a long pause before the teenage robot spoke.

"Hey, Electra, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it, Axis?"

"Am I the only humanoid robot fighting crime for the well-being of the world?"

"I don't know. There probably are others, but I think you're the closest-looking robot to a human that could ever exist."

"It's just that, well…earlier today, in Metro City, I overheard some people talking about a robot called Astro Boy."

"Astro Boy? Ha! HQ will want to hear this!"

"Morning, Dad!" cried Astro and Zoran in unison as they saw their hard-working father enter the kitchen.

"Good morning, you two," Tenma replied, sitting down and eating his breakfast Orrin had ready for him.

"So, when are you going to upgrade me? I can't wait!" said Zoran, impatiently jumping up and down.

"Hopefully sometime today. I'd like to get it over with so you'll stop constantly talking about it."

The four of them chuckled and went back to their usual business. Astro opened up the panel to his blue core and checked that everything was functioning properly. Once he was satisfied, he turned on his eye-lights to examine the rest of his internal circuiting before going out to do his regular flight over the city. He waved goodbye to his small family and took off, diving down the tall building. He really wanted to check out that hotel that was on the news. He thought it would be something for him to do anyway. The fire in his boots turned to a bright blue as he cascaded through the air, almost breaking the speed of sound itself. He had to slow down once he levelled out to the same height of the buildings, so as to not disturb any robots cleaning the windows or finishing construction sites. Mere seconds had passed before he reached the burnt hotel, and he entered quickly so masses of his fans wouldn't come screaming after him. He pushed aside a fallen beam and ducked under another that was hanging by a thread from the ceiling. The dark grey ash piles drifted silently in the air as his shiny red boots walked by, disturbing small embers that lay on the ground. There were scorch marks everywhere on the walls and floors, and several parts of the plaster had already given way both above and beneath him. It was amazing how anyone could've survived something like this even before they were rescued. He slowly stepped over a stack of fallen bricks and proceeded into another set of corridors, where he found a bunch of investigators doing their thing. Before any of them noticed him, he side-stepped into the room to his left and quietly closed the still-intact door behind him. When he turned around, he was shocked to find that the room he was in was completely untouched by the once-raging flames. It was a small bedroom with a single bed hunched up against the wall, and had a desk and wardrobe standing beside it. The rough carpet was a dark green and the walls were a typical beige colour. A small table-lamp was sitting on the desk and was turned on, lighting up the whole room. Astro looked around and, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, glanced down at something small on the floor. It was a silver-coloured bracelet, from what he saw. But as he bent down and picked it up, it looked more like a watch, except with no actual numbers. It was just a blank screen with several buttons situated next to it. Maybe it had no battery power? He clipped it on his wrist and snuck out of the bedroom; the last thing he wanted was a bunch of detectives asking him what he'd found and why he was there. When he finally came to rest on a nearby skyscraper, he decided to inspect the strange watch closer. He pressed the middle button under the screen, and a hologram of someone suddenly appeared out the top – someone who looked like they meant business.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… Are you saying that you know this 'Astro Boy'?" Electra asked the Director of HQ.

"Well, he has been the talk of Metro City lately," Axis added.

Clyde Godrick, the Director, replied with, "Indeed. You are not alone, Axis. He is a highly advanced super-robot that has been keeping the city safe for the past seven months. He is extremely powerful and is a force to be reckoned with, so I suggest you leave him to us."

"And how do you know that he's even going to find your message, let alone have someone else find it?" protested Electra.

"Oh, he will. In fact, he has it right now."

"WHAT?!"

"It may take some time for him to figure it out, but he will come to us eventually. He just needs encouragement and an example of what this company can do."

Electra and Axis looked at each other and then exited the lecture room once they received dismissal from Godrick. The two of them walked down to the training area and into the gymnasium, grabbing their gear for practice. They stood face to face and held a stance, waiting for one another to make the first move. Electra soon advanced on Axis, lurching forward to deal a heavy blow to the robot's face. He quickly lifted up his arm to block the attack, and in turn he brought up his leg to kick her wherever he could. She jumped in the air and performed a three-hundred and sixty degree spin, keeping one of her legs out to hit him at least somewhere. The robot was knocked back and caught off guard, and he soon found himself being pinned to the floor after receiving many punches to his body.

"You may have rescued over twenty people from a burning building, but you still need major training," she said, standing up and exiting the training room.

Astro stared at the figure in the holographic message with curiosity, and waited patiently for him to begin speaking.

"Greetings, Astro," the message began. "If you are hearing this then listen closely. Right now my identity shall remain hidden, should this be in the hands of the wrong person. I'm sure that you are aware of the many threats surrounding our world, and you may not be able to take all of these on yourself. There are others like you – some human, some robotic, and together they join forces to do what they must to save mankind. So I'm offering you a choice. You'll know when the time comes to make this decision. I greatly look forward to your response."

With that the hologram was sucked back into the wristband, and Astro stared ahead in confusion. Choice? Decision? Others like him? He needed more information. He was going to find whoever that was and get the answers he felt that he deserved.

"O-kaayy…that was weird… This whole idea of others like me sounds interesting though, and I bet that the black and gold creature has something to do with it," he said to himself, standing up and looking down to a clock that was displayed on a nearby building. "Uh oh! Better head home before Dad leaves for work!" He leapt off the roof and hurriedly made his way back to the penthouse. He wanted to at least say goodbye to his Dad before he left for the whole day. Maybe even the whole night. When the balcony was in sight, he quickened his speed until he came to a grinding halt, skidding on the smooth tiles and into the living room. Too late. Dr Tenma had already let the elevator doors close behind him, along with Zoran so she could be upgraded. Orrin was nowhere to be seen so Astro decided to try something else. Knowing that the elevator overlooked the city as it ascended and descended, he took off back outside and circled the building until he came to the elevator chute. He deactivated his rocket boots to begin his fall, and he soon reactivated them to catch up with the super-speedy lift. Once his sister and father were in sight, he made sure that they noticed him before waving goodbye to them.

"See ya later, Astro! Haha!" cried Zoran as she waved to her smiling brother.

Tenma sighed with glee. Ever since he built Astro, life had never been the same, and he enjoyed not having to worry about losing his son again. The two of them watched the young robot fly off into the distance to do what needed to be done. While Astro was beneficial for the future of both the city and Dr Tenma, the scientist still wished he could have his old son back. The blue core had made Toby's personality less rebellious, along with a few different likes and dislikes. When he said to Elefun that fateful night that the blue core would make his robot perfect, he had no idea that "perfect" would be taken quite literally. Astro had possibly the most humanity out of anyone in the world. Zoran had once asked him a question, which was, "Say the most evil person in the world was about to die – would you save him?" Astro replied with a most definite "yes", which was a first for his little sister. She had asked many people the question and all of them had said "no". The super-robot didn't care who it was; he believed that everyone deserves a second chance. He realized that when Hamegg was about to be killed by Zog. He may have done wrong to many robots, but he didn't deserve to die for it. At first Astro thought he was just trying impress Cora and the others to get them back on his good side, but as he saw the aircraft coming in to take him away, he asked himself what his purpose was. At that moment his thoughts were being overrun by images of his father, and it wasn't until long he realized that he could do right for as many people as possible. Dr Tenma soon realized this too after the defeat of the Peacekeeper. The death of his son brought forth the hero that the world needed. Astro Boy made everyone happy and he made sure that they stayed safe, never wanting them to live in fear. Recently Dr Tenma had begun building more robots like Astro: ones with hearts, souls and minds of their own. But this led to many people rising up against AI robots, saying that they were too dangerous and could take over the human race if they got the chance, besides stating the fact that they had no purpose without programming. But of course Astro reassured them, and the riots died down. He smiled as he flew through the city, waving at passing trains and cars. Even if he had no programming and still had the memories of Toby, his purpose was to protect the city no matter what.

I couldn't help writing that last little bit. I just wanted to express Astro and Dr Tenma's thoughts and feelings through the way I saw it, and I think it's beautiful. :')

Astro: Wow, you're actually getting all teary.

Me: Aww, come on. You can't say you didn't like it.

Astro: Ok, ok! I praise you on this!

Me: Yay! *Hugs Astro*

Astro: Release...the…death…grip…please…