Chapter Three

Aurora sat on her firm mattress, gazing at the photo frame she held in her hand. She let out a long, sad sigh. Even thought she'd been rescued by her hero not too long ago, she still suffered the same depression she felt just before that. The picture behind the thin glass consisted of her and her mother and father when she was six. But now, at fourteen, her parents seemed to forget she was even there anymore. She did everything herself as if she was an adult already, but she was barely a teenager. But it didn't matter anymore anyway. She would be gone in a few days, and she'd never have to see her careless parents again. She took one more glance at the photo, closed her eyes as tightly as she could and promptly threw it at the wall, smashing it to pieces. She didn't care how much noise she made. Heck, her "parents" didn't care either. They were always mad whenever they did take any notice of her. She got up and walked over to her window, stepping over the glass shards and not even bothering to look down at them. She opened the window up and rested her arms on the frame. Oh, how she wished she could just sprout wings and fly far away. She felt as if no one cared for her, not even Astro Boy. Not personally, anyway. Sure he may have rescued people, but did he really care how they felt? If he did then did he randomly visit people who were going through hard times and give them some friendly advice? He may as well give them some chocolates and a magical unicorn if he did. She looked behind her and glanced at her Astro Boy-poster-covered walls. A wave of anger surged through her, and she darted over and began stripping them off the walls. With each torn piece, she scrunched them up and tossed them in the bin. She paced hastily around the room, kicking several things on the floor as she did so. She sat on her bed, her face buried in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. She listened to the tick, tick, tick of her dying alarm clock, and for a few brief seconds, it was all she could hear besides her own thoughts rushing through her mind. It was then she heard the police sirens sounding below her window. She slowly lifted her face away from her hands and toward the open window, standing up from her bed and walking over to it. She leaned her head out and looked left and right down the street. The police had only pulled over a speeding driver, and the problem was already dealt with in a matter of minutes. She watched the cops drive off back to the station, and she closed the window back down as she did so. Heaven help me, she thought with a sigh.

Zoran practically pulled her brother out of bed, shouting the usual "get up now" command. She could hardly wait to go to school and see how many new friends she would make. Life at home all the time was super boring. Astro wasn't at all that excited. He was used to school since having the memories of Toby, but he had a feeling that things would be a little different now, considering he'd started this whole superhero gig. He rubbed his face as he got up from the floor and watched Zoran bound out of the bedroom, giggling to herself. He lumbered sleepily over to his wardrobe and picked out something suitable for Metro High, since his shorts and boots wouldn't be appropriate at all. As his eyes scanned the different clothes, he hoped that someone would bring out a new trend soon, since all the usual colours were getting so boring. He chose his usual white t-shirt with the red stripe, and a pair of black trousers with a blue pattern down the side. Shoes were never a problem anymore, since his red boots couldn't come off. He wondered what the students would think of two robots being enrolled to study there. He shook himself of the thought, but he still wondered if there was such a thing as robot racism. He might not get bullied because of it, but Zoran was still vulnerable to mistreatment. She didn't even know what bullying was, so he hoped everyone would like her. After slipping on his outfit for the day, he turned towards the mirror, immediately glancing at his hair. Never again would he have to gel it every morning. Oh well. It was annoying to do it anyway. He ran out into the kitchen where Zoran was already busily packing her bag. Orrin came wheeling over to Astro and handed him Toby's old school bag, still full of all the stationary. He sat down with the bag in his lap, taking out the lunch box that Toby used to eat from. Food. Just another thing Astro wouldn't ever experience again. He sighed and asked Orrin to place it on the table, hoping that his father would deal with it when he came home. Once Zoran finished with her bag, she grabbed her brother's arm and pulled him over to the balcony, ready to jump off just like she saw him do it. He chuckled and leapt off, his sister not far behind. The two of them activated their rockets and shot through the city, heading for Metro High. Astro guessed that it was kind of easy being robots, considering he didn't have to do much to get ready and he could also get there quicker, so long as he didn't have to stop to save someone along the way.

When they finally reached the school, Astro breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he could actually have a peaceful morning. In terms of hero-duty? Of course. Publicity? Not so much. Zoran bounded over to the front doors and opened them wide. They were quite early and not many students had arrived yet, but loads of them still lined the hallways at their lockers. Astro came up beside his sister, wishing he'd brought a hoodie to cover his face so he wouldn't be recognised. Would it be too late to go back and get one? No, surely they'd know me if they saw me with my sister, he thought, trying to look inconspicuous. He slowly walked over to where Toby's locker used to be, remembering how he was often stalked by the bullies that peered from the sides. Zoran followed him, waves of anxiousness beginning to flow through her. Now that she was there, she was actually feeling nervous. She didn't know anyone or the school, for that matter. As soon as someone took notice of them, however, they shouted out Astro's name, and people began buzzing over to them just like bees swarming around a hive. Zoran suddenly didn't like the attention, but Astro was used to this. He got it on the street all the time. Eventually they were able to make it to their lockers after the commotion died down a bit, and Astro was glad there was an empty spot beside his locker so he could keep an eye on his robotic sister. After placing their bags inside, someone came up behind Astro and tried to get his attention. He turned around and immediately recognised the two bulky boys that stood before him.

"Wow, Astro Boy! We're huge fans of yours!" the boy in front said.

"Hey, Michael. Hey, Zack," Astro said rather casually, not bothering to smile. He did cheer up however when he saw the looks upon their faces – the sheer shock of their hero knowing their names was far too amusing for him.

"H-how do you know us?" said Zack, standing a little behind Michael.

Astro resisted the temptation to roll his eyes, knowing that these two had brains the size of peas. "I remember you two from several months ago. Or rather, Toby remembers you."

"Uh, T-toby?" Michael stammered.

"Yeah, the one you two bullied almost all the time?"

The two bullies' eyes widened, remembering that they were speaking to Toby's robot copy. Astro couldn't believe they forgot that he had all of the thirteen year-old's memories, despite being legally fourteen now. He was glad that he could actually defend himself now though, but he had to do it without harming anyone, since not having the freedom of hitting back. Zack and Michael were utterly speechless – Astro wondered whether they'd say something hurtful in their defence or just apologize and walk away. Surely they must've known they'd have no chance against a super-robot. Would he forgive them though? They really hurt Toby when he was still alive, and that hurt was a part of Astro too. Maybe he wouldn't forgive them entirely, but he certainly wasn't going to be mean back. For him, mercy towards his enemies was easy to show, but forgiving bullies of his counterpart he found a lot harder.

"This is awkward…" Zack murmured in his friend's ear. Astro clearly heard it though and did his best to hold back a laugh; having super-hearing was awesome at times.

"We'll, uh… We'll just go," said Michael, shoving his friend down the other end of the hallway.

Zoran burst out laughing once they were out of earshot. That was the funniest thing she'd seen for a while. Astro high-fived her and went back to sorting out their lockers.

"Dang it!" cried Xenon, a loud ping sounding around his room as a cog bounced off the walls. All day he'd been trying to make a tracker-gun in case Axis's "brilliant" plan failed. As he bent down to pick it up, the door behind him opened, making him jump. Clyde didn't wait for an invitation to come in, so he barged straight through to the teenager. Xenon resisted the urge to say, "Hasn't anyone heard of knocking lately?" but he didn't want to disrespect his Director. Or get into trouble, for that matter.

"What are you working on, Xenon?" Godrick asked, eyeing the boy's every move.

"Oh, just a tracker gun, in case my team needs it," Xenon replied, both lying and telling the truth at the same time.

"Hmm, impressive."

"So… What brings you to my five-star acquaintance?"

"You and all your team members are needed in the conference room immediately."

Godrick exited the instant he finished his sentence, and Xenon was left sitting down with a sigh.

Let me guess, another training session rule-change, he thought grumpily. He got out of his chair and left behind his half-completed weapon lying on the table.

When he arrived with the others in their assigned room, he sat down in his designated chair with a huff next to Electra.

"So, what are we all here for, sir?" she asked, trying to hide her lack of enthusiasm.

"I don't like you lot keeping secrets from me. So, what is it you've been planning to do for the past few days?" Godrick demanded.

The team gulped. Someone had obviously been a little careless.

"We, uh…" Axis started. Boy was it hard to lie as a robot.

"W-we're not keeping any secrets! We swear!" Xenon cried.

Electra rolled her eyes, knowing that Xenon was a terrible liar. "Oh, for Pete's sake. We've been coming up with plans to try and confront Astro Boy, so far all of them failing."

"I'm not surprised. You deliberately disobeyed orders when you should have waited for me to give you permission," Clyde replied sternly. Electra's team members threw her looks of why did you just go and tell him?! She didn't care. Godrick knew about almost everything they did, so he would've found out sooner or later anyway. "But anyway, that was only one reason why I brought you all here." The three youngsters each looked at each other in confusion, then looked back at Godrick to see what he had to say. "Astro Boy and his little sister, Zoran, have just been enrolled into Metro High. I'm assigning Electra and Xenon to join the school too, to try a more peaceful approach than just chasing him round the city."

"Hey, why don't I get to go?!" Axis protested, standing up on the spot and slamming his fists on the table.

"Not only do you not look that friendly at all, but you also look like a legitimate robot."

"Don't forget your 'secret identity'," Electra pointed out, sniggering.

Axis moaned and sat down again. Great. Both of his only friends would be gone for most of the five days of the week.

The school bell rang loudly, signalling the end of first period. Astro got up out of his seat and turned his holo-desk off. He grabbed his bag and headed out into the hallway with the rest of the students. He had to find his sister if he didn't want to spend lunchtime sitting by himself, although he'd most likely get crowded with fans. After putting away his bag and retrieving nothing out of his locker, he made his way out into the courtyard to find a suitable spot to sit. He found a secluded bench hidden by some bushes near the back right corner. There he was out of sight from most of the students, and he could get some peace and quiet too. He sat down and rested his head on his arms which lay folded out on the surface. Small flower petals fluttered down and onto the ground from the tall bush above him, and the sunlight beamed beautifully on the spot. His eyes slowly scanned the area he could see from for his sister, but he soon recognised another familiar face. He stood up quite suddenly and took a few paces forward, but before he could get any further to the person, someone jumped on him from behind, followed by several loud giggles. As the girl slid off his back, Astro turned around and the biggest smile formed on his face.

"Cora!" he cried, giving his best friend a hug. "I haven't seen you in ages!"

"I know, right? How long has it been now?" she replied, flicking part of her black fringe back and revealing another pink highlight in her hair.

"I don't know, but it sure is good to see you again. How've you been?"

"I've been doing pretty well. My parents are practically never letting me out of their sight at home, but other than that everything's fine."

Astro chuckled and brushed a petal off his shoulder that had just rested on it. "And how about the others?"

"Everyone from Hamegg's has been sent to a really nice orphanage in the city somewhere, and they even took Trashcan in!"

Astro shuddered as she mentioned Hamegg, but what had happened was in the past, so he didn't have to worry about it. He was glad that the others had been getting on well too, and he couldn't wait to introduce Zoran to them all. And as if on cue, she came bounding right up to them.

"Hey, big bro! Who's this?" she asked.

"Zoran, this is Cora, my best friend. Cora, this is my little sister. She was built a few months after we last saw each other," Astro replied.

"Awesome! It's nice to meet you, Zoran," said Cora, grabbing the female robot's hand and shaking it.

"It's nice to meet you too!" Zoran replied excitedly.

The three of them sat down and tried to think of something else to say.

"How's your role of being 'Protector of the City' going?" asked Cora, opening her lunch box and munching on a sandwich. "I've seen some of your action on the news."

"You have?" Astro asked. Cora nodded in response. "Well, things have been a little tough lately, I guess. But recently I-"

"Astro's been amazing! He totally beat a bad robot to pieces and taught me to fly and everything!" Zoran butted in.

Astro clamped his hand over her mouth and gave Cora and apologetic look. "Forgive my sister, she has a tendency to interrupt."

"It's ok, I had to deal with that a lot back on the Surface," Cora replied.

"You lived on the Surface? What was it like?" Zoran asked. She picked up a nearby stick and began fiddling with it.

"Well, mostly it was covered with trash of all kinds. We had to scavenge for food and old robot parts just to make a living. A lot of that soon changed when we met Astro."

"Who's 'we'?"

"Oh, all of my friends that I lived with, along with Hamegg, the one who looked after us."

"Cora and the others were all orphans back on the Surface," Astro added.

"Whoa, must've been tough," Zoran said, her eyes widening.

Cora nodded and took a yoghurt out of her lunch box.

"Have you made any new friends here?" Astro asked, snatching the stick away from his sister when she prodded him in the eye with it.

"Yeah. Only a couple, though. Two girls and two guys. They should be here to meet up with me any minute. I guess it's fate that you've found our special eating spot."

They all laughed and waited for Cora's friends. In the meantime, they each talked about their lives for the past few months.

About half way through the lunchbreak, four people arrived at the bench and sat down next to Cora.

"Astro, Zoran, this is Jade, Cody, Electra and Xenon."