((A/N: Hey everybody. Sorry it took me so long to finally update. Been busy with college and whatnot. Here's chapter seven for your viewing pleasure! Getting close to the end now people. Glad you've all enjoyed it thus far and I thank you for your kind reviews!))

Chapter Seven: Astro Boy

"….."

"Umm…if all this makes you guy's uncomfortable we can-."

Four pairs of legs all ran past him simultaneously, headed straight for the two vintage pin-ball machines on the other side of his room, pushing one another out of the way when they got to them in a quick bid over who would get to play first. Cora laughed and nudged a fidgety, nervous Astro with her elbow.

"See? I told you! The kids are too little to care how loaded you are, and Zane was pretty much banking on it so he could come over here and rifle through all your rich boy crap and bum money off you for his stupid Magic The Gathering collection!"

Zane looked back over his shoulder, pointer fingers already going a mile a minute on the pin-ball machine, and gave Cora a look. Grace, Widget and Sludge were over in the corner, having already lost interest in the flashing lights and sounds of the machine, head first in an old toy chest of his with their short, tanned, chunky little legs waggling around wildly behind them.

"Magic The Gathering is not stupid! It takes strategy, and planning, and good organizational skills to get really good at it!"

"None of which you have! And besides Zane-you found your first card in a dumpster like two years ago at Hamegg's, and since then you've only ever had enough money in your pocket to buy one starter pack! Who do you know that even plays it anyway?"

Zane turned back to the pin-ball machine.

"Whatever. Fuck you dude. At least I have a hobby."

Astro looked over at Cora who rolled her eyes, and then went over to her seat in front of his computer where they'd been sitting together for all of about forty-five minutes before Zane and the other kids had arrived, watching online videos and discussing their musical interests. It really hadn't been how he'd planned to spend the beginning of this day at all. In his room where everyone could visibly see how full the Tenma family coffers were. He had originally just wanted to have everyone sit around in the living room in front of the flat screen T.V to watch some movie's and eat a few slices of pizza. Unfortunately however…that dream flew out the window when his father had decided he was going to start the day off by saying creepily suggestive things to Cora almost as soon as she'd walked in the door. It had been cryptic enough that she hadn't understood exactly what it was he was trying to say, but still! Why couldn't he act like a normal parent? A parent who went to work, came home, and totally ignored his son when he had company over for fear of having the sudden knowledge of how old he was creep up on him?

"You gonna show me that Eraser Head video or not?"

"Yeah sure. Pull up YouTube. I'm gonna warn you though…it's pretty gross. You might wanna make sure you're done with your pizza and punch before I start the video."

Cora stuffed the remains of her pizza in her mouth, and fumbled around for the mouse. Astro laughed, walking the remaining few steps over, and sat down next to her in front of his little steel desk in one of the glossy, cherry wood dining chairs he'd brought up from the kitchen for an extra seat. Cora's eyes were bulging comically, and tearing up from the effort of trying to chew more food than her mouth could hold. It was a wonder she was actually able to type the web address in correctly.

"Shwash shthe shname of it?"

"Swallow! You look like one of those weird goggle eyed fish things we saw on that 'Freakiest Sea Creatures' documentary on Metacafe!"

Cora gave him a sassy look, making her eyes to bug out even more and Astro regretted instantly having pushed her into swallowing the wad of saliva coated pizza dough mashed in between her cheeks. The slow, moist, squelching noise it made when she did as he asked made him very very glad he didn't have a stomach or respond with any of the customary human responses one usually had when presented with the sounds of food sliding down someone's esophogaous. No more experimenting with the ultra-sensitive hearing. The ultra-sensitive sense of smell either for that matter. It seemed like every time he tried using it somebody always knew and broke wind right next to him. Ugh.

"There. Better?"

Astro nodded, and pulled over the keyboard and typed in the name of the video. 'Eraser Head: Monster Baby Death Scene.'*

Cora scooted up closer to the desk and bumped him with her elbow, blowing a strand of pink hair out from between her eyes. "So what's so gross about this Eraser Head thing?"

Insert blush. Oh wait..no blood. Just water circulating through him occasionally to keep him from over-heating. "Um…you'll see. Just watch when I press play."

"I just ate though. And you said it made your dad and that old fat guy throw up."

Astro clicked the little square play button on the video and turned to frown at her, his bottom lip stuck out childishly. "Chubby. Not fat. And YOU were the one that said you had 'guts of steel' remember?"

"Yeah-but if it's that bad I don't wanna risk blowing chunks all over everything. And don't look at me like that! You look like Zane that time he dropped that whole bag of Tootsie-pop's he'd spent his wages on in the toilet."

"Don't call Dr. Elefun fat! He's been with me and my dad since I was a baby."

"Okay, okay, Mr. Sensitive! I'll be sure to use your word for it next time. Now tell me about the video!"

"Just watch and see. I figured since you didn't throw up and start convulsing when I Rick Rolled you, you could handle this."

Astro smiled. Cora smiled back, and they both turned back toward the computer screen where four minutes and two seconds of black and white weirdness was playing out in front of them.

In the background, Zane's fingers were still tapping away on the sides of the pinball machine, and the twins were fighting over an old 'Bop It' they'd found in the toy chest whose batteries you could tell were fading due to the slow, crackling sounds it made each time they pulled, pressed and twisted any of its buttons and nobs. Grace, picked up another slice of pizza out of the box resting a top the end table next to Astro's bed, and wandered over to see what it was he and Cora were watching on the computer screen that had the normally very composed robotic teenager trying to shove a tiny plastic trash can between her best friend and the desk top.

"In there! Do it in there! Anywhere but my computer!"

Grace's jaw dropped and the greasy slice of sausage and pepperoni pizza slipped out her hand. What was it? What the hell was it? Why was its neck stretched out like that? Why was it throwing up on the wall? Who's that man standing away from it with the weird hair?

Cora let go in the trash can. Never had she seen anything so weird, and odd..and just plain disgusting in her entire life. If Astro had actually sat and watched this movie all the way through..even after this part…then he obviously had monumentally bad taste in movies. Good god!

Astro sat and waited for her to finish after clicking off the video. He felt horrible. He hadn't actually thought that she would throw up. Nor had he anticipated Grace wandering over and seeing. She was standing stock stick behind Cora with the pizza she'd had in her hand slopped over the little black mary-janes she'd gotten from the orphanage she and the others stayed at, the sauce oozing it's way on down into her baggy dress socks. The outfit didn't suit her personality at all. Nor did the look of utter shock and bewilderment on her face. Then again…it was Eraser Head. Everyone looked like that after watching it. Even when it was just a four minute long segment.

Zane's large, tanned ear's, picked up the sound of bile hitting plastic and looked over as well.

"Dude!"

The twins stopped arguing and looked up from their spot next to the toy chest, and their expressions changed to mimic the rest of the group's.

Cora stopped puking a second later and looked up from the bucket, glaring at him, with a trail of orangeish-green colored spittle hanging from her top lip. A sour smell rose up out of the can and wafted over in Astro's direction. He tried his hardest to not scrunch up his face at it and keep up his apologetic look.

"Cora…I'm really….REALLY..REALLY sorry!"

She sat the can down on the floor between them, and looked back up at him. Her face had turned chalky white and, tiny little beads of perspiration were beginning to show up on her forehead. A few strands of pink hair cascaded down to cling to them haphazardly. Why oh why had he thought showing that video would be a good idea? She looked so bad! He stood up immediately and offered her his hand.

"Let me get you some napkins and something to rinse the taste out with! Come on! I'll take you to the bathroom and get Nora to-!"

"Astro?"

"Yeah? Just name it! I'll get you anything!"

Cora grinned.

"Have you seen the 'Two Girl's One Cup' video yet?"

Tenma and Elefun

"Do you think he'll ever come back for me Colum?"

"Yes, Katie Scarlett…but when he does, you must be generous to him, for he will be battle sore."

"Master Tenma? A Doctor Pakadermis J. Elefun in to see you…"

"Yes Nora. Open the door and let him in."

The sputtering, airy sound of Nora's hover jets blowing across the floor sent the hairs on the arms of Dr. Tenma prickling upward, and without thinking, his thumb flew instantly to the volume button on the remote to the T.V. He'd been sitting in his office watching mediocre period dramas ever since that lanky tan boy and the little ones had arrived, waiting for Elefun to show up. He had something of a serious nature he needed to discuss with him while Astro was busy entertaining.

"But when, Colum?"

"That, I cannot tell you. I know this though. It is he that must do the seeking, you can't do it for him."*

The office door creaked open, and Elefun stepped in, tucking his old, grey fedora under his arm and flashing his moody colleague a smile. Tenma smiled back, flicked off the television, and made a sweeping motion with his arm toward Nora. Letting her know she could leave.

Elefun waited until he heard the door snap shut behind him before walking over and settling himself into the red burgundy leather arm chair in front of Tenma's desk. He looked around, the left corner of his mouth dropping a bit and asked, "What's going on with the house? It looks so empty. I thought at least your office would be different."

Tenma sighed and settled back into his desk chair, looking up momentarily into the tiny crystals hanging from the chandelier above him.

"Astro spent all of last week hiding away our luxuries in the attic to keep his friends from thinking he's spoiled little nancy boy."

"But he is, isn't he? In some ways I mean. Due to you."

"Oh yes. He collapses on the floor, cries, and kicks his feet like a two year old when something doesn't go just the way he wants or needs it to. You're also right about it being my fault he has that problem."

Giggling, and the sounds of several pairs of feet could be heard outside, running down the stairs all at the same time. Astro's door, down the hall, closed almost as soon as the last foot step could be heard slapping against the marble flooring in the living room. Tenma prayed silently to himself that the next time he looked at his antique, oak, coffee table there wouldn't be any water rings on it.

Folding his hands together and resting them atop his large, tweed and brass button covered belly, Elefun wriggled his nose in an effort to get rid of an itch in his left nostril.

"Well…bad parenting, personality defects and all that aside…what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Astro's blue prints."

Dr. Elefun's normally small, round, lilting eyes, grew to the size of saucers and a million thoughts began to race to race through his mind. Toby's blue prints? Had he lost them? No. Never. Not in a million years. All during the time it took to build him, Tenma had been so paranoid about forgetting where he'd locked them up that he'd walked around the first four months mumbling the safe combination and location to himself under his breath over and over again, clamming up when anyone came near enough to hear him. No…he could never lose them. Not him. So what was it?

"Tenma..Tenma don't tell me the President and his secretary have made demands on you for them!"

Tenma waved his hand and shook his head, rocking in his chair a bit to get the restlessness out of his legs.

"No, no, Elefun..it's nothing like that. President Logan still only wants the same thing he asked us for before. For Astro to stand next to him as an inspirational piece when he gives his speech next week."

"Well then what is it? You scared the hell out of me just now! You almost never bring up his blue prints unless it's to do with some structural change you plan to make! Good lord! I thought we were going to have to go old school and bust out our pistols on somebody!"

"Nothing quite that serious Fat Man. But when it is…I'll make sure you've got all the bullets you need for that Colt Revolver you keep strapped to your ankle."

Elefun leaned over slightly in his chair, knuckles turning white from squeezing the arms so hard. People his age typically began to get that pins and needles feeling in their fingertips creeping up on them about now. He felt it, and ignored it. There would be time to for him to feel how old he was later. Tenma was opening up one his desk drawers…slowly pulling out what appeared to be a manila folder, full to bursting with various different color pieces of paper.

"I want to give you a copy Pakadermis."

"Of the-?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

The manila folder, pinned closed on both sides with large safety-pins, and paperclips, slid across the desk and into Dr. Elefun's waiting, outstretched palms.

"President Logan's speech is next week."

"Yes. And?"

"I'm worried that things…aren't going to go well. Every time I turn on the television to catch up on the news I see Emily Neile's face plastered all over everything. Her name is the only name the media seems to know."

Confusion flashed across Elefun's face, as he looked back and forth between the pages in the manila folder, and the little crease between Tenma's eyebrows. Why was the Secretary of State being mentioned in the news such a bad thing? From what he'd read in the paper, she'd been doing a lot of good in the city. She'd shaken down all those orphanages using children as cheap labor. And she'd stopped all the Robot scrapping facilities from destroying still able-bodied machines, making it possible for construction sites to get more of the labor force they needed. Good people who did good things deserved to be for their good deeds. At least by his thinking anyway. And if Astro stood up on the stage next to the President the following Monday and the crowd decided they wanted to give him a five hour standing ovation, what would be wrong with that? He'd done a good deed. A very good deed.

"And that's bad because….?"

Tenma folded his arms over the desk and rested his chin on top, eyes closed.

"It's bad because it doesn't tell me anything about the man I'm going to be dealing with over the course of the next few years. Nothing except that he's most likely too incompetent to really take care of business."

"He didn't seem incompetent during the election. He gave some good speeches and had a lot of really good ideas."

"Good idea's he has yet to act on, Pakadermis. And I don't know if you've ever gone back and looked at any of the footage of his speeches on the net, but half the time he said anything that trumped Stone's response's it was mostly due to Emily looking over his shoulder and scaring the man half to death with those sharp blue eyes of hers."

Elefun frowned, and stuck the manila folder in the wedge of space between his thigh and the arm of the chair.

"Alright…so say President Logan is just ignorant boob who came into politics with a hobo pack and a pocket full of dreams..what does that have to do with Astro? How is he in any danger?"

"I don't know that he's really in any danger Elefun..I'm just taking precautions. Right now, it pretty much looks like the Secretary of State is running things. And she's doing a bang up job. Getting things done. Not pussy footing around like I suspect Logan was the first the month after the inauguration. And on top of that, when she came here, and met Tobio for the first time..she didn't act at all like I'd expected her to given her profession."

"Which was?"

"Like how I imagine the public will respond when they find out about his origins. She didn't look at him like he was just some super-powered puppet. A copy of a pre-teen boy who died almost two years ago. Made me feel less..less like I'd done wrong in creating him. Less like I'd committed a sin against god."

"So what you're saying is, you're afraid that come time for the President to re-resume his regime, he won't be up to the task of making sure the public continues to see Astro for what he is? Despite his being a robot? And despite whatever his original -ahem- purpose may have been?"

Elefun jumped slightly in his seat when Tenma's glassy dark eyes fluttered open. He would never get used to this man and his mood swings. His lip curled up and the corners of his mouth angled downward in what had to be the most pronounced frown he'd ever given. And that was saying something. Umataro Tenma was not what you'd call the jolly sort. He almost never smiled. Unless, of course, it had something to with a witty remark he'd just made or some new invention he'd just come up with.

"Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. And that's why I'm giving you a copy of his blue prints."

He was sitting up ramrod straight in his chair now, eyebrows knitted together.

"If he was worried before that he'd have to choose between his childhood and being a super hero..he'll be doubly worried next Monday. People will cheer and thank him, but only so long as they don't know he has any other function beyond that."

"You can't say that for all the people in Metro City, Tenma. Not everyone is as against robots with Astro's vast range of emotional capabilities as you think. Look at his friends for instance! They're all hold up in there together playing video games and doing the 'YouTube'! Talking to him just the same as if he were any other boy!"

"Just the same, all exceptions aside, I want you to take those blue prints home and study them. Study hard. Memorize them. And once you've done that, burn them! I want there to be someone around other than myself that can make repairs to him should anything happen."

Elefun sighed and nodded.

"Alright. Not a problem. But I think you're being just a bit paranoid about all this. There's no definitive proof the President is as ignorant as all that just because he's not in the news! For all we know the stress of everything might've made him sick or something.."

"Just go home and get to studying the prints, Fat Man. I'm doing what I've got to do to protect my son."

"If you really want to do something to protect him then why don't you stop walking around the house nude in the mornings? And telling him all those horror stories about the seedy clubs you used to visit before you met his mother!"

"Because I want him to be as well rounded as his old man when I age-mod him on his sixteenth birthday. You are DISMISSED Pakadermis!"

Emily and Robert Logan

"Emily..this is a lot more than I remember saying to give them."

"I know that…but don't you think he deserves it? After all he's done? The lives he's saved?"

"I agree with you on that score, but he's a robot!"

"And? What difference does that make?"

Robert Logan let his eyes skim over the papers in lap again. For the umpteenth time since Emily had walked in and showed them to him. He'd been at home for the past few weeks recuperating from the nervous breakdown he had had. After the inauguration he'd been filled more hope and optimism than a Lisa Frank full color poster board. But when he'd looked out his window and seen the flood of Outland refugee's coming in..doubling..then tripling the weight of the city and keeping it from being able to rise to its original position in the sky…his enthusiasm began to seriously weighn. The power plant that had once supported Metro City only had enough power to support the population of people that had already been living there. It was one of the principle reasons so many of them were now living in tents and doing their laundry in public fountains.

"It makes a big difference Emily! What's a robot going to do with a hundred and fifty thousand dollars? Where did you even get it to give to him in the first place?"

Emily stuck her arm out, pressed her hand to his chest, and pushed him back onto the pile of red, satin, downy pillows behind him. He attempted to sit back up, but after receiving a good frosting from Emily, his back returned to its perspective place.

"First, it wasn't Astro I gave the extra money to, Rob. It was his father."

"Why? He had more than enough in his bank account already. We gave that back didn't we?"

"Well sure, but if you want the best you've got to pay for it Rob. And Tenma's the best. Stone knew it and paid him accordingly. Don't you think we ought to follow suit?"

"Not if it means bleeding the whole treasury dry.."

"We're not in the red yet. Relax. Repairs are going good. The mall is up and running now along with all the grocery stores and hospitals."

"That's good."

"And I took care of that child labor issue in the orphanages too."

"Also good. What about all the refugee's? Are they still..?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Damn."

Emily reached down and adjusted the pull strings on the hood of her emerald green jogging suit, the only thing she had time to put on in the morning. Rob had been laid up on the futon in his den for about three weeks now, give or take. His personal physician had recommended, due to his severely beleaguered and over stressed state, that he be put in the quietest, most relaxing room in the house to just rest and take a load off. There was a humidifier on the end table next to him, pumping out water vapor to make it easier for him to breathe, and vanilla scented candles added by his wife to help keep the air from getting too stale.

One would imagine that the President of all people would be living in the most luxurious, well decorated penthouse in town…but no. Rob was the complete polar opposite of his predecessor, Stone. His home was as modest as you could possibly get. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, family room, kitchen and living room, all decorated in his and his wife's personal style. White cabinets in the kitchen.. with little blue forget-me-not's painted on the handles and soft, plush, yellow plaid couches in the living room, off-set nicely by

Beige carpeting. It was cozy and warm. Perfect for a relatively young married couple with two little ones running around.

"What're we going to do about them all, Emily?"

She took a moment to run her tongue over her chapped, peach-pink lips, and peered back up at him through her lashes. It always came back to that. 'What are we going to do about the Refugee's?' Privately, at times, Emily wished she could just take the reins and tell him exactly what it was needed to be done and do it. Without him asking 'What about this?' and 'What about that?'. The issue of what to do about the people from the Outlands was simple for her..and being a man of means and a good education and years of experience in politics, it should've been simple for him too.

"We let them stay. Force the landlords slamming the doors in their faces to rent to them."

Robert's eyes took on a feverish sort of look.

"Emily—we can't just- !"

"Yes we can!"

"We need Metro City to get back to the way it was! The way it's supposed to be! And we can't do it with all the extra weight! Unless we build another power plant, and even then there's the issue of over-crowding and how much we have left in our budget!"

Emily's hand stretched out once again and placed itself on Rob's chest to push him back onto his pile of feather downy pillows. He was starting to look clammy and the sick look in his eyes made her wonder if he'd been sleeping well. The last thing she needed was for him to have another nervous breakdown and not being able to come back into office next week. She'd never in her whole entire life been as exhausted as she was right then. Four hours of rest, for a person who normally got the recommended eight to nine, was just not enough. And it showed in her voice when she spoke to him next.

"You're right Rob. We don't have the money to build another power plant. But we DO have just enough left to build a few more houses and apartment complexes. JUST ENOUGH to fix up some of the old derelict buildings in the historic district and convert them into shelter's."

" But Emily, what about-?"

"The people already living here before they came in? They'll get over it! It's like I told you weeks ago Rob! Nobody cares about getting Metro City back into its place in the sky! And no one gives a damn about the people from the Outland's moving in either! At least the people with sense don't—and right now you're acting like you haven't got a lick of it!"

Robert Logan stared at his Secretary of State, for a moment, as though he'd never seen her before. Her hair, usually held back in a tight French bun, was hastily piled on top of her head with an assortment of pins and clips, a few scraggly blonde tendrils hanging down over her forehead and down the back of her neck. The sour expression on her face and the dark circles under her sharp eyes made him swallow instantly the words of reprobation he had been about to throw at her. He turned his head and sank down farther into his pillows.

"You're right…we'll..just.."

"What Rob?"

"Just do as you see fit."

He heard her sigh, heavily, as though a weight had been taken off her shoulders, and then turned his head back when he heard her chair slide back. She was standing up, brushing off her jump suit and shrugging her pocket book, filled with file folders, over her shoulder. He looked down at his hands, and at the now paperless quilt draped over his knees. Never in his entire life had he felt so inferior. So…'un-presidential'. Emily looked it though. Dirty green jogging suit and all. And here he was. Propped up on feather pillows with eiderdown silk covers in his house coat and striped pajama's.

"Thank you Rob. I'll be back tomorrow to give you a report on how things are going. Good night."

"Night Emily. And good luck."

Astro, Cora, and Zane

Astro opened the door and Grace, Widget, and Sludge all ran pell-mell out onto the porch, their arms full of all the toys he'd let them have out of his old toy chest. The van to take them, and Zane, back to St. Elmo's had just pulled up in front of the house. The woman in the driver's seat was hunched over the steering wheel, drumming her fingers on the dashboard impatiently. Waiting for Cora to finish reminding Zane about his promise to take care of the little ones in her absence.

"Don't let Grace kill herself on that sit-n-bounce. And make sure Sludge doesn't stick any o' those green plastic army men up his nose. You know how he can get when he's bored."

"Yeah, yeah..I know. And don't let Widget and Sludge fight one another over the speak-n-spell either. I got it, Cora."

Zane's St. Elmo uniform was covered in marinara sauce stains, and his shoes were scuffed up beyond belief from running up and down the stairs when they'd played Nerf tag. He still had at least six of the darts tangled up in his hair. And Cora, who'd been complaining about the condition of her clothes from the beginning, looked even worse. She'd ended up getting a giant rip on the back of her hunter green sweater when she'd slid down the banister to try and get him in the back of the head with a couple of the darts. And her teeth and tongue had turned an odd sort of purplish color from all the blue-raspberry lemonade Hawaiian punch she'd drank. Not to mention the ever more prominent holes in the knees of her jeans from continuously picking at the loose threads in an attempt to make herself look less ragged. Personally, Astro thought it fit well. What with the kind of music she liked to listen to. Punks wear raggedy jeans with holes don't they? Yeah. And metal fans too. Which one of them did she say likes to do the hardcore dancing thing at concerts?

Minus the obscenely disgusting viral video's he'd been forced to watch as a revenge for the 'Monster Baby Death Scene' one he'd showed, today had been fun. A lot of fun. The only time his dad had come out of his office and said anything to him had been when Dr. Elefun had left, and he thanked the lord it hadn't been like what he'd said earlier. He'd only wanted for him to make sure they didn't knock over any of the little ivory elephant figurines on the mantle or leave water rings on the coffee table.

Astro stuck his fist out for Zane to give a quick pound, and then, after Cora gave him a hug, and another reminder about calling her, he stepped off the porch with the little ones behind him. All waving and dropping and re-picking up their new toys at the same time. When he lost sight of the vans break lights, he closed the door, sighed, and grinned over his shoulder at Cora. What a day it had been. What a day.

Cora tugged at the front of the t-shirt he'd lent her in place of her now shredded sweater, and looked up at him through her lashes, eyebrows furrowed in irritation at the continuous creeping up over her belly button it was doing.

"You look happy."

"I am! Today was awesome!"

Cora settled with just folding her arms low over her abdomen, held her head up all the way, and smiled back.

"Yeah. It was. 'Cept for that nasty ass video you showed me."

Astro rolled his eyes, and turned around to lean against the door, still grinning for all he was worth. It was the first time in his entire life he'd ever been able to have friends over and he'd had a blast. His blue core was rattling like loose change in chest. And there was a constant barrage of beeps and warnings flashing in front of his eyes about the amount of strain he was putting on the artificial muscles in his face from all the smiling. How could he not smile right now? How could he NOT? He'd gotten to run around the house shooting Nerf darts! Play video games with other people! And even though he hadn't been able to actually eat any of the pizza, the flavoring he'd gotten to suck off the pieces of pepperoni and sausage had been enough to alleviate that weird 'Where's my stomach feeling?' inside him.

"Oh c'mon! My video wasn't anywhere near as gross as yours! Ugh. Chicks throwing up and—and I don't even wanna say the rest!"

"It may not have been quite as bad, but it was still disgusting! That thing had some kind of thick goop coming out of it when the guy stabbed it!"

He flashed his teeth at her. "Oh..so that's why you threw up. The thick goopy stuff coming out of it reminded you of the pizza sauce."

"Shut up!"

Astro laughed and ran off into the living room, the sound of his bare feet slapping on the marble floor echoing throughout the house. He needed to remind himself later to start putting the moved furniture and stuff back as soon as possible. Echo's sounded ridiculously loud to him. It was a good thing he'd taken off his boots when he had.

He flopped over onto the couch and let out sigh. Cora came in and sat down on the floor next to him, arms still folded up over her stomach. If only Astro'd had a bigger shirt. Then she wouldn't have to worry about her mom looking at her funny when she got home..or when she came to pick her up. Whichever.

"So..you've got regular feet now?"

"Yeah."

"Feet and no stomach?"

"There's a lot of stuff involved with having a stomach that would be really complicated to try and translate into robotics."

"Like what?"

"You really want me to go into to all that?"

"I did say before that I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask."

Astro propped his head up on his arms. He had a couple of questions he wanted to ask too. He wanted her opinion about something he'd been thinking about for a while.

"Okay..but when do you have to go home?"

"I could spend the night if it's cool with your dad?.."

Spend the night? That would be cool. They could play take turns playing pin ball, and Pac Man. Maybe some Mario Party. At least until she got tired and wanted to sleep. Then again..all the airy shuffling back and forth coming from inside his dads office was making him think twice. What if he was in one of his moods? Angry, depressed or otherwise? He chewed his lip for a minute or two, and then responded.

"It'd be nice if you could stay, but sometimes dad gets weird."

Cora blinked and tilted her head to the side, starting to tug down at the front of the t-shirt again, a bit of a confused look on her face.

"He was a little odd earlier now you mention it. Was he making fun of me or something?"

"No…he just..likes to make up his own allegories for stuff."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Hm…well, do you think he'd mind giving me a ride in a couple more hours if my mom's busy?"

"He wouldn't mind. Although.."

"Although what?"

"I could try flying you home later if you want."

"No way in hell dude."

Astro laughed, and rolled over onto his side. He could hear the gears turning and ticking off the seconds inside the grandfather clock on the other side of the room. It was almost seven o' clock. Ten probably wouldn't be too late to ask for a ride for Cora. And they'd have three hours to get all their questions out on the table.

"Alright then. You go first. I'll ask my dad about driving you around ten."

"Sweet! So! First question. What's your hair made out of ? You didn't have it before. Just that weird rubbery lookin' stuff."

"Weird rubbery lookin' stuff? It was actually made out of carbon before..not rubber."

"What about now?"

"It's…not made out of anything. It's human hair my dad had Dr. Elefun buy from somewhere."

"So you're wearing somebody else's hair? That's creepy. What would you do if you ever met the person?"

"I dunno..but..I have kind of a serious question I wanna ask you."

Cora leaned forward over her lap, head sinking between her shoulders a bit. Her eyes looked bigger than normal, and the blue-ish, purplish tint on her lips from the punch she'd drunk made her look a tad creepy in the light coming from the chandelier, contrasting with pinks and oranges from the sunset outside.

"What's up?"

"You and Zane asked me earlier what it was I'd been up to over the last couple of weeks..and months. And I told you about the President and his Secretary wanting me to be up on the podium when he gives his speech."

"Yeah?"

"Hypothetically speaking..if they wanted me to start..you know..catching criminals and stuff..what should my superhero name be?"

Cora's face screwed up and she leaned back and propped herself up on her palms.

"A superhero name? You thinking about fighting crime all of a sudden? I didn't think that after everything that happened you'd-."

"I'm not. I just wanna know what you think people would call me if I was a superhero."

"Astro..you already are a hero."

"I know, but I'd still like to know. What if it ends up being something dumb? Cheesy? If they put me in the paper next week I'd really like for the name they put down to be something cool sounding."

"What's wrong with the name you were born with?"

"Tobias Troubadour-Alexander Tenma?"

"Your real name is Tobias?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"Uh huh."

"Oh…well then just tell em' to call you Astro. Astro Boy."

"Astro Boy?"

"Yeah. Your name is Astro and you're a boy. Simple and to the point."

"Hm. Thanks Cora."

"No problem."

Cora hopped up off the floor and made a motion for him to sit up so she'd have room to sit down next to him.

"Now I have a question for you. Do you dream?"

((A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed that. Sorry it took me so long to get it to you. This chapter is a lot less descriptive than my previous chapter's which upsets me. I feel like I was getting really good at that. Thanks for all your reviews by the way. They keep me typing. lol Look forward to Chapter Eight just as soon as I can get some good reference material!))

*The little bit of dialogue I used when Tenma was watching T.V before Elefun came in is a piece from "Scarlett: The Sequel To Gone With The Wind" by Alexandra Ripley. All credit goes to her and Margaret Mitchell. I do not own any of the character's or make money off this story.