Metal Heart:

Part 3.

Why?

CHAPTER:

"They freaking pushed me into a hole, but after that little fiasco, they mistook me for a kid, and I kind of went along with it."

"You are a kid," The Doctor insisted as he looked through the parts Astro found, while the boy went through his day.

"You know what I mean," Astro smiled as the Doctor examined the compression coil.

"Good condition," he muttered then spoke more clearly. "It's good to hang out with kids your own age."

"I'm only three days old," Astro grinned.

"Make me feel ancient, why don't ya."

"How old are you?" Astro couldn't resist asking.

"Oh I haven't the foggiest, somewhere around 100000?"

Astro laughed, "No seriously."

"Oh I'm serious," The Doctor looked at him with nothing but honesty in his eyes.

Astro just stared at him a moment, "Wow... your people must live a long time "

"We do, but we also have our ways of cheating death."

"What do you mean?"

"When our bodies get too old, or we die unexpectedly, our bodies regenerate. Or at least, they used to. We got a new face, with a brand new personality to match, but we're still the same person. Same memories, same soul, just wrapped up different.

"However, the science behind it improved, Into a type of Healing Factor. It's limited by how much regeneration energy we have, which takes an hour to replenish. Much like Magical Energy, but separate."

The Regeneration energy could also be used, to send their conciousness back in time. Even temporarily freeze time. As well as teleport short distances. Finally, they could open ports directly into the Time Vortex, as a vaporizing gravity well.

The Time Lords, Mark 2, were designed for War of Paradoxes. No point explaining any of that. The boy couldn't understand it, anyway.

So the Doctor continued, "And no, neither was natural. Some scientists cooked them up.

"I've been around a long time... too long. Been traveling... looking for home... but now I'm done. I'm going to spend the rest of eternity tinkering in a shop. That's a good idea a shop. Amy never could picture me in a shop... the perfect place to start over."

"100000 years...'" Astro back tracked, logging away the seemingly random comments inside the explanation. "and you claim your species has the potential to live indefinitely. How does an entire species sustain itself when no one can die?"

The Doctor smiled, "Good question." he acknowledged but didn't elaborate. Astro deduced that meant the Doctor was a very talented liar. Whether he was lying about his age or the entire story of 'regeneration' he couldn't tell, both seemed completely honest and mystifying.

"Did you get regenerated into a baby?"

"Another good question. Yes it's possible, but I never did, was a kid once, back when I was calling myself 'Merlin'. You wouldn't recognize that name of course. Which is the only reason I'm willing to speak it.

"Regeneration isn't very reliable. You could wind up in diapers, or in your thousands with a tail or pointed ears or no ears at all. I knew a guy who regenerated without a head once, died instantly but managed to regenerate again on instinct."

"Here," The Doctor left his parts to go to a screen on the control panel. He clicked a few buttons and pulled up a file labeled 'Stupid Cheating Death Nonsense'. "This should satisfy your curiosity."

Astro went over to the screen, as the Doctor returned to his parts. The young robot couldn't believe how detailed it was, perfectly explaining the science behind it, and even providing well balanced equations, but it seems it could only be done for organic lifeforms. "You know, if you showed this stuff to other species, you could save billions of lives... I imagine there's some rule against that though."

"There is, but it's not like there's anyone left to enforce it," The Doctor revealed far more then he intended with that statement. He probably wasn't used to dealing with people who could compete with him on an intellectual level. It became clear what he said in his rant about 'looking for home'. Was his species near extinction? Did they lose whatever war the Doctor fought in? Had he been looking for survivors and had now lost hope of finding them?

Whatever the answer it didn't seem right to ask the Doctor about it, "People aren't meant to live more then one life little Astro. Some creatures are meant to live thousands of years, others not even one, but they should all only have one lifetime to cherish. My people were arrogant and believed themselves above the laws of nature."

Astro didn't miss the 'themselves' comment instead of 'ourselves'. As if the Doctor didn't truly count himself among his people.

Astro observed, "Guess you wouldn't have done it if you had a choice."

"Oh no I would have jumped at the chance. It's only with age we recognize the gravity of our mistakes" the Doctor smiled then sighed. "Too bad you didn't stumble on a kinetic stabilizer."

Astro blushed, that was one of the parts he traded... for about a dozen worthless dead batteries. The Doctor took one of those batteries and poured the acid into a bowl, before breaking another and doing the same.

Catching Astro's look of bewilderment, the Doctor smiled, "I can... basically rejuvenate the chemicals and even improve the mixture. Make a brand new type of battery to last a few centuries or so."

"I can find more," Astro volunteered.

"I have more then enough, though thank you for the offer," The Doctor smiled.

"Who's this?" Astro blinked when something bumped his leg.

It was junk, very old junk, probably the only reason it hadn't been salvaged was because it was junk. It was an old Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class droid. Hundreds of years ago, before Metro City was risen into the air, these things were commissioned by the President in an effort to clean up the surface. Unfortunately none of the presidents after her cared, and let them fall apart.

They chose, instead, to just live above the surface. In an air filtering, floating, city. But left most of the world's population down below. They did eventually get around to making more floating cities, each with their own Autopilot, but only the rich could afford the apartments.

"Oh that... I figured I could salvage some, so it's parts. It's got some nice solar panels, a bit beat up but I should be able to fix them."

"Oh," Astro studied it for a bit before opening it's hard drive, for no other reason then he wanted to make sure it really was scrap. He took the hard drive out and did a scan of it. "Doctor it's... he's still alive."

"What? Astro the circuitry is beyond repair. The only thing salvageable is the solar panels."

"Look!" Astro held up the hard drive "It's completely intact. The program hasn't degraded at all!"

"Astro," The Doctor sighed.

"We need to help him!"

"Help him?" the word tasting foul on his tongue.

"There's another one!" Astro gaped opening the droid's waste compactor, and finding a very small cleaning droid inside, a much newer model to. "This guy just has a few busted circuits. That's easy to repair!"

The Doctor blinked, as the robot boy picked up a small cleaning droid. Astro held up the droid for the Doctor to see. "You're going to help them right!?"

The Doctor's first impulse was to say 'no', but looking at the pleading eyes of the boy he caved "Sure." He never could stand the sight of children crying.

The boy sighed with relief. "Are we going to help the others in the junk yard?"

"No!" The Doctor put his foot down, momentarily forgetting he was speaking to a child. His bitterness had a habit of clouding all else around him.

"It's never enough for you people is it?" The Doctor snapped. "I decide to do one decent thing and the next thing I know, I'm expected to solve all your world's problems. Don't see why I ever bother when something new will just try to end your tiny little planets next week."

Astro's mouth hung open and the Doctor visibly flinched, seeing it.

The old man with the young face sighed, and tried to explain himself. "I've devoted my whole life to helping people, and all I got in return was watching everyone I love die... I'm done little robot, don't ask me again." The boy turned his eyes at the little cleaning droid, worried to ask. "I'll still fix them just don't go thinking I intend to make a habit of it."

"Yes sir."

The Doctor visibly flinched again, but quickly moved on, changing the topic. "You should try finding those kids tomorrow, be nice to have someone to talk to other then a gruff old man. For now it's off to bed. Go on shoo, straight ahead and open the first door you see."

Astro wasn't about to question why the alien was going to let him stay but, "I could use a shower."

"Same instructions, you'll find everything you need." The Doctor assured.

"There's a bathroom connected to your guest room?"

"Oh little robot you're thinking in such three dimensional terms. The TARDIS will show you what you want when you want it. She's cool like that."

"TARDIS?"

"Well saying 'Time And Relative Dimension In Space' all the time can be a bit of a mouthful."

"Time?" Astro got the 'Relative Dimension', what with it being bigger on the inside but 'Time'.

"I have no intention of using that little feature anytime soon. I'm quite happy when I am now." the Doctor undoubtedly thought he was being clever and sneaky with his use of 'when' instead of 'where', counting on the fact most people would assume it was a slip of the tongue, but that made the gears in Astro's brain instantly click.

"This is a TIME MACHINE!" Astro gaped.

The Doctor smiled widely, "Go on, off to bed."

In a daze from clear culture shock, Astro stumbled his way out of the room, and deeper into the TARDIS. He recovered quickly and opened up the first door. It was a large bathroom with no sign of a bed. Why the Doctor said this was the way to the guest room he couldn't figure.

Shrugging he locked himself inside and removed his clothes... or tried to anyway. He tried to remove his boots first, but upon realizing he wasn't wearing any, and those were actually his feet, he shrugged it off. No toes was a fair tradeoff for rockets.

It was when he got to the rest of his clothes that a clear issue popped up. His shirt and pants left his skin easily, but when he got to his boxers... that's when he realized those WERE his skin! It was painted robot skin!

He did what any teenager would do, on realizing he lack the very important boy parts, he screamed his head off.

Within seconds the Doctor was bursting in, how he got through a locked door not even registering as a question to the boy's startled mind.

"I'M A GIRL!" Astro cried well the Doctor just sighed at him.

"Your not a girl, Astro," The Doctor groaned rubbing his temple as he was reminded he was dealing with a young boy. "Robots just don't have any... you know..."

"HOW DID MY DAD THINK I WOULDN'T NOTICE THIS!" Astro continued to yell. He didn't have nipples or a belly button either.

The Doctor kept it to himself that the boy's designer was a far cry from sane. "Don't you think it would be more worrisome if your dad took the time to craft that particular organ?"

"I'm thirteen! I just figured out what it's for!"

The Doctor shook his head, "Then I'm sure you won't miss it. Now go on into the shower, you're filthy." It was a good hour before the boy was calm enough to do as the Doctor asked.

Astro felt like crying again as he washed himself, but managed to keep his eyes dry... then he tried washing his hair and realized he didn't have any. It was a flexible colored metal like the rest of his body. It was strong but soft to the touch, feeling much like skin. His head was just shaped like his favorite hairstyle but what if he wanted to change it? That thought led to another that did produce tears.

When the Doctor came back with fresh clothes, he sighed finding Astro sitting in the shower, hugging his knees.

The Doctor tried, "Come on it's going to be okay."

"I'm a kid," Astro whispered. "I'm going to BE a kid for the rest of my life. I'm never going to grow up. I'm never going to get married. I'm never going to have kids of my own. I'm going to be a kid forever. Any friends I make I'll have to watch grow old and die."

The Doctor looked on sadly, having personal experience with the flaws of near immortality, when the rest of the universe wasn't built that way. Slowly Astro looked up at the Doctor with big pleading eyes, literally begging for answers. "Why?" he asked. "Why would dad do this to me?"

The Doctor placed the clothes onto the counter before walking into the shower. He knelt down, not caring the water was soaking him and pulling the boy into a hug. "Your dad... sometimes when a person experiences tragedy, something in them breaks. They lose themselves. They can't think rationally anymore."

"... You mean he's insane," Astro muttered.

"Losing a child is not something people are meant to handle. He loved Toby very much, and that love compelled him to make you. There's nothing wrong with you, nothing could be."

"You're only here cause you don't think of me as 'naked'."

"And your crying hysterically. I fear your eyes may pop out."

Astro gave a weak chuckle, and slowly curled his own arms around the Doctor. No thoughts in his head as to how the Doctor could know all these things, about him and his dad. All he wanted in that moment was comfort.