Astro Boy: The Movie (7 page)

“As you wish, comrade,” Robotsky said.

The TV screen on his chest sparked to life. The face of a chubby man with a dark mustache appeared.

“This is Hamegg, owner of the World Wide Robot Games in town,” Sparx said.

“We will now spit on his name,” said Robotsky.

All three robots spit on the floor at the mention of his name.

Astro grimaced. “Nice.”

“The robot games enslave our kind,” Sparx explained. “We need to make an example of Hamegg. We want to do something so horrible ... so frightening ... so shocking that the humans will be forced to free all robots.”

Astro was starting to feel nervous. Maybe these guys were more dangerous than they looked.

“What are you going to do?” he asked.

“The next robot games are in a week,” Robotsky began.

“We’re going to sneak into town in cunning disguises,” Sparx continued.

Mike the Fridge joined in. “We’re going to lie in wait for Hamegg ... ”

Astro waited for the payoff. “And?”

“And when he shows up ... Robotsky hesitated.

“Yes?” Astro asked impatiently.

“Now bear in mind that we’re forced to follow the laws of robotics,” Sparx reminded him.

“Okay,” Astro said.

Sparx raised a fist in the air. “We’re going to tickle him with a feather!”

“Viva la Roboto-lution!” the three robots yelled.

Astro was confused. “That’s the plan?”

“We’re already looking into purchasing the feather,” Robotsky said.

Astro was relieved. “So you guys are completely harmless.”

“NO!” Sparx protested. “We are absolutely terrifying revolutionaries.”

“Who are unable to do any actual terrifying,” Astro pointed out.

Sparx thought for a moment. “Yes!”

The door to the hideout busted open. Cora stood there, holding a wrench, with the three kids behind her.

“Aargh! How did you find our secret hideout?” Sparx asked.

Cora pointed overhead. A giant neon sign read: RRF SECRET HIDEOUT. Colorful helium balloons were tied to the roof as well.

“You morons need to work on your camouflage skills,” she said. She took a step toward them, tapping the wrench in her palm. “Hand over the kid or we’ll rewire you and turn you into useful household appliances.”

Sparx looked at Astro in amazement.

“Kid? What are you talking about? He’s a—”

Astro grabbed Sparx and got into his face. “You want a piece of me, tin man?” he asked. Under his breath, he whispered, “Be cool. I’m an undercover robot from Metro City.”

“I knew it,” Sparx hissed back. “Viva la Robot-olution.”

Astro turned back to Cora. “These guys aren’t doing any harm. Let’s just leave them.”

Cora shrugged. “Whatever you say.”

Sparx whispered in Astro’s ear. “Thank you, brother. The RRF is forever in your debt.”

Astro followed Cora and the others outside.

“So what is your name?” Cora asked.

“Um, Toby, but that’s not who I really am,” Astro said. “You see—”

“Dude, it’s a simple question,” Cora said impatiently.

“My name’s ... Astro,” he replied. Those robots were goofy, but they had managed to come up with a pretty good name. “Call me Astro.”

Back in Metro City, Orrin answered the door to Dr. Tenma’s apartment. Armed soldiers pushed him out of the way. President Stone and General Heckler marched in. They looked angry.

“Good afternoon,” Orrin said politely. “How—”

“Search the apartment!” General Heckler barked. “Leave no stone unturned!”

Dr. Elefun stepped into the hallway, confused.

“Arrest this man!” President Stone ordered.

“Yes, sir!” General Heckler replied. He nodded, and two soldiers grabbed Elefun by the arms. They attached handcuffs to his wrists.

“What are you doing? Stop!” Dr. Elefun cried.

“Where is Dr. Tenma’s robot son?” President Stone asked.

“He isn’t here!” Dr. Elefun said.

Dr. Tenma burst in. He looked tired and worried. “What’s the meaning of this?”

“You put your core for my Peacekeeper into your robot,” President Stone said angrily. “I’m running for reelection, in case you hadn’t noticed, and we’re in an arms race with the Surface!”

“An arms race,” Dr. Elefun muttered. “What nonsense.”

“It was my stupid mistake,” Dr. Tenma said. “When I lost my son, I thought I’d be able to ... I thought ...” “

“I hate losing, too,” President Stone said. “Ask any of my wives. But we’ve got to get over all of this personal stuff. You’re head of the Ministry of Science, Tenma. It’s time to move on. Get the core back. Get it into the Peacekeeper. Let some good come from all this mess.”

Dr. Tenma glanced at Dr. Elefun, still in handcuffs. His friend shouldn’t have to be punished for this. He nodded in agreement.

“When you find the robot I’ll deactivate it and give you the core,” Tenma promised.

“Good man,” President Stone said. He nodded to the soldiers. “Let him go.”

The soldiers freed Dr. Elefun. He shook his head and looked out the window, at the world beyond Metro City.

“I hope you never find him,” he said softly.

Down on the Surface, Astro followed his new friends across a rickety bridge. Rope scraps connected the wood planks and pieces of metal together. It swayed as they walked. Trashcan walked behind them.

Astro looked down at the makeshift huts below. Everything was made out of old robot parts and other garbage thrown down from Metro City.

“So there are actually people living in these ruins?” he asked.

His remark made Cora angry. “Ruins? Hey, it might not look like much to a Metro City kid, but this place is home to us.”

Cora stopped in front of the opening of a long, twisting tube. It looked like something from a water park ride.

“Here we are,” she said.

Cora jumped in, and they all followed her, sliding down the tube. Astro bumped into Trashcan.

“Sorry,” he said.

They landed in front of what looked like a big junkyard surrounded by a tall fence. The door to the gate was closed. Cora gave it a kick and lights turned on, illuminating a pattern of shapes.

A panel on the top of the door slid open and a boy poked his head out.

“What’s the password?”

“Don’t make me hurt you,” Cora said.

“Er ... close enough,” said the boy. “Enter.”

The door opened and they pushed their way in. Astro followed cautiously. He had never seen a place like this before.

At first glance, it looked like some kind of robot repair shop, with worktables, tools, and robot parts scattered everywhere. But the place was crawling with kids, and they all looked out of control. Some of them were playing video games on busted television screens. One small boy was starting a chainsaw. A girl was juggling three sharp knives. Two boys were dueling with golf clubs. The sound of popping firecrackers filled the air.

A baseball whizzed past Astro’s head. Nearby, he saw a boy shoot an apple off a kid’s head with a bow and arrow.

“We’re out of apples. We’re on to grapes,” the boy announced.

A little girl wearing patched-up clothes walked up to Cora, holding a plunger.

“Hey, Cora, did you bring me back something?” she asked.

“The perfect gift for a sweet little girl,” Cora said. She reached into her bag and pulled out a chainsaw. The little girl jumped for joy.

Cora smiled. “Enjoy.”

The little girl revved the chainsaw and ran off. Soon there were screams from the other side of the junkyard.

Cora ducked as a tire swung over her head. It hit Astro, knocking him to the ground.

“Ouch,” Astro said, getting to his feet.

“You need ten sets of eyes around here,” Cora advised.

She headed up a ladder to the second level of the junkyard. A stout man was bent over a worktable, welding something. Astro hung back.

“Hey, Hamegg,” Cora called out.

The man spun around. The blue light from the welder illuminated his face, and, for a moment, Astro thought he looked frightening. But at the sight of the kids, he smiled warmly. It changed him completely. Now he looked like a chubby, friendly man.

“Aha! Back so soon? You kids find anything good for me today?” Hamegg asked.

Astro recognized his face from the image projected on Robotsky’s chest. Hamegg wore a grease-stained mechanic’s jumpsuit. Astro watched him carefully. According to Sparx and the others, Hamegg was a bad guy.

Cora and the others emptied their bags on the worktable. Hamegg rifled through the items.

“I don’t know, kids,” he said. “A lot of dead batteries. A lot of elbows here. The knee joint of a toilet cleaning robot? I told you I need heads.”

“We could have got a lot better stuff, but—” Cora began.

“Whoa!” Astro cried, interrupting her. He had been tinkering around with a broken robot in the corner. The pieces clattered to the floor.

Hamegg raised a bushy, black eyebrow. “Well, well, who do we have here?”

“His name’s Astro,” Zane said. “He saved us from the Scorpion Brothers.”

Hamegg looked impressed. “You escaped from the Scorpion Brothers? Wow.”

“Actually, I’m from Metro City,” Astro told him.

“Double wow,” Hamegg said. “I used to work there once upon a time.”

“Really?” Astro asked.

“Why am I running a crummy body repair shop down here when I could be creating state-of-the-art robots in Metro City?” Hamegg asked.

Astro felt bad. He hadn’t meant to hurt Hamegg’s feelings. “Well, no, not exactly—”

“Relax, son. We’re family here,” Hamegg said, smiling again. “We’re allowed to ask questions. The answer is: I love robots, especially the discarded ones. The more banged-up they are, the more abused, the more I like getting them back on their feet.”

He plucked a tiny robot from a shelf. It flew around him with wings, like a metal mosquito.

“Oh wow!” Astro said. It was a pretty cool robot.

“It’s almost a religious thing with me—kinda the way saints feel about the poor, or women feel about shoes, or fat people feel about donuts,” Hamegg said dramatically. “Well, I’ll stop with fat people and donuts.”

Astro considered this. Hamegg seemed very sincere. And those members of the Robot Revolution Front were definitely strange. They were probably making up wild stories.

“So you’re not into, er, enslaving robots?” Astro asked.

“What?” Hamegg looked genuinely surprised.

“He ran into the RRF,” Cora explained.

Hamegg laughed. “I don’t enslave robots, I love robots! Never forget, robots make life more abundant. They’re our friends and we rely on them for our daily bread. Speaking of which, are any of you misfits hungry?”

All of the kids in the junkyard gathered around a long table cobbled together from scraps of metal. Hamegg sat at the head.