Tetsu No Kyojin

[Little Brown Fox]

Yo, TetPen, I haven't seen you around FF in a little while. Why didn't you post this story there? And what happened to your AU? Are you ever gonna finish that? Because I know that you said you had at least one story idea that you have yet to write, that kind of plays into some of the plot elements of a few of the other stories. Plus I kind of just miss it a little. And you'd only just introduced Cobalt and Uran in your last story (I'm kind of sad you didn't let him keep his English accent, though, and settled for the improbable Brooklyn accent, that I am not 100% sure what it sounds like, and literally everyone knows what an English accent sounds like; why did you take it away?).

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

Yes I DID have another story idea for my AU (or is that OU?). However, I've had some problems getting the details to gel. The plot was to involve an actual series of events that happened in Japan in 2011. I wanted to dig up enough detail to write this so that I could be close enough to the true incidents and still be able to fit Atom in there. It would take place before the events in "Dragon Rider". I still hope to do that one of these days.

As far as Isaac is concerned, he's a bit moody and also a bit of a 'Mel Blanc' so he can do whatever accent he wants. BTW, a Brooklyn accent is sorta like the way Bugs Bunny talks (well Mel Brooks said he sorta mixed Brooklyn, Da Bronx and New Jursey together to make Bugs.)

I started to post this story here so I could do it in smaller chunks (ABOL limits you to a few thousand characters per post, which is usually around 1000 words or so). Dannavy85 has posted stories here and THEN moved them up to FF.NET later. I'll do that with this one. I'll write others directly to FF.NET again though. Just trying something different for now.

I also have yet another story idea cooking in the back of my mind that would be a crossover with a sci-fi movie favorite of mine. Won't give THAT one away yet, but Dan knows what I'm talking about.

I have a 4 day weekend thanks to president's day. I hope to post some more of this story soon.

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

Inspector Tawashi hated crank calls, especially from drunks. Someone has phoned in a report of a giant robot eating junk cars at the scrap yard not far from the Ministry of science. The chief of police handed Tawashi the report and told him to investigate. The Ministry itself was right between the police station and the junk yard, so it was not surprising that the inspector had to drive right by it. As he did, he couldn't help seeing Pluto's bulk standing in the parking lot. So he pulled in and found the giant robot arguing with a familiar smaller one.

“Hey Pluto, have you taken to eating out of scrap yards?” the inspector yelled out the window of his squad car.

“Now why would you ask that?” Pluto asked him.

“Because some drunk called in a report of a huge robot over at the scrap yard a few miles from here helping himself to a snack of rusty metal.” Tawashi said. “And now I spot you in the neighborhood.”

“Hey!” Astro said. “That was probably the Iron Giant we're looking for.”

“You're right!” Pluto replied. “Shall we check it out?”

“Yes, but he's probably gone by now.” Astro said. “Still there might be a clue as to where he's heading, if we are lucky.”

“What's this Iron Giant?” Tawashi asked.

“He's a robot from space that landed in America back in the 50's” Astro said. “He was buried under a glacier in Iceland for nearly 100 years and was just detected by the American's a few days ago. He got a little lost and headed for Japan. We need to find him before he gets into trouble.”

Tawashi was looking at the map on his GPS display. He noticed that the junk yard was situated on the same road as the prison that Skunk Kusai had just been released from. If the Giant had headed in the direction from the scrap yard toward the prison, well he didn't want to think about that.

“What's wrong inspector?” Astro asked, seeing the look on the inspectors face.

“Nothing, just had a weird thought.” Tawashi said. He hated asking for Astro's help.

Astro had the ability to read stress levels in a persons voice. He knew Tawashi was holding something back.
“Inspector, I know from the sound of your voice that something is wrong.” Astro said.

“It's just that Skunk Kusai was released from prison today for good behavior.” Tawashi sighed. “Now that is an oxymoron! Anyway, the prison isn't far from the scrap yard. You do remember what happened the last time Mr. Kusai ran into a confused giant robot?”

“You mean Colossus?” Astro blurted out.

“Yeah, him.” Tawashi said. “That's all I need is another robot crime wave!”

Pluto put his hand down and motioned for Astro to climb on board.
“Let's get going, Astro.” Pluto said. “We need to find the Giant before Skunk does.”
Astro let Pluto lift him up to his shoulder and the two of them took off. Tawashi watched as Pluto disappeared into the clouds.


Skunk's old hideout was located in an abandoned warehouse in the dock area on the outskirts of Metro City. He had left instructions with a few close associates to keep the place ready for his return. The building was the only one left standing in a four square block area, the others had been leveled by the last major earthquake which had damaged the area. For some unknown reason, Skunk's building had been unscathed by the quake. There was plenty of twisted scraps of steel lying about the area from the frameworks of the buildings that had been shaken apart.

The giant landed in the middle of a large pile of rubble some twenty yards or so from the warehouse.

“Mind if I grab myself something to eat?” The giant asked.

“You need to eat?” Skunk asked. “I thought robots ran on atomic energy.”

“I eat iron and steel.” The giant told him.

“Well there's plenty of that lying around here. Help yourself!” Skunk said.

The giant picked up a huge I girder that was lying on the ground and started munching on it. Skunk tried to get the door to his building open, but found that it had been padlocked.
“Hey buddy, can you give me a hand here?” He asked, pointing to the lock.

The giant grabbed the padlock between his thumb and index finger and pulled. The lock snapped off the hasp like a twig. He tossed the lock into his mouth and smiled. “Yum! Tasty!”

“Thanks Pal!” Skunk said as he opened the door and walked inside. He found the light switch and was happy to find that the power was still on. His little apartment deeper inside the building was still intact and well furbished. The refrigerator was well stocked. Skunk removed a beer from the 'fridge and popped the can open. “My buddies have done their job's well.” he thought. “Now let's find out what's going on in my absence.”

Skunk turned on a laptop computer that had been left in the lower drawer of his desk. He quickly got on the web and started surfing. It didn't take him long to find just what he was looking for. He glanced out though the window and saw the giant chowing down on part of a metal water tower that had been on the roof of one of the now demolished buildings.
“This is going to be a piece of cake with my new friend's help” he thought.

[avatargirl]

HI- THANKS TETSUWAN PENGUIN for this story!

pray everyone ETERNAL SALVATION and safety always

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

The C-38 landed at Metro City international airport just as the sun was dipping below the horizon. General Hayes yawned as he got out of his seat.

“I think I've been awake now for at least 36 hours.” The general said. “I'm going to check into the hotel that I've arranged for. I assume that Astro and Pluto have been here since before noon, given their speed advantage. I hope they have already found some sign of our missing robot.”

Dr. O'Shay got up and stretched his legs. He turned to Hogarth Hughes and gently shuck the man awake. “You're welcome to stay with me, Mr. Hughes.” O'Shay said. “I have an empty guest room at my house.”

“Why thank you, Dr. O'Shay” Hogarth said. “I'd like that very much, that is if it won't be too much of an imposition on you.”

“Nonsense!” O'Shay said. “I have a very reliable robot housekeeper, as well as two other children besides Astro that love to help out.”

“You never mentioned that you had been married, Dr. O'Shay” Hogarth replied.

“That's true, I've been a bachelor all my life.” O'Shay answered. “Uran and Cobalt are robots like Astro, though not 'quite' like Astro.”

“Interesting.” Hogarth said.

They exited the C-38 where an olive green Lincoln Town car decorated with General's stars and flags was waiting.

“Ah, my ride has shown up!” General Hayes said. “Need a lift home Sensei O'Shay?”

“Why yes, thank you!” O'Shay said.

The general got in the front seat next to his driver, and O'Shay and Hogarth sat in the back. The O'Shay residence was about an hour's drive from the airport though moderately heavy traffic. They finally pulled up in front of the two story ranch style house. It was a modern 21 century style home, with rounded walls and flowing lines.

“Please keep me up to date on any information that Astro or Pluto might relay back, would you?” The general asked. “Here's my phone numbers and Internet contact information.” General Hayes handed the doctor a business sized card.

“Of course!” Dr. O'Shay replied. “I'll be on my computer right away and I'll contact Astro at once.”

The General gave O'Shay a quick salute and rolled up his darkly tinted window. The car drove off into the night. O'Shay didn't need to fumble for his keys, Nora had already detected his presence outside of the house and had opened the door. Before he could pick up his bags and enter the house, O'Shay was suddenly hit by a flying missile with outstretched arms that grabbed him around the waist and bear hugged him.

“Uran! Can't I walk in the house first?” the doctor laughed.

“You've been gone so long and Ani is missing too!” she cried. “I'm just sooooo glad to see you again!”

Hogarth laughed. “So this is Uran? My what a pretty android you are!”

“Who's this?” Uran asked.

Nora picked up the luggage and carried it into the house. Dr. O'Shay and Hogarth followed, after Uran got out of their way.

“Uran, this is Mr. Hogarth Hughes.” O'Shay said. “He will be staying with us for a while. He's from America, and will be helping Astro and I in locating a robot that is now lost somewhere nearby. A rather large robot that was frozen under a glacier in Iceland for nearly a century.”

“How big?” Uran asked. “As big as Pluto?”

“I think he may be bigger.” Hogarth said.

“Wow!” Uran cried out. “I gotta meet him!”

Cobalt silently walked into the living room. He must have heard his sister's outburst and came out of his room to see what was going on.

“Hello!” Hogarth said.

“Hi” Cobalt answered meekly. “My name is Cobalt, I guess you've already meet my sister, Uran.”

“That I did!” Hogarth laughed. “You know, you look rather like your brother.”

“Yes, I hear that a lot.” Cobalt said, looking down at the floor and rubbing his right foot back and forth.

“Cobalt was the prototype for Astro.” Dr. O'Shay explained. “He's actually a bit taller than his brother, and not quite a true twin, but you'd have to see them side by side to appreciate that.”

Dr. O'Shay led Hogarth into the kitchen, out of Cobalt's earshot.
“Dr. Tenma, who created Astro, considered Cobalt to be a failure and he left him shut down in storage for a long time. We found him a few years after Astro was re-activated, and I tried to bring his AI up to date. Cobalt is a very capable robot, with about half of Astro's power. He lacks all of Astro's weapons systems, and he doesn't have his brothers super sensitive hearing or vision. His raw computing power is actually better than Astro's, but his AI isn't wired to take full advantage of it. Still, Cobalt will surprise you when you least expect it. He's very mild mannered, and tries to please everyone, but he is a bit on the meek and timid side.”

“Quite the opposite of Uran, I see.” Hogarth said.

“Yes, she can be a handful.” O'Shay laughed. “Uran is quite the tomboy, and very outgoing. When she gets excited, which is very often, it's best to try and keep out of her way or risk getting ran over.”

Suddenly the house reverberated with a loud wailing noise that sounded like a cross between an air-raid siren, a baby's cry, and an atomic bomb explosion. Nora came running out of nowhere, heading toward the back bedroom where the problem was emanating from. The noise stopped, as the nanny-housemaid returned carrying a now pacified infant.

“Uran! I told you to keep an eye on your little brother!” Dr. O'Shay said.

Uran ran into the room and took the infant boy from Nora's hands She held him tenderly and carried him back to the bedroom, all the while making googoo sounds that one talks to babies with.

“What was that?” Hogarth asked.

“That was the newest member of the family.” O'Shay said. “Little Chi-tan is actually an infant sized android that Uran adopted as her little brother. She's usually quite good at looking after him, but I guess the excitement of my returning with a guest got the better of her and the baby. The little guy certainly has a good pair of lungs!”

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

Astro's heads up display popped up in his field of view and he saw the Skype screen in front of his eyes. Dr. O'Shay was on the other end of the connection.

“Hello O'Shay Sensei” Astro replied. “I assume that you've made it back home.”

“Yes, we have Astro.” O'Shay replied. “Hogarth Hughes is staying with us while we investigate this matter with the Giant. Do you and Pluto have any news to report?”

“Actually yes and no.” Astro answered. “Inspector Tawashi met us at the Ministry of Science as we arrived there. He was investigating a report of a giant robot eating scrap metal at a junk yard not far from the Ministry. Pluto and I got there and we found signs that the giant had been there, but he's gone now. Pluto and I split up and we are trying to locate him from the air, but so far nothing. He must have flown off himself. We probably won't be able to locate him till he lands.”

“Yes that makes sense.” O'Shay said. “General Hayes did say that the giant might have stealth ability in the air, but on the ground he will leave tracks due to his size and weight.”

The bank of Tokyo was preparing for a large shipment of gold bullion from the international exchanges. The transfer was an exchange of debts between Japan and three other nations. Normally, such transfers were done by computer on 'paper' with the actual gold staying in a vault at a neutral location, such as Fort Knox or Zurich. This time was different, because one of the three parties involved had little trust for the Americans or the Swiss, and had insisted on a physical exchange. The transfer would be done under utmost secrecy in the early hours of the morning. The gold would be left sitting in the bank for about twelve hours, guarded by military police and a top notch security system.

No one was supposed to know about the secret gold exchange. A large lid of security had been clamped down on the bank for a week in advance, and all arrangements had been made by the most trusted couriers. The only problem was that a number of well placed and well hidden bugs had been planted years ago. The electronic snooping devices had remained powered down until only a few days ago when they had received an encrypted electronic signal. The details of the gold shipment, how much of it there was, and exactly where it would be stored and for how long had been plucked from what was supposed to be an iron clad secure private computer network.

Skunk smiled to himself, the preparations that he had made several years ago had finally paid off. He knew that the bank of Tokyo was just about impossible to break into. The gold would be stored deep underground in the deepest of the vaults. Physical access to the area was via a single well guarded shaft from the upper basement, and that level would be crawling with MP's and private security. Skunk also knew that just a few thousand meters to the east of the bank was a river that had connections to storm drains running under the street near the bank. The giant might be able to tunnel into the sub basement from the river, undetected.

“Hey big fellow, you ready for some action?” Skunk asked.

The Iron Giant was sitting behind the warehouse with his legs crossed, Indian style.
“Action?” he asked.

“Yeah, we're going to help clean up the neighborhood a bit.” Skunk laughed. “Can you do some digging underground?”

“Sure!” the giant robot replied.

“Er, you can swim underwater too, can't you?” Skunk asked.

“No problem!” the giant answered back.

“This is going to be like taking candy from a baby!” Skunk thought.

Hogarth Hughes wasn't able to sleep. The plane trips back and forth between Maine and Iceland, and back, and then to Japan had worn him out, but his mind couldn't shut down. He had gotten out of bed and was now in the living room sitting in a recliner chair. It had been a lifetime since he'd last seen the Iron Giant. To him the huge robot had been a friend and a companion, the military only viewed him as a dangerous weapon. He hoped that things would be different this time.

Hogarth felt something pulling on the sleeve of his robe. He looked down into the face of infant Chi-tan who was sucking on a pacifier. The little robot lifted his arms to insist on being picked up. Hogarth had been married, but he and his late wife never had any children, something that sometimes nagged at him. He bent over and lifted Chi-tan into his lap. The little android cooed like a human child would, and snuggled up against him. It didn't take long for both of them to sooth each other to sleep.

Uran had heard her little brother crawling past her room and followed. She found Chi-tan and Hogarth soundly snoring in the recliner. Dr. O'Shay entered the living room and also saw what had happened.
“They look so peaceful there, don't they?” He whispered. “Let's leave them alone. I think both of them will sleep quite well together.”

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

It was a dark, moonless night. Under the cover of darkness, a convoy of armored trucks drove up to the Bank of Tokyo with their heavy cargo. The wooden crates were unmarked, except for the coded serial numbers identifying their source and owners. The crew of robots unloading the trucks made a dull creaking sound as their industrial strength joints absorbed the weight of the load they were asked to carry. A skeleton crew of policemen observed the unloading. Inspector Tawashi observed the operation from above, in a police helicopter. He used night vision IR goggles to view the scene so he wouldn't give away his presence with search lights. Everything looked quiet, maybe too much so. Tawashi knew that the gold was just the kind of target that Skunk Kusai would be likely to go for. He expected the master criminal to show up at any moment.

Far upstream from the bank, a dark mass moved slowly down the river. Despite it's size, it was invisible traveling underwater. The moonless night hid the slight ripple it created on the surface of the water as it headed downstream. It passed right under Tawashi's eyes, even with his night vision goggles he missed it.

Inside the bank, the last of the crates had been carried into the building and taken to the vault in the building's subbasement. Tawashi listened in on his radio as his most trusted officers supervised the movement of the gold to the vault. They verified that the time locks were set properly before locking down the lower level. The only way into the vault was from a single shaft leading to the upper levels of the bank, and two heavy freight elevators. Both of these were now locked in position on the upper basement level where three armed guards were in position.

Tawashi had his pilot fly the chopper back to the the hangar. The gold was safe in the bank, and Skunk hadn't made an appearance. There was no possible way now that he could get at the gold until it was transferred out of the bank in a few day's time. Tawashi would look out for Skunk again at that time. Now he just wanted to go home and catch up on his sleep.

Dr. O'Shay woke up early, and crossed through the living room where Chi-tan was still sleeping happily in Horgarth Hughes lap. The man was quietly snoring, which didn't seem to bother the infant robot a bit. O'Shay made his way into the kitchen and put a kettle up to boil for his morning tea. As he set the teapot down on the stove, and put a carefully measured amount of green tea leaves into the strainer inside the pot, he felt something pulling on the leg of his trousers. He looked down to see Chi-tan smiling up at him with mischief in his eyes.

“Well, good morning!” O'Shay said, picking up the infant. “I hope you let our guest catch the last of his sleep.” O'Shay put Chi-tan in his highchair and went back to the stove to pour the water for his tea. He let it steep for a few minutes while keeping an eye on the baby. He then poured the tea into a cup and walked to the table to drink it. O'Shay sat down and made goo-goo eyes at Chi-tan, who returned the funny faces with some gestures of his own.

Astro walked into the kitchen and yawned.

“When did you get in last night?” O'Shay asked.

“A few hours after midnight.” Astro said. “Tawashi had Pluto and I keep watch near the bank. He was sure that Skunk would make an appearance, but he never did. We lost track of the Giant after he was spotted near that junk yard anyway. I'm going to start my search again later today. Pluto is going to borrow some equipment from the Ministry that he thinks will help us track him.”

“Sounds like a good idea.” O'Shay said.

The morning's quiet was suddenly destroyed by the sound of police sirens. Astro and O'Shay ran to the window to see several dozen police cruisers roaring down the large avenue two blocks away. The heavy knocking on their front door was the straw that broke the camel's back as Chi-tan started crying with a wail that shook the walls and got Hogarth Holmes to fall out of the recliner he was sleeping in.

Uran ran into the kitchen to comfort her baby brother while Astro and O'Shay ran downstairs to answer the door. O'Shay pulled the door open to find Inspector Tawashi standing there with a squad of policemen behind him.

“What's up?” Astro asked.

“I was woken up at 6 in the morning by a very irate caller from the Bank of Tokyo. The gold is missing!” Tawashi said, giving Astro the evil eye.

“You make it sound like you think Astro had something to do with it, Inspector.” O'Shay said. “I thought he was helping you keep guard over the transfer last night.”

“Yeah he and Pluto were in the air along with me and a few other 'choppers.” the inspector admitted. “But I can't explain how the vault was broken into from below. It would take a robot like Astro to dig underground and come up inside the vault to have committed that robbery. We found a tunnel under the bank leading to the river.”

“How large a tunnel, Inspector?” O'Shay asked.

“About 15 to 20 feet in diameter” the inspector said.

“That sounds more like the work of a tunnel boring machine, or a large robot.” O'Shay said.

“Like the Iron Giant.” Astro said.

“That's just what I was afraid of.” Tawashi said, face palming. “It looks like Skunk has gotten a hold of your missing robot. I can't imagine the crime wave we are about to face until you can catch him.”

Hogarth Holmes walked into the room.
“From what I've overheard, it sounds like my old friend has met up with the wrong people.” he sighed. “Astro, as soon as you can locate him, I need you to take me to him. I may be the only person that can explain right from wrong to the Giant. He can be too trusting of people.”