Astro boy the movie (the novel)

CHAPTER 9

The girl sounded serious. Astro looked behind them-there was nothing. But he ran anyway.

"What are we running from?" he shouted up ahead.

"The Scorpion Brothers!" the twins wailed.

Dirt began flying behind them. The ground broke open, and two terrifying metal claws emerged. Each claw grabbed one of the twins, dragging them out of sight.

"Widget! Sludge!" yelled the older girl. She looked behind her. "Oh no! The new kid's roadkill!"

Astro wanted to keep his secret from the kids-but he couldn't stand by while the twins were in danger. He tunneled through the ground until he reached them.

Bam! Bam! He pummeled the claws with two powerful punches. They released the twins. Astro grabbed one kidin each arm and flew back through the tunnel he had made.

When he reached the Surface, he set the twins down. They were completely dazed. Astro sat down beside them.

"What happened?' asked the little girl.

"I have no clue," Astro lied. "At least we're safe."

The twins suddenly looked terrified.

"Aaaaaargh!" they screamed.

"It's okay," Astro assured them. "There's nothing to worry about."

Two metal claws grabbed Astro from behind. Each claw was held by a scruffy-looking man dressed like ajunkyard pirate. They carried Astro behind a scrap mound, away from Sludge and Widget.

"Looks like we got us a real live robot, Testo!" said one of the Scorpion Brothers.

"Whaddya mean 'we,' Ronnie? It's mine!" Testo argued. He pulled Astro toward him.

"Finders keepers!" Ronnie whined.

"Your momma!" Testo shot back.

"She's your momma, too!" Ronnie pointed out.

Astro had heard enough. "That's it. You're both grounded."

Astro grabbed the end of each claw and powered up his jets, flying into the air. He swung the claws around and around. With all his might, he hurled the two brothers into a trash heap far across the scrap yard.

Astro flew back to the ground and walked back to Widget and Sludge. He found the other two kids fussing over them.

"You're okay!" the older girl said, relieved.

"They got the new kid!" Widget said sadly.

Astro walked into view. He pretended to be out of breath.

"No, they didn't," he said.

Widget and Sludge cheered. They ran up to Astro and gave him a big hug.

"So what happened to the Scorpion Brothers?" the older girl asked.

Astro pointed behind him. The two Scorpion Brothers were dangling from the top of a trash heap, hanging by their claws.

Astro shrugged. "I just turned off their magnets."

"Magnets?" She sounded like she didn't believe him.

The teenage boy held out his hand. "I'm Zane."

"I'm Widget," said the little girl.

"I'm Sludge," said her brother. "I'm older than her."

"By ninety seconds," Widget quickly added.

"I'm Cora," said the oldest girl. "What's your name?"

"Er, it's ... " Astro wasn't sure what to answer. Toby was part of him, but Toby wasn't him. He was somebody else. Somebody new.

Before Astro could reply, three robots appeared, whisking him away.

The robots' cry echoed behind them. "Viva la Roboto-lution!"

Cora shook her head. "What just happened?"