A/N: Astro's age is never proclaimed in anyway. Y!Answers says he's fifteen, but does he look fifteen to anybody? And the guard hinted at thirteen, which looks closer, so I'm goin' with that one.

Chapter One: The Boy with Glowing Eyes

Lilith Rylie flopped down onto her bed, arms spread-eagle as she let out a whoop of joy (read: exhaustion), content to pass out for a goodnight's rest. Five minutes ago, she'd been about ready to toss her Advanced Genetics text into a jet engine and cackle madly as it shredded, but she'd refrained (in her opinion) spectacularly and finished the thrice damned chapter.

"Quantum physics?" she heard a voice ask amusedly.

"Pff, you think Q.P could actually get me to flop exhaustedly onto my bed? No; Advanced Genetics," Lilith hissed the accursed words as though they burned. Propping one vibrant green eye open, she saw a willowy figure leaning comfortably against the doorway to her room, backlit by the hallway light. "You know," she grinned slyly, sliding up onto her elbows. "That pose'd make quite the dramatic pictah."

Jessalyn Rylie, age fourteen and not half a minute older than her twin, frowned and gave a sigh, slinking forward to settle herself on paint splattered sheets. "Lills…"

Said girl shot up, flashing an ireful glare at her sister a glare and opening her mouth to rant. Jessalyn preemptively slapped her hand over her twin's mouth, "Stop right there, I've got your dang rant memorized already," The brown haired girl smiled weakly when green eyes glared at her through narrowed mocha-colored lids. "Sleep, Lills. You have school tomorrow."

Lilith let out a groan as her twin's hand moved away, said appendage giving her dark auburn locks a pat before bidding good night. Snatching a tattered gray plushy from behind her bed, she snuggled up to it, content to dread herself to sleep.

That is until she saw the boy with glowing eyes outsider her window.

AB x XM

Toby landed on the dip of a building, coming down hard as his newly dubbed "rocket boots"(the best he could come up with other than "foot jets" or "Dual propulsion devices") cut out abruptly. He settled down onto himself, literally replaying that night's events.

"I can't bear…to see his face anymore." Father sighed, palming his face.

"Come on, Tenma! You can't just throw him away like a piece of junk!" Elefun exclaimed.

"…Dad?" Toby asked, flinching slightly when both doctors and Orrin turned to stare at him with guarded and sympathetic expressions. "W-what's going on? Why're you talking about me like this?"

"Toby," Elefun said gently as Tenma turned away. "There's been a bit of a misunderstanding…"

"How did I think this could work?"

"…Programmed?"

"But he isn't my son."

"And I…don't want you…anymore."

"No…no!"(1)

Toby felt his eyes water with tears he didn't know he could still shed. He held his hands out in front of him, feeling his vision shift automatically. Immediately the appendages illuminated, showing through the "skin" tiny gears and joints. "It's true…" he whimpered.

"Hey, glowstick, mind shuttin' them blinker's off, some of us are tryin' to sleep ya know!" a voice – notably feminine for that matter – snapped, jerking him into the present. He scrambled up, turning around to see a girl perched on the windowsill behind him – in her… panties?

Oh, right, x-ray vision. Duh.

The blue glow blinked out and left a terribly visible blush in its wake as he tried(and failed) not to stare at the mocha-skinned girl in loose navy shorts and a snug black long sleeve. Her slender body leaned against the window with her out-of-place, green eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"S-sorry," he stuttered, good nature getting the best of him as he turned to go.

"Hey…hey, stop right there, kid," the girl said, walking fearlessly(as she probably had done it plenty of times before) out onto the ledge. Toby turned back, eyes downcast in politeness.

"Kid…are ya cryin'?" she asked quietly.

Toby froze, wiping furiously at his face. "No!" he yelped.

"Yeah, right," she growled, tugging him closer to the building by his sleeve, a scarily maternal light in her eyes. Sitting them both down, she pulled her sleeve over her hand and wiped at his face. Satisfied that his face was now dry she leant back and met his gaze. "Now, what are ya cryin' for, kid?" she asked.

"Why do you care?" Toby muttered, dull brown orbs falling away.

"Why shouldn't 'Ah?" she retorted, accent catching his attention. Toby gave no response, instead he tucked his knees into his chest and wrapped his arms around them.

Lilith POV

Seeing the little boy take on the epitome of brooding made my mind scream. But I skillfully(in my opinion) held my composure.

For a whopping eight seconds of complete silence.

But, composure composure, instead of glomping him like my inner school girl demanded, I pulled my fist back and conked him hard in the shoulder.

The boy reeled, sending me a confused stare as he rubbed his shoulder. "What was that for?"

Disregarding him in favor of cradling my throbbing fist, I let out a slight whimper and glowered through narrowed eyes. "What the hell're ya made of, brat? That freaking hurt!"

Said brat took on a smug little grin before answering, "Only the strongest metal known to Mt. Sophia!" he said proudly.

Now it was my turn to reel away. "Dude…you're a robot?"

Third Person POV

The question made Toby flinch, but it wasn't filled with disgust as he'd halfway expected, but awe. He gave a hesitant nod, cautiously meeting the girl's verdant gaze.

Visibly struggling to regain her composure, the girl held out a mocha tinted palm. "Lilith Rylie," she murmured politely.

"Toby Tenma," Toby responded, shaking the extended limb after a moment of hesitation. Lilith scooted closer to him, picking random conversation that eased Toby's nerves, eventually enough to admit/explain why he was up on the side of a building in the first place.

"So wait," Lilith said, lips twitching with a restrained smile. "You're thirteen? Ya look, like, nine!"

Toby's eyebrow twitched.

Elsewhere…(Pres. Stone's Command Center)

"Sir, we've located the signal's source but…it-it's a child!" the suited man reported incredulously. "Readings for the Core are off the charts!"

Stepping up behind the President's chair, the general's eyes widened. "S'that…Tenma's boy?" he asked dubiously.

"Of course not!" Stone snapped, then looked to the screen. His eyes widened comically as he blinked in shock. "Holy cow…Tenman must've lost his mind!" Stone exclaimed. His gaze shot to the side. "Bring 'im in!" he snapped.

Rooftop

Toby and Lilith squinted in the bright lighting, the unmistakable sound of multiple guns cocking making the boy flinch. "Oh no," he muttered. Without second thought he snatched up Lilith's wrist and took off.

Lilith let out an indignant squawk – not a scream, mind you; she still had an image to keep up – as Toby hefted her into his arms bridal style as though she was nothing more than a pillow.

"What do you guys want?" he asked.

"Yeah, 'cause they can totally here ya!" Lilith snapped, wrapping her arms around the robot-boy's neck.

Green, rubbery cords shot from the ships, making Toby yelp as he ran up the side of a building. The cords pulled off, bringing chunks of concrete with them as the squad pulled upward in pursuit.

Toby blasted over the roof of the building, stalling for a moment before jetting dangerously close to the road. Another shot was evaded, though both heard the peculiar squeal of "I'm getting MARRIED!" as one ship pulled off to the side.

"Do you trust me?" Toby asked.

"What?" Lilith asked, pulling away from his neck.

"I said, 'do you trust me'?" he repeated, meeting unsure green eyes.

"I…guess, why-?" without giving the girl time to finish her question, Toby tossed her high into the air, using the "air time" to bend back two of the ships' guns and render them useless. Watching them fly off, he flashed a grin and spun around looking for a certain green eyed hellion, only to get smacked with the windshield of a patrol ship for his efforts. Squinting into the cab, he saw red exclamation marks flash across the suited(why are they wearing suit while in the ships? he asked himself) man's visor as he reached down to press a red button hurriedly.

Toby's intimidating glare(though not really effective in the first place) was completely ruined by the window wiper smacking him on the cheek.

A tug on his back sent him flying, green cords catching each limb despite his struggles.

Of course at that moment he sighted his friend's form racing back toward the ground, so naturally he shot after it without further thought, pulling the ships with him.

At the last second the squad pulled back, motors whining from the effort.

Redoubling the force in his rockets, the robot boy struggled forward, blasting more fire in order to sweep the girl back into his arms and between two neighboring buildings, rendering them motionless.

The green cords snapped, sending the two spinning. Toby shook Lilith gently, receiving a murderous green eyed glare and giving an apologetic smile in repentance.

Cracking glass and panicked pleads drew the boy's attention back to the patrol ships, just in time to see the bottom ship's windshield shatter under the pilot. Without asking for her trust – he already guessed the answer – Toby swept the girl under one arm, diving to catch the pilot.

Gently gliding to the rooftop adjacent, he set them both down, murmuring "you're safe" to the shaking man.

Setting Lilith on her feet, Toby dared not meet her gaze, instead turning to the sound of more cocking guns. He sent the pilot an exasperated glance, muttering, "Again? What's with you guys?"

Ignoring the man's "I love you!" he jumped into the air, jetting to an even higher height. "Come on then!" he challenged, raising his fists. Unexpectedly, the ships turned and fled, along with the pilot. Toby blinked and coasted down to Lilith.

"I should smack ya," said girl growled as he landed, placing her hands on slim hips.

Toby's eyes widened dramatically, brown orbs focused behind the girl's willowy form.

"Dang it, Toby, don't ya ignore me!" the girl snapped. The robot boy's only response was to taper her shoulder gently, then point behind her, mouth cracked open in shock.

Lilith turned, still scowling, but the harsh expression fell at the sight of the massive dark bulk that floated on the opposite edge of the roof, humming low and ominously. The red head stumbled back, the whites of her eyes showing in alarm. "HOLY SHIP!"

Toby snatched her wrist, spinning them around and shielding the girl with his body. Not a moment too soon as the massive ship shot at the ground behind them, blasting the two onto a neighboring roof.

Weakly, Toby's boots tried to lift into the air, the only thing shielding Lilith's all too human body from the next attack being Toby's own. Said blast knocked them strait through a building and onto yet another concrete roof. Dazed, Toby stood, gripping around for his friend's hand, looking up to see yet another, larger attack heading strait for him. It was all he could do to remain standing, clutching his shoulder, even as Lilith's backlit form stepped in front of him, arms outspread.

Time seemed to slow as, out of Toby's sigh, Lilith's eyes glowed with power before a bright, glowing field sprund into excistance shattering but intersepting most of the destructive force of the blast as it hit. A second before the force wave knocked them back, Lilith spun, wrapping her arms around the robot boy as they were both thrown over the edge of Metro City's floating mass.

AB x XM

Mid-air, the last of Lilith's conscious mind registered the ground approaching fast, and threw up another, dimmer, field on impact before allowing the mocha-skinned girl to finally black out.

(1)- Taken virtually directly from the movie; you have absolutely no clue how much I annoyed my sister with the constant pausing, playing and rewinding.