Orrin followed him, but he was still confused from Toby’s rewiring job. The robot kept slamming into the wall.

“Hold that kid! Get him!” one of the soldiers yelled.

A soldier grabbed Toby by his ankle, leaving him dangling upside down. “What are you doing here?” Dr. Tenma said angrily. “I gave Orrin instructions to—”

Orrin slammed into the wall again. “Ow, ow, ow, ow ... ”

“I wanted to see the demonstration,” Toby said eagerly. “You’re always talking about the Peacekeeper.”

“Really, Toby,” Dr. Tenma said, annoyed.

President Stone nodded at Toby. “Your boy?” he asked.

“Yes, sir,” Dr. Tenma replied.

“Well, let him tag along,” President Stone said pleasantly. “It’ll be good for him. Educational.”

The soldier let go of Toby’s leg. “Releasing potential threat,” he said.

“So you’re interested in robots, son?” President Stone asked. “Robot weapons?”

“Absolutely,” Toby answered. “Although I’m sure you’ll agree, the latest D-Class Interceptor underlying deployment-to-target systems is quite old-fashioned.”

President Stone frowned. “Nobody likes a smarty- pants, kid.” He nodded to the soldier. “Take this boy to a safe place and keep him there.”

The soldier grabbed Toby again.

“But you said I could see the Peacekeeper!” Toby protested.

“You still can,” the president said. “On tonight’s news with everybody else.”

The soldier dragged Toby away. President Stone and the others marched down the hall and entered a large lecture hall. Rows of metal desks and seats filled with spectators surrounded a round platform. A small, round man in a white lab coat stood on the platform. He had a big, round nose in the center of his pleasant face. He was mostly bald, with a cloud of white hair ringing his head.

“Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present Blue Core energy,” Dr. Elefun said.

A hologram appeared on the stage with him—a giant, glowing sphere of blue light. The crowd gasped in wonder. The light looked soothing and peaceful.

“Blue Core energy,” the scientist explained. He stepped closer to the audience. “A new self-sustaining power source much stronger than nuclear energy, and infinitely cleaner.”

The hologram changed. A 3-D image of a blue star appeared. The star exploded, breaking into pieces.

“The raw materials came from space,” Dr. Elefun went on. “A fragment of a star millions of light years away that no longer even exists. This is now all that’s left of it.”

The hologram faded, and a light shone on a pillar on the stage. A small, blue globe encased in a glass box sat on top of the pillar.

“Properly harnessed, this small sphere could transform not only Metro City, but life for those on the Surface as well,” Dr. Elefun said, smiling hopefully.

Then he caught sight of President Stone and the soldiers in the balcony. His smile faded.

“Imagine cleaning up the earth’s water,” Dr. Elefun continued. “Imagine bringing back the forests, imagine overcoming the effects of centuries of pollution ...”

Next to President Stone, Dr. Tenma watched his friend in admiration.

“I know he’s a bit of a dreamer, but he’s a brilliant scientist,” he assured the president.

“He’s a dangerous idiot who happens to have a high IQ,” President Stone snapped.

Onstage, a panel opened up on the floor and another pillar rose up. This one held a glowing red globe in a glass box.

“Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as a free lunch,” Dr. Elefun said. “When we extracted the positive blue energy from the fragment, we were left with this highly unstable byproduct. Red energy.”

A larger hologram of the red ball of light was projected next to Dr. Elefun. While the blue energy looked peaceful, the red energy looked unstable and angry.

“I like that one,” President Stone remarked. “Women voters are very partial to the color red, you know.”

Down below, Dr. Elefun continued his presentation. “Until we discover how to safely dispose of it ... ”

Suddenly, soldiers stormed the stage. They grabbed Dr. Elefun and then picked up the cases holding the red and blue globes.

“What are you doing? Stop!” Dr. Elefun yelled. “Keep the cores apart or you’ll kill us all!”

President Stone stepped onto the stage. “Do as he says!” he warned his soldiers.

The soldiers stepped apart, keeping the cores separate.

Dr. Elefun’s face was red with anger. “This is outrageous! Unprecedented! What are you intending to do with them?”

“Ha. I’m going to give the people of this city a reason to reelect me,” President Stone said, smiling like a snake.

“How?” Dr. Elefun asked.

“The only way I can, Doctor. I’m gonna kick some butt!”

CHAPTER 3

Toby struggled to escape the soldier’s grip, but his captor was too strong. The soldier stopped in front of a blank, white door. With one free