Astro fell like a stone. He didn't use his engines in fear of being spotted by a detector. His X-ray vision revealed nothing but a hole that sank into the depths of the earth. The pit's walls were made of pure metal. The first time, he passed by an air vent. When he saw the second, he measured the exact distance between the two, and deduced the position of the next. As he approached the third vent, he stretched out his arms to slow his fall, then activated his magnetic hand locks. He stuck his hands onto the magnetic wall, and eventually slowed down just a bit above the air vent.

 

“Bingo!”

 

It took him a few minutes to loosen the grate and sneak into the vent. He climbed in and came to face another grid, which itself opened into a hallway.

 

“No doubt, I'm in a secret base But how far does this hallway go?"

 

Astro decided to try his luck and enter. The corridor, lined with grey doors, was so long that he couldn't even see the end. He walked for several minutes when, suddenly, only a few meters in front of him, a door opened. Afraid of being discovered, Astro rushed to another door, opened it, and disappeared into the dark room. It closed behind him, and he pressed himself against the metal panel to try to hear any walking down the hallway.

 

Astro heard a voice, but to his enormous surprise, it was not from the hallway. It was right behind him...

 

“Hello, Astro Boy. Welcome to my humble abode.”

 

Astro Boy whirled around, but in the darkness, he saw nothing. The voice, deep, slightly metallic, continued:

 

“I was expecting you. You didn't take long to find me. Very good, I'm proud of you.”

 

Astro Boy shivered. The voice was calm, confident, frightening.

 

“You do not know me yet, Astro. Me, I know you well. I am Dr. Tenma, and I'll tell you the real story of your creation...”