Dawn broke abruptly.
There were no windows inside the cave, but the mechanical hum of the diesel generator started nearly an hour earlier than usual.
The guards’ footsteps echoed far more frequently, laced with a subtle sense of anxiety.
Leo Vance opened his eyes.
Tony was already awake, sitting against the wall.
The blue glow of the electromagnetic device on his chest was dimmer than before, but its rhythmic pulse remained steady.
On the opposite side, Ho Yinsen leaned back, clutching the cuff of his faded shirt so tightly his knuckles turned white.
None of the three spoke.
A taut tension hung thick in the air, like a fine thread suspended overhead that could snap at any moment.
Roughly ten minutes later, the iron door rattled open.
The squad leader stood at the entrance, backed by four heavily armed guards.
“Tony Stark,” the leader barked in harsh English.
“Move.
Ho Yinsen.
You too.”
Tony stood up and brushed the dust from his pants.
Ho Yinsen rose as well, stepping up beside him.
Then the leader turned his glare to Leo Vance.
“You.
Come.”
“Me?” Leo Vance maintained a look of calibrated confusion.
“Work,” the leader gestured at Tony.
“Help him.
Three is faster than two.”
Leo Vance paused for a beat before nodding.
The guards parted to form a path.
Together, the three men exited the stone room, traversed the corridor, and stepped into the main hall.
The main hall was far more crowded than on previous days.
A large swath of space previously cluttered with supplies had been cleared out.
In the center stood Tony’s “guidance system prototype”—a metallic casing welded together from circuit boards, copper tubing, and steel plates.
Its surface was crisscrossed with a dense web of wires.
Nearby lay several open toolboxes overflowing with welding torches, screwdrivers, and spare components.
Four additional Ten Rings guards had been stationed at tactical points around the hall, their rifles slung low, eyes locked onto the workbench area.
Tony walked over to the bench, bent down to inspect the apparatus, and then waved a hand at Ho Yinsen.
“Come hold this steady over here.”
Ho Yinsen walked over and crouched down.
Tony turned his eyes toward Leo Vance.
“You, help me hold this plate in place.”
Leo Vance walked over, crouched on the opposite side of the casing, and gripped a steel plate at the base with both hands.
Under the watchful eyes of the guards, the three formed a seemingly ordinary “work unit.”
Tony put on an act, raising the welding torch and striking a few sparks against the surface of the casing.
“This spot needs a bit more work,” he mumbled loudly enough for the distant guards to hear.
“The wiring for the guidance module has to be rerun.”
Yet every spark from his torch landed along the seams of the outer shell.
Hidden beneath those seams were wiring channels packed with wires, copper tubes, and magnetic cores scavenged from “missile parts.”
“On my count of three,” Tony muttered under his breath, his lips barely moving.
“I drop the torch.
Yinsen, take three steps back and hide behind those steel plates. The source of this chapter is novelping.com.
Leo Vance—cover me.”
“What?” Ho Yinsen gasped softly.
“Do as I say.
Don’t hesitate.”
Ho Yinsen’s fingers tightened around his cuff before he gritted his teeth and nodded.
“One.”
Leo Vance’s right hand was already reaching behind his back.
The cape deployed silently beneath his tattered jacket, waiting on standby.
“Two.”
His left hand found the tactile outline of the Grapple Gun at his waist.
“Three.”
Tony dropped the welding torch.
*Clang!*
The sharp, metallic clatter echoed harshly through the cavernous hall.
The guards reflexively glanced toward the sound.
Obeying Tony’s command, Ho Yinsen bolted back three paces, ducking behind a heavy stack of steel plates.
Tony crouched down instantly, his hands frantically tearing open the bottom panel of the shell.
He pulled out the curved mechanism along with its two sets of terminal posts.
With a sharp tug and twist, he connected the leads from his chest’s temporary electromagnet—
*Hum—*
The Arc Reactor activated with a deep, unmistakable purr, vibrating like the core of an immense piece of machinery.
A guard raised his rifle sharply.
“What are you doing?!”
Tony slammed the assembly against his chest—wires, copper tubes, magnetic cores, and coils all snapped into place within seconds.
The metal latch locked with a crisp *snap*.
The squad leader’s pupils dilated.
“Fire!”
In that exact moment, Leo Vance struck.
The second the torch hit the floor, his cape was fully extended.
With a swift tear from his right hand, his tattered jacket ripped free and fell away, revealing the sleek black fiber suit beneath.
The faint outline of the Bat emblem loomed in the dim light.
Five seconds.
Just as the first guard raised his rifle, a gleaming silver object flashed before his eyes.
He instinctively ducked, but the object wasn’t aimed at him—the Batarang struck the side of his gun barrel with precision, knocking the muzzle several inches off course.
The bullet hit the ceiling, showering plaster dust below.
The Batarang bounced off and hit the ground, its silver edge glinting cold in the gloom.
The guard glanced down, frowning in confusion, unable to identify the object.
But he had no time to ponder, as Leo Vance was already charging toward the second guard.
The second guard pulled the trigger aimed at Tony.
Leo Vance fired his Grapple Gun, catching the edge of the rocky overhead ledge.
The high-tension line yanked him off the ground.
Mid-air, he flipped, his cape spreading into a wide arc that brought him down directly between the second guard and Tony.
The guard’s second round bit into the stone at Leo Vance’s feet, sending sharp gravel clipping against the edge of his cape.
“Yinsen!
“Got it!” Ho Yinsen peeked out from behind the steel plates and sprinted toward Tony.
Tony was already standing.
The Arc Reactor burned with a steady blue light against his chest, wires pressed tight against his skin while electrical arcs crackled along the metal frame.
Grabbing Ho Yinsen by the arm as he reached him, Tony dashed toward the pile of scrap metal at the rear of the main hall.
“Thirty seconds!” Tony yelled without looking back.
A third guard closed in from the side.
Leo Vance pulled a stun grenade from his belt, yanked the pin, and tossed it skimming across the ground.
A blinding white flash erupted.
The guard stumbled back, clutching his eyes while cursing violently.
Leo Vance closed the distance from the flank—a knee to the abdomen followed by an elbow to the jaw.
The guard collapsed, his rifle sliding two meters across the floor.
The squad leader leveled his assault rifle and sprayed automatic fire toward the rear of the main hall.
Bullets slammed into the stacked steel plates and scrap metal, throwing off showers of sparks and carving jagged holes into the barrier.
Leo Vance cut across the hall, hurling two Batarangs simultaneously with his right hand.
One struck the side of the squad leader’s rifle barrel, knocking his aim completely wide; the other embedded itself an inch deep into the ground half a step in front of him, its silver wings quivering slightly.
The leader glanced down at the object, his movements freezing for a split second.
It was uniquely shaped, razor-sharp, and lodged in the earth at an unnatural angle.
He frowned, unable to make sense of what it was, but there was no time to think—Tony was already breaking toward the exit.
That momentary hesitation was all Leo Vance needed.
A heavy metallic impact reverberated from the rear of the hall.
Then came the deep, low-frequency roar of hydraulic systems powering up—heavy, deliberate, and powerful.
The Mark I.
Ho Yinsen’s voice echoed from behind the armor: “Tony…
you…
this…” Before resolving into a breathless, “My God, are you serious?”
Tony’s voice boomed softly from within the iron suit: “What else would I be?”
Ho Yinsen went silent for a second, then let out a laugh.
Clad in a suit of armor welded together from scrap metal and copper, Tony took his first heavy steps forward.
With steel-plate limbs, raw weld lines, and the glowing Arc Reactor at its chest, every stride pounded against the stone floor.
The remaining guards trained their rifles on him in unison.
Tony raised an armored arm and slammed a heavy iron fist directly into the nearest guard.
The impact launched the guard flying two meters through the air, sending his rifle clattering away.
“Leo Vance!
Go!”
Leo Vance didn’t hesitate.
The guard formation had been thoroughly shattered—one was down, one was just recovering from the flashbang, one had been swarmed by Tony, and the squad leader was still raising his rifle at the mechanical monster before him.
The main passage was completely clear.
“Ho Yinsen!
Get out with Tony!” Leo Vance yelled.
“What about you?!” Ho Yinsen poked his head out from behind Tony’s massive shoulder.
“I’m taking the back passage!
I’ll meet you at the back mountain!”
Tony gave Ho Yinsen no time to press further, grabbing his arm and hauling him forward.
“Move!
He can handle himself!”