…
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
Gunfire erupted outside the cave.
Bang bang bang!
Screams followed.
"He's not human — he's a monster!"
"Bullets don't do anything to him!"
"Where's the damn artillery?!"
"Artillery? Even anti-tank rounds aren't stopping him!"
Inside the cave, Tony Stark and Dr. Ho Yinsen were still struggling with the final problem of putting on the Mark I armor when the chaos exploded beyond the entrance.
Then—
A blinding flash.
And silence.
Tony and Yinsen exchanged a look.
Yinsen hurried to the small surveillance slit by the door and peered outside.
"Tony! This is our chance!" he whispered urgently. "There's no one guarding the entrance!"
"Seriously?"
Tony tried to spring up from the bed in excitement, failed miserably, and tumbled to the ground. From beneath the cot, he retrieved a crude explosive bundle wrapped in tape.
After confirming no guards were immediately outside, he taped the improvised bomb to the inside door handle. If someone pushed the door inward, the blast would buy them precious seconds.
"Yinsen! Help me into the suit — now!"
"Right!"
A Few Minutes Earlier
Ten Rings compound.
Leon had originally planned to achieve a "perfect stealth infiltration."
Instead—
With near-invulnerable durability and an Infinite Desert Eagle, he went full frontal assault.
The only problem?
His aim was atrocious.
It often took seven shots to drop a single target.
After all, he'd never trained with firearms. Not long ago, he'd been a pampered playboy with barely the strength to open a jar.
Fortunately, "infinite ammo" solved most problems.
The Desert Eagle roared like a handheld machine gun in his grip.
The bald Ten Rings commander saw the situation spiraling and barked orders to his bearded lieutenant.
"He's dangerous. Move Tony Stark and Ho Yinsen immediately! I'll cover!"
"Yes, boss!"
The lieutenant grabbed a squad and rushed toward the cave.
Leon noticed.
After missing several shots, he stopped pretending.
Light began to gather in his chest.
Three seconds of charge—
BOOM.
A beam of incandescent energy, thick as a barrel, erupted from his torso.
Leon rotated in place, sweeping the blast across the valley.
Everything caught in its arc—
Annihilated.
When the beam faded, the lieutenant's squad had been reduced to ash. The bald commander was nowhere to be seen — likely vaporized as well.
Leon exhaled.
"Yeah… definitely drains me a bit."
"Not ideal as a default move."
He surveyed the compound, now scorched as if washed by molten lava.
"Anyone else?"
Only wind answered.
The stench of charred flesh made him wrinkle his nose.
It seemed the Ten Rings outpost was effectively wiped out.
Back in the Cave
Tony and Yinsen had nearly finished assembling the Mark I.
Footsteps echoed faintly outside.
"Yinsen, hurry! I think I hear someone!"
"Almost done! What next?"
"Power sequence only! Hit F11, wait for the progress bar, then Ctrl+I, then Enter!"
The footsteps grew closer.
Yinsen slammed Enter.
The armor's startup bar began filling — 10% per second.
"Good!"
"Yinsen, hide! I'll deal with them, then we get out of this hellhole together!"
"I happen to be very good at hide-and-seek," Yinsen said with a faint smile.
Using his slim frame, he slipped inside an emptied missile casing nearby. Unless someone physically moved it, he'd remain hidden.
Tony watched the progress bar climb.
80%.
90%.
His heart pounded.
100%.
The cave lights flickered—
Then died.
Silence.
Outside the Door
BOOM!
The steel door dented inward violently, a fist imprint visible in the metal.
Leon withdrew his hand and stared at the dent.
"…That's it? It didn't even break?"
He kicked.
The door blasted off its hinges.
And instantly—
BOOM!!!
Tony's taped bomb detonated.
Leon was blown backward.
"What the hell!"
"Forgot about that part!"
He coughed, climbed to his feet, brushed off dust.
Not a scratch on him.
Moments later, he leaned casually against the cave entrance, arms crossed, tone half-amused, half-melancholic.
"Hey. Skinny old man. Let's go."
His silhouette was backlit by the dying glow of dawn.
Heroic.
Dramatic.
Perfect entrance—
Except.
A sandbag-sized iron fist came flying at his face.
CLANG.
Leon caught it with one hand.
"Hey!"
"Bro! It's me!"
"Your favorite little brother, Leon!"
"You're full of crap!" Tony shouted from inside the crude Mark I. "Leon doesn't punch through solid steel doors!"
In the dim cave, the Mark I had no night vision. Tony's auditory systems were distorted from the recent explosion.
All he saw was a massive silhouette.
He launched into a flurry of heavy swings.
Leon sighed.
"Well… if words don't work—"
He slipped past Tony's hooks and delivered a clean, unembellished uppercut.
The kind that doesn't need special effects.
WHAM.
The Mark I suit smashed into the cave ceiling.
Rocks rained down.
Tony crashed to the ground.
Silence returned to the cave.
The dawn outside crept closer.
And history had just officially gone off-script.