Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The crisp clang of metal rang through the cave. It sounded like a beautiful melody—the prelude to Tony's journey as Iron Man, and the opening notes of many momentous events on Earth in the Marvel Universe.

Iron Man's prototype armor, the Mark I, had entered its final stage of construction. Amid firelight and hammer blows, its outline was beginning to take shape.

Watching it all from Los Angeles, Lin Hai knew it was time to prepare to leave.

At noon the next day.

In a blind spot between the four camera feeds monitored by the Ten Rings Gang, Tony was undertaking the difficult task of "getting dressed" with Yinsen's help.

Once Yinsen had strapped the padding for cushioning and insulation onto Tony, it was time for the steel components. Hammered, welded, and assembled piece by piece, they gleamed dull gray in the cave's dim light.

Yinsen fastened the components to Tony one piece at a time with belts and makeshift clasps.

Just as they were nearly finished putting on the Mark I, the bald leader watching the monitors noticed something wrong.

The camera covering that area had a fixed angle. All it showed now was Yinsen, busy in front of what looked like a metal frame.

But where was Tony Stark?

The leader stared hard at the screen, trying to find Tony in the footage. He was nowhere to be seen. The genius arms dealer seemed to have vanished from view.

Dread seized the leader's heart.

"Something's wrong... Very wrong!" He immediately ordered a subordinate, "Go find him!"

Two armed men hurried to the iron door of Tony and Yinsen's cave, automatic rifles in hand. One opened the viewing hatch and called out to Yinsen and Stark several times before shouting in Hungarian.

Inside the cave, Tony