After Lynn returned from Kamar-Taj to the New York Sanctum, he carefully monitored the abnormalities in his body while occasionally opening portals to Afghanistan to check on Tony's armor.
The awkward sensation of his brain processing too quickly remained, and he still occasionally experienced brief gaps in time. Yet even after searching through the Sanctum's magical texts, he found no clues at all. He could only follow the Ancient One's instructions, quietly noting every instance of the abnormalities and setting aside his unease for the time being.
That morning, Lynn summoned the Farsight Spell's runes as usual and observed the cave from afar. This time, his eyes suddenly lit up as his gaze fell on the depths of the cave.
The scattered scrap-metal parts had been assembled into a crude but complete prototype suit of armor. Tony crouched beside it, concentrating on adjusting the reactor in its chest, while Yinsen helped organize the wiring nearby, his expression serious and urgent.
"Almost done," Lynn murmured. The runes at his fingertips flickered faintly, bringing the armor's details into sharper focus. "At this rate, another day or two at most, and Tony will finish the final adjustments and be ready to break out."
He dismissed the runes, turned, and opened a portal back to the Sanctum's main hall. Wong was still leaning against the second-floor railing with a book, his expression as calm as ever. Lynn lifted his chin and said, "Wong, just letting you know, Tony's almost ready. I need to stand watch in Afghanistan. Aside from coming back to sleep at night, I'll be staying on the hill outside the cave during the day. Contact me through your Sling Ring if anything comes up. But save my meals for me-I'll come back to eat."
Without even looking up, Wong gave a quiet "Mm" and waved a hand to acknowledge him. "Don't cause unnecessary trouble." Though he said little, he knew what Lynn intended to do.
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing." Lynn smiled and raised a hand to open a portal. Amid the blossoming orange sparks, the landscape of the Afghan desert appeared. Without further delay, he stepped through and headed straight for the familiar hill.
Over the next two days, Lynn took up a full-time vigil on the hill. By day, he hid behind the rocks, watching Tony's progress with the armor's adjustments while monitoring his own abnormalities. Occasionally, he took out his phone and repeatedly checked it-the one with a decent camera he had bought with money borrowed from Wong-to make sure its video-recording function worked properly.
He certainly hadn't forgotten his plan to film Tony's iconic crash. Given how much Tony Stark cared about saving face, threatening him with the crash footage should get Stark to solve his undocumented status problem, right? Heh heh heh.
At night, he opened a portal back to the New York Sanctum to rest, gave Wong a brief update on Tony's progress, and hurried off to sleep, replenishing his energy as he waited for the plot to begin.
Time passed quickly, and before long, the day of Tony's breakout arrived.
That morning, the sunlight was blinding, and even the desert wind carried scorching heat. Holding his breath, Lynn stared toward the cave through a gap in the rocks, magic gathering faintly at his fingertips as he stood ready to act at any moment. He could clearly hear the faint sounds coming from the cave, along with Tony and Yinsen's conversation.
Before long, a faint electrical hum came from the cave, followed by the explosion, right on schedule.
After confirming that the code transfer still needed some time, Yinsen spoke to Tony Stark with a trace of resolve and guilt. "I'm sorry, Tony. I'm so sorry. Don't waste your life."
Lynn's heart leaped into his throat, his gaze fixed on the cave's interior. Yinsen took a deep breath, picked up a battered rifle beside him, and ran outside with determination in his eyes, his footsteps steady and without the slightest hesitation.
He had already prepared himself to die, all to give Tony a chance at survival.
Just as the armed men at the entrance were about to spot Yinsen, Lynn waved his hand, silently enveloping him in a pale-white magical barrier. The next second, an orange portal opened before Yinsen, sweeping him inside before he could react. Lynn also used magic to create a fake corpse of Yinsen in his place.
Yinsen stumbled before finding his footing and realized he was standing on a hill beside an unfamiliar young man-Lynn. Instinctively raising his rifle, he aimed warily at Lynn and demanded, "Who are you? How did I get here?"
"Easy, Doctor Yinsen." Lynn quickly waved his hands, his tone gentle. "I mean you no harm. I'm only here to help. I know you wanted to buy Tony time, but you don't have to die. He'll make it out."
Yinsen frowned deeply. The wariness in his eyes hadn't diminished at all, but he slowly lowered his rifle. "You know me? And Tony? What exactly do you want?"
"I'm just a bystander who doesn't want to see you sacrifice yourself for nothing." Lynn smiled without explaining much-there were things Yinsen might not believe even if he told him. "Just stay here for now and watch what Tony can do. He won't disappoint you."
As he spoke, Lynn took out his phone, turned on the video recording, and aimed it toward the cave. Then he held the phone out toward Yinsen, his tone slightly teasing. "Come on, Doctor Yinsen. Watch the show with me, and we'll record this historic moment while we're at it."
Yinsen looked at the clear view of the cave entrance on the phone's screen, then at Lynn's sincere eyes. His confusion only deepened, but he asked no further questions. He simply stood silently beside Lynn, his gaze fixed on the cave, his expression still tense.
Just then, a tremendous crash came from the cave, followed by a towering metal figure emerging from its entrance. Tony wore the first-generation Mark Armor, wisps of smoke and dust drifting around him. The reactor in his chest glimmered faintly, making him look like a steel warrior returned from hell.
The armed men at the entrance instantly panicked and raised their guns to fire. Bullets struck the armor with metallic clangs, but couldn't penetrate its defenses at all. Tony roared and threw a punch, sending one of the armed men flying. Then the thrusters in his palms and feet activated, slowly lifting him into the air as he furiously attacked the surrounding armed men and weapons depot.
Explosions and gunfire rang out one after another, sending clouds of sand and dust billowing across the desert. Lynn held his phone steady, filming it all, unable to keep the corners of his mouth from rising-this was Iron Man's first appearance. Crude though it was, it was filled with power. Beside him, Yinsen watched Tony's impressive display on the screen, his eyes full of relief as his tense body gradually relaxed.
After completely clearing out the surrounding armed men, Tony stopped, breathing heavily. He turned and staggered back toward the cave, his armor creaking with the sound of grinding metal.
"Yinsen! Yinsen!" he shouted, unmistakable anxiety in his voice.
The cave entrance was a mess, with rubble and metal fragments scattered everywhere. Tony moved aside several larger rocks and peered inside by the faint glow of his reactor. He froze.
A body lay curled in a corner, most of its clothing burned away and its face unrecognizable. But the strip of brown watchband showing at the cuff... that was Yinsen's watch.
"No..." Tony slowly sank to his knees and reached out to touch it, only to stop with his hand suspended in the air. Even the reactor in his chest seemed to dim a little.
He remained silent for over ten seconds, then abruptly clenched his fists and stood. Nothing remained in his eyes but cold fury. He backed out of the cave and raised his hand toward the remaining weapons depot, sending a jet of flame shooting out.
Fierce flames instantly engulfed the entire cave, fire blazing into the sky.
"Goodbye, Yinsen," Tony said quietly, activating the thrusters in his feet and flying into the distance. The explosions behind him lit up the desert, illuminating his reddened eyes beneath his faceplate.
Watching all this from afar, Yinsen gripped the hem of his clothes.
"Come on. Let's follow him." Lynn patted Yinsen's shoulder. Still recording with his phone, he raised a hand to open a portal and took Yinsen along, quietly following Tony at a moderate distance-close enough to clearly film his every move, but far enough to avoid being noticed.
Tony's armor was only the first generation, after all, and extremely unstable. He hadn't flown far when the thrusters in his feet suddenly sputtered twice, releasing two plumes of black smoke. Then the thrusters failed completely. Tony lost control and plummeted straight toward the desert below like a kite with its string cut, his armor scraping against the air with an ear-piercing noise.
"Now!" Lynn's eyes lit up. He hurriedly adjusted his phone's angle and steadily filmed Tony's entire fall-this was the iconic scene he'd been longing for, Iron Man's first crash, an embarrassing yet legendary beginning.
Tony slammed into a desert dune, his armor crumpling on impact. The reactor in his chest flickered several times before gradually going dark. Covered in injuries, he struggled out of the armor, but still held his back straight. His eyes carried a trace of relief at having survived, along with a hint of desolation at losing Yinsen.
He sat on the dune for a while, leaning against the twisted wreckage of his armor and breathing heavily.
The desert was quiet, with only the wind and the distant explosions from the burning weapons depot. Tony removed his helmet, wiped the blood from his forehead with the back of his hand, and tilted his head up toward the blazing white sun.
Yinsen was gone.
He had made it out alive, but Yinsen hadn't.
He closed his eyes, his mind filled with what Yinsen had said before rushing out: "Don't waste your life."
Just then, an orange light appeared on the sand before him.
A young man stepped out, holding a phone with a somewhat irreverent smile on his lips.
Lynn lowered his phone and tipped his chin at Tony.
"Hey, Mr. Stark," he said, sounding as though he'd run into an acquaintance on the street. "Pretty cool crash pose. I recorded it for you. No need to thank me."
Tony jerked his head up. Seeing Lynn and Yinsen appear out of nowhere, he froze completely.
Then he looked at Yinsen again, as though checking that he wasn't hallucinating.
"...Yinsen?"
His voice was very soft, almost drowned out by the desert wind. Then he suddenly stood, moving so quickly that he pulled at the wound along his ribs, but he paid it no attention. He rushed up to Yinsen in a few strides and grabbed his shoulders with both hands, gripping so hard his knuckles turned white.
Lynn put away his phone and looked at the stunned Tony, a teasing smile curling his lips. He had captured that precious iconic scene. This deal was pure profit.
Once my registration problem is sorted out, should I get a big villa, or ask for a sports car? Heh heh heh.