Taking the keys from the guards, Blake quietly opened the iron door.
In front of him was a large, haphazardly arranged wooden workbench, cluttered with various tools and metals.
Creating a small arc reactor and a set of advanced armor in such an environment—truly worthy of Iron Man, a mortal comparable to a god.
Blake marveled at this thought.
Looking inside the cave, he saw two simple military cots placed on the far right side.
Two people were lying on the cots, covered with indistinctly colored blankets. One was Dr. Yinsen, who appeared briefly in the movie.
The other was Tony Stark, who had become Iron Man. Blake could see the faint blue glow of the arc reactor under the blanket.
Having spent so much time together, Blake had developed a certain level of friendship with Tony.
Usually well-dressed, Tony Stark now looked disheveled and messy.
With a tinge of sadness, Blake gently lifted Tony's blanket.
"Smack!"
With a light touch, Tony's eyes snapped open, and he grabbed Blake's wrist.
"Uh, as your coach, shouldn't I praise you for learning well?" Tony Stark's eyes, initially confused, suddenly filled with joy.
Blake quickly stood up and turned around, tightly covering Yinsen's mouth, who was about to shout.
"Shut up! If you want to live, don't scream. I'm Tony's friend!" Yinsen, startled awake, was about to scream, but Blake reacted quickly enough.
"God, I never knew seeing you would make me so happy. How did you get here?" Tony whispered excitedly.
"If I told you I was waiting for the next subway, would you believe me? Of course, I'm here to rescue you, my friend. And also, don't come near me. I don't want to hug you. Damn it! Tony, you have no idea how bad you smell!"
Breaking free from Tony's hug, Blake couldn't help but brush off the dust from himself.
Lowering his voice, he said, "The guards outside are dealt with. Now, keep quiet and follow me!"
At this moment, Hawkeye's voice came through the earpiece, urging him.
"Blake, you need to speed up. There's a surveillance room watching your area. I already dealt with one guy who got up to use the bathroom, but we don't have much time."
"Let's go, no time to waste!" Blake urged the two.
Though Tony wondered who came with Blake, he knew this wasn't the time for questions.
He stood up, grabbed a stack of blueprints from the workbench, and followed Blake without hesitation.
As they emerged, Black Widow was already planting small bombs around the area.
Informing Hawkeye to retreat, they climbed up the side near the cave.
Black Widow glanced at the canyon below, filled with ammunition, and said,
"You guys go get the car. I'll stay here. If anyone comes out, I'll give them a free firework show!" She held a small detonator in her hand.
Earlier, due to the urgency and darkness, Tony hadn't clearly seen Hawkeye and Black Widow's faces.
Now, hearing Black Widow speak, he recognized her.
"It's you!" It seemed Black Widow had left a deep impression on Tony from the casino.
But Tony wisely refrained from asking more questions at this moment. Instead, he spoke seriously to Black Widow.
"I want to stay with you. The missiles, rifles, and other weapons down there are all Stark Industries products. I don't know why they're here, but I want to destroy them personally."
Blake understood Tony's feelings better than anyone else in the group. Before anyone could say anything, he spoke up.
"That's settled then. I'll stay to protect them. Yinsen, go with Agent Barton to get the car!"
Hawkeye glanced at Blake and Tony, then silently signaled Yinsen to follow him and turned to leave.
The three of them found a hidden spot to lie low.
By now, the sky was beginning to lighten.
Blake looked at the glowing arc reactor on Tony's chest and said, "Nice tattoo. It even glows. Help me get one when we get back!"
Tony gave a bitter smile and pulled down his shirt to reveal the reactor inside.
"This thing is an electromagnet. It keeps shrapnel from reaching my heart. I swear, you wouldn't like how it feels."
Even Black Widow, and Blake who knew the story, couldn't help but be taken aback at the sight of a large piece of metal embedded in someone's chest.
"At least you don't need a nightlight when you go to the bathroom," Blake said, trying to comfort him by patting his shoulder.
Just then, a commotion rose from the camp below.
"Don't talk. They've noticed," Black Widow whispered. The three of them watched the camp.
A group of disheveled terrorists emerged from the cave on the left, shouting and brandishing rifles.
Black Widow handed the detonator to Tony. "Wait a bit, until more of them come out."
Tony took the detonator and held it tightly, his recent experiences clearly having left a psychological impact.
A short time later, an angry bald man led more people out. After checking Tony's cave, he reemerged and shouted orders at the men below.
"Now!" Black Widow said.
Almost instantly, Tony pressed the detonator switch.
"BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!"
The small bombs planted by Black Widow exploded, triggering a larger explosion of the missiles, grenades, and ammunition stored nearby.
The intense explosion made the ground shake, even for the three people over a hundred meters away. Bullets were propelled into the air, scattering and exploding like a grand fireworks display.
At that moment, the sound of a car engine roared behind them.
Blake saw an off-road vehicle speeding towards them.
"Get in the car! The explosion will draw the attention of the local military and government. We need to leave now!" Hawkeye waved them over.
Tony took one last look at the place before turning to follow Blake into the car.
None of them noticed the bald leader, who had been blown back into the cave by the explosion. Though injured, he had avoided the brunt of the blast.
As they drove away, he slowly crawled out of the cave and, watching the dust from their departure, pulled out a satellite phone from his pocket.
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