(Brain storage space——Lost——)
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom…
The crisp sound of blacksmithing echoed rhythmically through the small, dim cave.
Sparks danced in the shadows as Tony Stark focused intensely on the steel helmet in his hands. Sweat dripped down his forehead, but his gaze was unwavering—calm, determined, as though he was preparing to walk straight into battle.
"Hurry up," a quiet voice urged from beside him. "If we take too long, they'll get suspicious."
Dr. Yinsen's warning was valid, but Tony didn't respond. Instead, he increased the speed of his hammering, clenching his jaw as he worked. Every second mattered. Every blow brought them closer to freedom—or to death.
But just as the two were fully immersed in their tense escape plan, a voice suddenly echoed from behind.
"Excuse me... where am I?"
Both men froze, the metal-on-metal rhythm coming to an abrupt halt.
The cave fell deathly silent. Even the faint echo of the hammering seemed to dissolve into the thick air, replaced by the sound of rapid breathing. Time slowed.
It felt like forever before Tony slowly turned around, his muscles tensing with caution.
Standing there was a young man—barely into adulthood, with tousled hair, a confused expression, and clothes that didn't match anything worn in this part of the world. Or, more importantly, by the terrorists holding them captive.
"Who are you?!" Tony demanded sharply, his voice laced with both suspicion and authority.
The young man raised his hands slightly, a polite and somewhat embarrassed smile on his face.
"My name is Henry," he said with careful pronunciation.
Tony didn't lower his guard. "Are you with them?"
"Who's 'them'?" Henry asked, looking genuinely puzzled.
"The terrorists outside," Tony snapped, narrowing his eyes.
Henry blinked, his mind catching up to the surreal situation. "What? No! Do I look like a terrorist to you?!"
Tony's gaze stayed firm. "Then how did you get in here?"
That... was a question Henry wasn't entirely sure how to answer.
After a pause, he scratched the back of his head and replied with an awkward chuckle, "So… if I say I just appeared out of thin air... would you believe me?"
Tony Stark: "???"
Dr. Yinsen: "???"
Yeah. That went about as well as expected.
But Henry wasn't joking.
He had appeared out of thin air—not due to some flashy magic or portal technology, but from time travel.
Yes, actual time travel.
It sounded insane, even to him.
One moment, he was at the entrance of his apartment building, heading downstairs to pick up a package. No accidents, no weird weather, no glowing lights.
And then, bam. A blink later, he found himself standing in a dark, dusty cave, surrounded by two very familiar faces.
It wasn't until he got a better look at the disheveled man with the facial hair and workshop of metal scraps that he began to panic.
That guy wasn't just anybody.
That was Tony Stark.
The Tony Stark. As in Iron Man, Marvel's beloved billionaire-genius-playboy-philanthropist. Except... this wasn't a movie set.
This was real.
Henry had watched Iron Man 1 at least five times. He knew exactly what scene this was—the one where Tony was kidnapped in Afghanistan, trapped in a cave, and secretly building his first Iron Man suit.
And now Henry was here.
With them.
Trapped.
In the middle of that scene.
Marvel Universe.
His heart sank.
Anyone with even a basic understanding of this world would know—this wasn't some slice-of-life urban story. This was a chaotic, terrifying place filled with aliens, gods, robots, and doomsday-level threats that popped up every few months like bad weather.
To Henry, a soft-spoken college student who'd never even held a real weapon, this was a death sentence.
The top priority right now… was figuring out how to survive.
"System? Cheat? Grandpa from the void?" Henry screamed internally. "Isn't every time traveler supposed to get some kind of overpowered ability? Where's my golden finger?!"
He received no answer.
No pop-up. No tutorial voice. Nothing.
Seeing him fall silent and grimace like he had a migraine, Tony finally asked, "You okay?"
Henry nodded slowly, forcing a bitter smile. "I've been better."
Tony gave a humorless laugh. "No one feels good in this place."
Before Henry could speak again, Tony narrowed his eyes. "You said you appeared out of thin air. What exactly do you mean?"
Henry hesitated. How do you even explain something like that?
"It's complicated," he said, finally. "I honestly don't know how to explain it."
Tony didn't like vague answers, and it showed.
"Convenient," he replied dryly. "No explanation at all?"
Henry sighed. "Look, I get it. My appearance is suspicious. But if I was with the terrorists, wouldn't I have exposed your little project already?"
Tony didn't reply, but the point hung in the air.
Right now, Tony and Yinsen were secretly building armor—his way out. If Henry had been an enemy, he could've blown their cover the moment he arrived.
Instead, he stood there like a deer in headlights.
Tony's shoulders finally loosened just slightly.
"Alright. I'm not saying I trust you. But you're not acting like a threat either," Tony said, though his tone remained guarded. "So if you're not a terrorist, what the hell are you doing here?"
Henry threw his hands up. "I'd love to know that myself!"
He hadn't chosen to come here. He just… had.
Like fate had rolled some cosmic dice and thought, Hey, let's drop this college kid into a war-torn desert prison. That'll be funny.
Tony opened his mouth to press further, but Dr. Yinsen suddenly interjected.
"Tony, we're running out of time."
The older man glanced anxiously at the entrance, then back at the workbench.
Realizing the urgency, Tony nodded and returned to hammering the helmet.
Henry stepped back, relieved that the questioning had stopped for now.
But relief didn't last long.
He knew what came next.
And it wasn't good.
Just as Henry started to mentally brace himself for the upcoming events, the ground trembled slightly beneath his feet. Heavy footsteps. Muffled shouts. The metallic clang of weapons being readied.
The terrorists had noticed something.
They were coming.
The tension in the cave instantly ramped up.
Tony worked faster. Yinsen rushed to hide parts under scraps. Henry stood frozen in place, his mind racing.
"No system. No powers. No cheat items. Nothing."
He had traveled to a world filled with superheroes, gods, and high-tech weaponry—and arrived as a completely normal person.
Fantastic.
As the yelling outside grew louder and gunshots rang through the still air, Henry clenched his fists and whispered one last, desperate plea in his mind:
"If anyone's out there listening… now would be a great time to drop that system in."
Still nothing.
Figures.
Looks like he was going to have to rely on his brain, his instincts… and a bit of luck.