I love this chapter so much.
Just FYI this chapter deals a lot with PTSD and anxiety and such.

The story talks a lot about Iron Man 3 too.

Please enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it!

God bless,
Jamie

~A~

Okay, he lied.

Sure, he destroyed all of his suits but... Come on he was Iron Man! They were one and the same.

There was no separating the two.

It was easy enough to put an arc reactor directly into the suit. After all, he'd already done similar for the Iron Patriot.

But he was doing better.

He had started keeping normal hours. No more staying up for days on end inventing. Pepper made sure of that. Bruce too now that he was living in the Tower. Add Jarvis in the mix and it was a wonder that he was allowed into his lab at all.

But really, he was getting better. He had begun to eat more and he didn't drink near as much as he used to. He heeded Jarvis's warnings and went to Pepper instead of the bottle.

It was progress.

The PTSD was still there, but it was more manageable.

"Sir, " Jarvis interrupted some mindless tinkering.

"What's up J?" Tony said not looking up. He had eaten lunch a couple of hours ago and had gotten five hours of sleep last night. So Jarvis had no reason to scold him.

"Sir," the AI said again. This time Tony noticed the... Apprehension? In the bodyless voice.

Tony stopped, looking up at the ceiling. "What's wrong?"

"There are some... Articles circulating the internet of which I believe you may wish to take note."

The inventor scowled. "When did I make you so cryptic?" He grumbled, picking up his phone.

He turned it on. A news article appeared on the home screen.

His eyes widen as he sees the simple, four-word headline: CAPTAIN AMERICA PRESUMED DEAD.

He clicks on the link, not completely believing it. It didn't make sense.

He quickly skimmed the article.

CAPTAIN AMERICA PRESUMED DEAD

National icon and World War II veteran is presumed dead. The Captain, alias Steve Rogers, was briefly declared a fugitive by the espionage organization S.H.I.E.L.D. after the death of Director Nick Fury.

It was later discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D has been a cover for the Nazi organisation Hydra. Captain America and his team successfully took down S.H.I.E.L.D./Hydra but at great cost.

The icon was last seen fighting on the S.H.I.E.L.D aircraft, the Triskelion flying over the Patomic in Washington D.C. He was reportedly still onboard when the aircraft was destroyed.

No body has yet been found.

The country mourns the death of a true hero.

Tony felt like the world was closing in on him.

He clicked on another link outlining the thousands of documents that had been released from S.H.I.E.L.D archives.

The world was going fuzzy. He couldn't breathe.

"Sir, I suggest you take a deep breath. Doctor Banner has been notified and is on his way. Please remain calm."

He couldn't. He tried. But he couldn't. He couldn't breathe.

He rubbed the area where his arc reactor used to be. He felt a new wave of panic was over him when he felt a slightly sunk in place in his chest, but no arc reactor. There was nothing to keep his heart beating. The shrapnel.

"Sir, remember, you had surgery. Your arc reactor was removed as well as the shrapnel. You will be perfectly fine. Please attempt to breathe until Doctor Banner arrives."

Breathe. But Cap was dead. He was killed. S.H.I.E.L.D was Hydra? How did he not- he should have known? He had hacked them years ago. Had all of their files saved onto a drive.

He should have known. But he didn't. And now his friend was dead.

Dead. Dead. Dead.

The phone fell from his hands and he clutched his head, hands pulling tightly at his hair.

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

Dead. Dead. Dead.

Breathe. Dead. Breathe. Dead.

His knees buckled beneath him. He found himself falling to the floor, but could do nothing to stop it.

Someone caught him. He felt arms come around him. Someone was calling his name.

He was sat down, leaning forward so his elbows were resting in his lap. His hand hiding his face.

Someone was gently rubbing circles on his back. He heard calming whispers coming from beside him.

His brain stopped screaming and his breathing became a little more even.

But it didn't matter.

This wasn't some nightmare that he could wake up from.

Cap was dead.

Steve was dead.

And there was nothing he could do about it.

It was too late.

~A~

Next up, Bruce!

The chapter is already written, but I'm trying to prove to myself I can keep a schedule lol.

Hope you liked this one!

God bless,
Jamie