Hello everyone! I gladly present to you… Chapter three! This update was much quicker than the last and hopefully the next one will also come within the near future, but I can't promise you anything because school is kind of taking my time right now. (I really should be studying right now, but you know how it is)

Thank you so much for the reviews, each one is like a huge chocolate bar and they inspire me to continue writing. I'm also very thankful for everyone who has favorited or followed this, because they also encourage me! Oh, please feel free to point out any grammar or spelling mistakes that you notice, because I have no beta and English isn't my first langue so to get my mistakes pointed out so that I can correct the really helps :D

Please enjoy the chapter!

Not a Hero, chapter three

He was falling. Everything was black around him, everything except the huge explosion. He tried to fight the darkness but it dragged him down. Jarvis didn't respond and his suit was shutting down. The darkness kept coming closer, it took over completely and for a second he relished in the calm of darkness but suddenly he was wide awake. His head was pushed down into ice cold water. He held his breath but soon his lungs started to scream for air. When it felt like they were going to explode he was dragged up from the water. He took a huge breath for air but he hadn't even finished before he was pushed back down again. This time he wasn't so lucky. His mouth was still open from breathing and water rushed in. He tried to breathe in in panic but his mouth and nose only filled with more water. It felt like the ice was burning his insides and sparks erupted from the cables connected to his chest. They burned him to but he barely noticed because he couldn't breathe! He needed air. Another second of agony passed and he couldn't stand it anymore, he was dying..

Tony awoke gasping for air. He flailed his arms but the sheets held him down, panic overwhelmed him but after a little while he realized were he were. He was home, not really home because that was Malibu, but he was in the Stark Tower. Not in a cave. His arc reactor was in place and he had survived the fall from outer space, Hulk had made sure of that.

Tony lay still in his bed, breathing heavily and trying to push away the images from the nightmare. The light from his arc reactor comforts him but he misses Pepper's calming presence beside him. After a few minutes of just breathing he starts to get cold and he realizes that he is drenched with sweat. He's considering taking a shower but when he closes his eyes flashes from his nightmare passes by and he shudders at the mere thought of having water running over his head. Usually it isn't a problem for the billionaire to take a shower, but right after a nightmare he really can't stand it. So instead he just lays there and stares into the darkness.

He can't sleep, he can't even close his eyes, but a look at the watch on his nightstand shows him that it's only four in the morning so he just lays there. Too tired to get up and go to his workshop and too alert, he won't even think the word scared, to sleep. Seconds turn to minutes and minutes to hours. Soon the first light of dawn brakes through his windows and Tony is silently grateful for Jarvis knowing exactly what he needs, because right now the light is a blessing. It tells him that morning has arrived and it gives him a real reason to fight down the tiredness and get up, to get up and away from the nightmares.

Tony sits up in bed the moment the watch turns six am. The sweat has dried so he just puts on a pair of slacks and an old t-shirt before walking out from his room and towards the shared kitchen. He is still so tired that he doesn't really look were he's going so it isn't until he's standing beside the coffee machine that he notices Steve sitting at the table eating from a bowl of porridge.
"Morning Rogers", Tony mumbles as he's tries to suppress a yawn.
"If you're so tired why don't you sleep?" Captain America asks instead of offering a greeting. "You complain about being tired but still you don't sleep. That's quite stupid", Steve's voice is calm but he looks at Tony in a way that doesn't make him entirely comfortable and his eyebrows are raised in disapproval. Tony shakes away the bad feeling that's creeping up his spine and answers with a smooth line that isn't really a lie, but is still nowhere near the real truth. Because there is no way that he's telling captain superhero that he's having nightmares.
"Sleep is unnecessary." Rogers snorts at that statement and the action is so out of character for his good-guy façade that Tony almost loses his mask of collected arrogance.
"No, sleep is necessary and if you mess up today because you are tired I will not be the one to help you." His voice is cold as ice and Tony has to force his face into an arrogant smirk.
"Sure sure, Cap." Then he picks up his coffee and prepares to leave. "I'm going to do something useful now but please feel free to tell me when we're heading out." With those words the inventor strides out of the kitchen and heads for his lab without looking back.

Tony felt like he had just arrived at his lab when Jarvis alerts him about a call from Fury. For a second Tony wants to ignore it, just so that he can evade meeting Rogers right now but then he shakes himself up. Even thought he is used to running away from problems he is not the kind of person who runs from a person. Instead he will face them straight on and be as arrogant and cocky as possible. Sure, it might not solve the problem and it will probably even make it worse but at least it feels good. So Tony leaves his car and heads up to the meeting room were the other Avengers, minus Clint, are waiting. Fury is looking just as gloomy as usual on the big screen that is his normal way of contacting the Avengers before every day of cleanups.

"Why did you call us so damn early?" Clint mutters as he stumbles in to the room, still in PJ's and with his hair standing in all directions. Natasha snorts and then covers her mouth, as if to hold something in. Laughter, probably.
"It's seven thirty in the morning, Barton, and that is not "Damn early"" Fury grumbles. Tony would normally agree with Clint but since he couldn't sleep today it doesn't really matter. He lets his eyes sweep over the table and its occupants. Thor looks just like he always does but Tony knows that he hasn't had time to drink his morning coffee, because if he had he would be much louder. Natasha is her normal collected self and you couldn't tell if it was morning or evening by just locking at her appearance. Tony suspected that you could wake her in the middle of the night and she would still look wide awake and be properly dressed in a couple of seconds. Steve was.. Well, he was himself. Wide awake, alert and hanging on to Fury's every word. His hair was wet from the shower and his clothes were clean and neat. Perhaps he sensed Tony's eyes on him because he turned towards him but Tony quickly let his gaze wander on without meeting his eyes. At first look Bruce seemed just as alert as Steve or Natasha but when Tony studied him closer he realized that the other genius's eyes almost were closed and that he breathed deep and calmly. The bastard was as good as still asleep! Somewhat annoyed by that Tony turned to Fury again as he started talking.

"Today you will not do cleanups, they are almost finished but that is not the issue here. SHIELD have localized a group of people, probably terrorists that have gotten their hands on Chitauri weapons" He looks grim as he speak but Tony would have none of it, terrorist was always a touchy subject for him and the problems with Rogers just drove him over the edge.
"Are you telling me that SHIELD just let some terrorists waltz in and steal alien weapons? Weren't you guys supposed to, and I quote; "Take care of the weapons while the Avengers are seen in public cleaning up"? I-We- trusted you with that and see what happened. Do you have any idea what those guys could-"
"Stark!" Fury shouted. "Shut up and listen!" Tony stopped his angry outburst and sat down again, which was weird because he hadn't even noticed himself standing up.
"I know this is a problem and that's why I contacted you. The Avengers will head out right now and fix this. Their base is located a few miles north of the city boarder and we assume that it's about fifty men with Chitauri weapons and normal, human, shotguns. You leave in fifteen minutes."

The second Fury stopped talking everyone jumped up from their seats and headed for the door. No one complained about being tired anymore and even Clint looked serious and determined in his pajamas. Tony headed down to his workshop, and as fast as he could he changed out of the slacks and into his tight "under the suit" clothes.
"Get the suit Jarvis, we're heading out for real now"
"As you command, sir", the AI answered with his normal collected and slightly British voice. A door opened in the wall and Tony stepped in to his suit. As he felt it closing around him he could finally breathe out, because in the suit he was safe. In the suit no one could hurt him. When he wore it he was equal or even better than Captain America, he could fly and fight and protect himself. Even thought Tony Stark wasn't a hero in the eyes of the world, Ironman was, and it was Ironman that left Stark Tower that morning.