After a very long time of not updating, I've decided to write another chapter to this, mostly due to the large amounts of reviews this ended up getting. Gotta say, Age of Ultron was what made me want to get back into writing fanfiction again. I lost interest in it for a while, and ended up going to Tumblr to roleplay. But yeah, I thought I'd try to get back into it and update Mayhem. I would like to thank you all so much for reviewing it and demanding that I come back to it. Please note that my writing style may have changed a little bit since this was first created and, of course, this is post Iron Man 3 and before any other events that led up to Age of Ultron. I've also read through every review and will be taking the suggestions into account. Enjoy.

I also would like to dedicate this story and all my future projects to Xana Vlec. She and I were really good friends, and we even started writing a fic together. Sadly, she passed away last year. I'll really miss her.

-Nova

"What do we do?"

The team (minus Tony, of course, and Thor, who was taking care of business on Asgard) were gathered around at the SHIELD base, taking up a conference room for this specific meeting. They all knew why Steve had called them in. It was time to think of how exactly they could get Tony back on the team. Of course, Tony Stark had always been hard to work with. He was good at irritating the living hell out of everyone. But, they couldn't do this without him. Without him, the team wouldn't be the same. No one actually wanted to tell him that, though, knowing that it would only go to the billionaire's head.

"We help him," Steve replied, answering Clint's question. "Look, Stark has been through the wringer. His trip up to the portal really messed with his head. We all know he doesn't like to admit it, but he needs help."

Natasha tucked a piece of her red hair behind her ear. "I've looked over the file of the whole thing with Extremis and Killian. I've also managed to get his recent psych evaluation. Stark obviously has developed post traumatic stress disorder after the battle in New York."

"Soldiers get that when they return from war," said Steve. "They would sleep less, have panic attacks, and develop a self-destructive behavior."

"Yeah, but Tony has always been self-destructive," Bruce chimed in.

"Fury said that he didn't even want Tony on the team in the first place," Steve said. "He only wanted Iron Man."

Natasha nodded her head. "Yeah, that was based on the report I gave after I observed him. Fury didn't think Tony would work well with a team. Obviously, he has been able to, even if he annoys the living hell out of all of us."

Steve sighed. "I went to visit Tony a few days ago. He wasn't well. Trying to coax him into talking about whatever it is he's dealing with just made him freak out." The Captain looked around the table at everyone. "This has got to be a team effort, people. Tony really needs help. It won't be easy, but he still our teammate, no matter what Fury says."

The group nodded their heads simultaneously.

"How exactly do we get him to listen to us, though?" Clint asked.

The group was silent.

Tony handed Pepper a bag. She would be leaving soon for the vacation that he had set up for her. Of course, she was hesitant about going at first. Pepper was CEO of Stark Industries after all, but he insisted that she take some time to herself. If anything happened to the company while she was gone, he easily could take care of it. That didn't exactly make her feel better, but it was nice that Tony was offering this. Just a week and then she would be back to work.

"Got everything?" Tony asked as he walked her to the car. His hand hovered over her lower back.

"Think so," Pepper said as she finished putting the last bag into the trunk. "Are you sure I should go? I'm… not sure if it's a good idea to leave you alone." Hesitantly, she moved toward the driver's side of the car.

The billionaire scoffed. "So I crashed one suit. That's like a regular thing that I do. Nothing to worry about. You should be used to that." He smirked, but he knew none of that was enough to soothe Pepper's worries. Tony opened the door for her and ushered her in. "Go have fun. Enjoy the sun. Do... other relaxing stuff."

Pepper rolled her eyes, but started the car anyways. "Be careful, Tony. Take care of yourself while I'm gone."

"Always do."

"Sure."

With that, Pepper drove away.

The billionaire took a deep breath.

"I feel like this is some sort of intervention," Tony said, unwillingly sitting down in a chair. "Whatever you think I'm on, I'm not on it. I'll even take a urine test to prove it. Anyone got a cup?"

Steve rolled his eyes, along with just about the rest of the team. He sat across from Tony, with Clint, Natasha, and Bruce at his sides. They had showed up unannounced. If they would have told him that they were coming, he probably would have ditched and been on his way to France or something. The billionaire was not exactly thrilled to see all of them at his front door. Quickly, they had ushered him into the living room and told him it was time they had a talk. By the look on his face, they knew that he knew why they were there. Frankly, he was having none of it, though. He was either going to annoy the crap out of them to the point of leaving, or he'd simply throw them all out. Why were they so worried, anyways?

It's not like he's on the team anymore.

"Enough, Stark," Steve replied sternly. "Look, we know you're not well. You've got PTSD after the battle in New York. We know Fury kicked you off because you refuse to get better."

Tony rolled his eyes and sat back.

This was gonna be good.

"We want to help, Tony," Bruce said, more calmly than Steve. "You're still our teammate."

"Oh, I'm not, though," Tony replied with a smirk. As if this was some kind of game. "Don't you hear what Fury is telling you? Don't you hear what you're saying? I'm not on the team anymore. I'm no longer an Avenger, and you know what? It's relieving. No stress. No worries. No picking up after you guys."

Steve shifted. "Pretty sure I'm the one who does most of the picking up."

Natasha sighed. "Tony, all you have to do is get help and learn how to deal with your condition and then Fury will let you back on the team. He's not doing this because he hates you or something. He's doing it because, honestly, you're a danger. To yourself and others."

Tony scoffed and stood up. "Save it, Romanoff. I saw the report. He never even wanted me on the team. Only wanted Iron Man."

"And obviously, you proved him wrong when you got that nuke into the portal and away from the city."

He flinched.

"But Stark, refusing help and acting this way is only making him question you. He's giving you a chance to redeem yourself. To fuckin' help yourself."

At this point, he was already tuning them out and getting himself a drink at the bar.

Steve rose. "Stark. Are you evening listening?" He took a couple steps toward him. "That portal thing really messed you up. We get it and we understand. But, you can't keep letting it haunt you like this."

He slammed down his drink. "And you're only making it worse by constantly mentioning it. I swear, Spangly, you're really gonna freak me out."

His chest tightened.

Oh God, not now.

"Stark?" Clint asked.

"It would be real easy to deal with it if you guys would just shut up about it! I talked to Bruce. That was enough for me. But you all just won't get off my damn back." He was getting tired of this. How was he supposed to get better with everyone constantly bringing New York up? They just kept pushing, and pushing, and pushing.

Until he couldn't take it anymore.

"Can you just please leave?" Tony asked. Desperately, he tried swallowing down the panic attack that was rising up. "Go do your Avengers thing. Save the world. I've got my own things to do."

Steve couldn't help but roll his eyes. "What, so you're just giving up? That's not the Stark I know."

"The Stark you knew went up into the portal with the nuke."

The rest of the team was taken aback. Bruce stepped forward to say something, but Natasha put a hand on his chest. Now wasn't the time. She shook her head and he took a step back. There was silence. What could they say after something like that? All they could do was exchange glances. Steve lowered his head, obviously wanting to say something but he kept it down. Maybe they couldn't help Tony. Maybe this was where they would have to leave him. It was hard to leave when their teammate, or former teammate, was so broken but they couldn't force him to listen. It wouldn't do much good.

Steve bit his lip.

"Cap," Natasha said in a low tone, trying to get his attention. "C'mon. We should go."

The Captain nodded his head and following Natasha and the rest of the team out.

When Tony knew for sure that they were gone, he took his glass and threw it against the wall.

So this chapter probably wasn't the greatest and I'm sorry if it disappointed any of you, especially since it has been so long since the last update. I'll be officially done with school for the summer next Friday, so that's when I'll start planning out the future chapters. I do have something in my head planned out, but I'd like to get it written down first and really think about it before I write the next chapter. Let me know what you thought of this chapter, though, even though it probably wasn't that good. I'm always open for suggestions.

Leave me reviews so I can update again. c: