Tony called Laura Barton eighteen times and still no answer.

As soon as he left the meeting with Ross, he had non-stop been trying to get the Rogues' families safe. He ended up finding more information than Ross's almost-bare folders and with it he was able to get in contact with most of his ex-teammates' families.

It turns out Scott's daughter is currently living with his ex-wife, Maggie Lang, and is therefore in a different school district. Tony used this to his advantage. Ross didn't have any information on Maggie Lang, so he changed all her information so it would appear with her husband's last name. If Ross ever got close to discovering her, her name would be Maggie Paxton. He was also able to change Scott's daughter's name to Mary Paxton. Now, when Ross looked, he would see that Cassandra Lang is still enrolled into the school near Lang's abandoned house. If he happened to find Maggie Paxton, he would see that she has a daughter with Jim Paxton who is four years younger than Cassandra. It was not a perfect plan, but it would suffice for now.

Tony created a Sarah Wilson that lives in Europe and frequently calls Sam's phone (which Ross had taken upon the Rogues' stay in the Raft) and planted that for Ross to find as well. He kept his own tabs on Sarah Wilson who lives somewhere in Michigan, but is not easy to discover. Even so, he was prepared to bring her to the compound if Ross got anywhere near her location.

Laura Barton was a whole different concept altogether. He had no idea how Ross got her location, but he was quickly closing in. While simultaneously creating these alternate egos for the rest of their families, he had been trying to contact her to get her to evacuate the farm. She did not answer any of his calls, even though he knew she had his number.

Tony sighed, hanging up again when he received her voicemail. He would have to go get them before Ross could. Bringing along his suitcase suit, he quickly shut down the lab and ran to the quinjet. It would take a few hours to get there, but according to the file Ross showed him, he had time before the search would commence.

He landed the quinjet as close to the back of the house as possible and stepped out. He decided to leave his suit and simply take a gun since nothing looked out of place and he didn't want to scare the kids. Walking along the grass, he took in the familial farm. It was not very large, at least for his standards, but it was homey. It was exactly what Tony pictured when he thought of himself retiring and settling down with a family. Him and Pepper with their own cabin in the middle of nowhere. Lots of trees and grass for their children to play in- Tony would definitely build a treehouse for them. It was quiet, but it was peaceful, and Tony found himself jealous and angry at Clint for throwing away something so beautiful.

Tony knocked on the door and stood back. He could hear a bit of rustle in the house, but it took awhile for someone to answer the door- it was pretty early in the morning, after all. He wasn't prepared for the bitch slap that caught his face just as the door swung open. "Fuck you Tony Stark!" Laura Barton yelled.

Before Tony could say anything, the woman was swinging again. "Get away from my house! I know what you did!" Tony ducked before he could get the shit slapped out of him for a second time.

"Mrs. Barton, please. I know you're angry and upset, but we have to leave. Ross is-"

"No, i'm not going anywhere with you!" Tony frowned when he heard the low sound of helicopters flying overhead, approaching quickly. "Clint told me what-"

"Shit," Tony cursed. He slid past Laura into the house and dashed upstairs. "Kids, we gotta go," he said to the small boy and girl who were playing. The kids looked at him funny and he was forced to lift the girl and grab the boy's hand when they didn't move. He brought them downstairs to the living room where Laura was frantically trying to call Clint on the phone who was not answering. "Laura, I know you're angry, we gotta-"

Bullets flew through the house, smashing the windows and causing feathers to fly in the air from couch cushions. As soon as he saw the first bullet shoot through the house, he quickly turned so he was covering Lila and guided Cooper to the floor. He located Laura, who was hiding behind the kitchen island. "The quinjet is parked out back, take the kids and go, I'll cover you," he shouted to her.

Her eyes were wide as she took in her words. "The baby's upstairs," she cried.

Tony frowned and looked towards the stairs. "I'll get him, just get the kids out," he said. Laura nodded, and waited for Tony's signal.

Tony waited several seconds, counting in his head. And finally, when he noticed a lull in the shooting as the gunmen changed rounds, he gestured for them to go. Laura ran over, holding her daughter and dragging her son out the back door. Tony ran behind them, shooting towards the front of the home. Just as they were exiting, a stray bullet sailed towards Cooper and in a split second, Tony knocked him to the ground, taking the bullet from the back. Tony forced himself not to shout to alert Laura.

He dragged himself to his feet and frowned when he saw Cooper still collapsed on the floor. The boy's eyes were closed and his head was bleeding from where he impacted with the ground. Laura looked back from where she and Lila were running and frowned when she didn't see her son. "I got Cooper, just go!" Tony said firmly. Laura looked unsure but continued running to the quinjet.

Tony made sure Cooper was safe and covered before running upstairs to the baby. The small boy was crying loudly but Tony just picked him up in a blanket and ran downstairs. With all the adrenaline, his bullet wound felt like a love tap and so he ignored it and fought to get this family to safety.

Downstairs, Cooper had still not moved. Tony quickly gathered him up in his other arm and pressed a stray towel onto his head wound. He made sure the baby was in his weaker left hand, but even still it trembled as he carried both boys' weight. He ran faster than he ever had before outside towards the quinjet, and just as they entered it, the gunmen entered the house through the windows. Tony quickly closed the quinjet door and took off.

Everyone was still panting and crying as he put in the coordinates for the hospital next to the compound. As soon as he finished, he walked over to the cot he had placed Cooper on and checked on the wound. It was bleeding heavily, but he wasn't too concerned since head wounds usually did that. He started wrapping the boy's head in a bandage.

"Is he going to be okay?" He heard a voice ask to his left. He quickly turned and saw Laura staring teary eyed at her son.

"I think so," Tony said quietly.

They sat in silence as Tony bandaged the boy and got him settled. "Thank you," Laura whispered, still not breaking her eyes from her son's limp figure.

Tony's lip tightened. "Are the rest of you hurt?" he asked instead.

Laura frowned. "No."

Tony stood, picking up the garbage and looking at no one. "There are more beds in the back, we will be there in about two hours. Help yourself to any food." He walked away, feeling Laura's intense gaze at his back.

Collapsing in the pilot's seat, he pulled up his shirt, grimacing at the large wound in his side. He used a bandage to painfully wrap it. Laying his head on the headrest, he let his eyes close as the adrenaline started to wear off.

Tony stood outside Cooper's hospital room, anxious. The doctor had informed him the boy was in a coma and they had no idea when he would wake up. He had been sitting in the waiting room for about an hour since he was not family and wouldn't be allowed inside until the boy was declared stable.

The doctor had finally allowed visitors several minutes ago but Tony was nervous at facing Laura. He didn't know if he could take another look of disgust so similar to the one the funeral go-ers shot at him. He finally decided he deserved the consequence and walked inside.

Laura turned to look at him, and while it wasn't disgust that was shot his way, it was a large mix of emotions that contorted her face. He recoiled at the anger that shone in her eyes and her clenched jaw.

Tony looked at the pale boy on the bed and the crying girl curled next to him. He did this.

"Why are they doing this?" Laura growled, hand tight around Cooper's limp one.

"Ross is looking for your husband," Tony choked out. "He figured you would know where he is."

Laura gulped, looking back at her comatose son. "I don't. We have no idea where Clint is. He only called once to tell us about the Accords and the airport, but we haven't heard from him since." She looked at his guilty face. "Do you know where he is?"

Tony gulped before nodding. "It's not safe with Ross after you guys. I have a safehouse, but I also would like to offer the compound for you all to stay in. I would be there to protect you and the security is top of the line," he said.

Laura looked down at her lap, conflicted, before looking up at him. "I think it would be better for us to stay at the safehouse." Tony tried not to flinch at her words. "The things Clint told me…" Tony could only look at the distrust in her eyes before he was forced to keep his eyes on his shoes.

"I understand," Tony said softly. "A jet will be ready for you on the roof whenever you would like to leave." Tony couldn't force any more words out of his mouth. He turned around quickly and left, not even stopping when Laura called after him.

Before Tony could return home, something was itching at him. He decided to take a jet back to the farm to investigate his suspicions.

If Ross wanted information, why would he come in guns blazing instead of capturing them? And even so, the US Government couldn't just hire a SWAT team to take down innocent civilians. What was going on here?

Tony landed and quickly searched the demolished house. He grabbed a few things that weren't completely shot to bits like a few photographs and trinkets. But he frowned when he saw a body collapsed by the window under a bunch of wood and glass.

Slowly approaching, he scanned the body with his glasses to confirm it was dead before uncovering it. But he quickly fell back when he saw the front of the dead man's jacket.

A HYDRA symbol stood out in bold red stitching on the front pocket. Tony threw up.

And miles and miles away, an archer punched the TV in his grief when he saw the latest headline: The Barton family were dead.