Langaran scientist Tony Stark believed he had created a solution that would not only solve Langara's energy crisis and potentially bring peace to a world decimated by decades of unrelenting war, but also save the life of his young son.

There were only two problems: convincing the Langaran Military Government to agree to his plan, and finding a pilot brave enough to accept the challenge.

Enter Steve Rogers, one of the best fighter pilots the Langaran Air Corps had ever seen, who while on the outside seemed to be a poster boy for the perfect soldier, on the inside harboured so much bitterness and regret that it left very little room for anything else.

Welcome to my new superfamily story! New chapters will be posted weekly until the story concludes. :)

The air around him was rife with smoke and the pungent smell of ozone, the buzz of his aircraft's engine a dull din to Joseph's ringing ears as he spun to avoid yet another enemy missile. He had already managed to score three kills in the dogfight that had been waging for over two hours, but those kills had come at the steep cost of almost all of his fuel and most of his armaments. At last count Joseph was down to only one remaining missile and maybe a hundred rounds of machine gun ammo, and so needed to play it extra safe just in case the enemy returned with fresh reinforcements.

"Holy shit, that was a close one, Rogers!" called the voice of Tomis Syler, one of Joseph's two wingmen. "You all right?"

"I'll be a lot better once you take this bastard out!" Joseph yelled back, grunting as he banked a hard left and curved into a dive, pulling up just in time to avoid crashing into the top of a mountain.

"Hold on, Joe, I've almost got him on missile lock!" shouted Chester Phillips, Joseph's other wingman as he flew past Joseph's left wing, ducking down underneath to come out behind him. Three seconds later another explosion rocked the aircraft, and Joseph watched through his canopy as the enemy plane impacted against the mountain in a burst of brilliant fireball.

"Is that it?" asked Tomis over the radio. "Did we finally get 'em all?"

"Beats me, but you know what Colonel O'Brien always says about bugging out early, so we probably should wait till we hear something official," answered Joseph. He sucked in a deep breath as he checked his fuel gauge, located right next to the printed photograph of his wife. "Just hope he doesn't take too long, I'm already almost running on fumes."

"Yeah, let's not piss off the Colonel again, gentlemen," agreed Chester as he took up position on Joseph's left, facing away from the mountain with Tomis falling into position on Joseph's right. "Last time I messed up he wouldn't let me fly again for an entire month."

"That's 'cause you showed up three minutes late to a briefing with your zipper still down, you idiot," said Tomis. "I mean, really. A toothpaste stain on your tie or something would've been better 'n that."

"Hey now, I know you're not trying to tell me that you've never had a quickie right before heading out the door, are you?"

"Well… yeah, I have, but not when I'm supposed to be on my way to a mission briefing, doofus!" Tomis insisted. "Dude, sometimes you just gotta suck it up!"

"Oh yeah, like you've never faced the wrath of O'Brien before!" protested Chester. "I seem to recall a very distinct failure on your part to properly recite the Langaran Air Corps Code of Conduct when you first joined up. You're pretty damn lucky that the Colonel didn't boot you out right then and there!"

"Well, not all of us can be as goody-two-shoes as First Lieutenant Joseph Rogers, right Joe?" said Tomis. "Has O'Brien personally offered to shine your flight boots yet?"

"Oh, shut the hell up, Tomis, will you?" called Joseph. "Maybe if you weren't always yapping when you should be listening, you'd be on O'Brien's good side too."

"Yeah, and I s'pose having a kid on the way doesn't factor in there at all, huh?" said Chester. "Say, you and Sarah pick out any names yet?"

Joseph instinctively grinned behind his oxygen mask, his eyes flicking back to the photograph of Sarah, her hands resting on top of her rounded belly. As a matter of fact, after going back and forth about it for pretty much the entire eight months of her pregnancy, he and Sarah had finally settled on their two name possibilities just the previous night.

"Yeah, I think we've finally got 'em nailed down," he said as he checked his fuel gauge again, wondering why they hadn't yet been called back to base. "Who would've thought it would be so tough?"

"Well, maybe 'cause the kid's gonna have it for their entire life?" asked Tomis. "I dunno, that sounds like kinda a big deal to me."

"That's just 'cause you got stuck with a name like Tomis," said Chester, followed by one of his characteristically loud guffaws that was thankfully muffled by the underlying buzz of the X-101's engines. "That'd be enough to make anyone wish they had more time to think of something."

"Oh, just shut up, will ya, Phillips? You just about blew my ears out with your stupid laugh!" Tomis barked back. "Now, c'mon Joe, tell us the names you guys picked!"

"Well, for a girl we're gonna go with Aisling," Joseph answered, only a bit sheepishly as he removed his mask, allowing it to dangle off to the side. "And if it's a boy, he'll be called Steven."

"Oh yeah," said Chester. "I really like those, Joe. Tell Sarah that they both have my official stamp of approval."

"Yeah, I'm sure she'll be thrilled," replied Joseph just as his radio crackled to life, followed by the sound of someone clearing their throat.

Finally!

"Attention all Langaran air support aircraft," came the stern voice of Colonel Matthew O'Brien, commander of the Langaran Army Air Corps. "As of 1426 hours Langaran standard time, which by my watch was exactly three minutes and sixteen seconds ago, a ceasefire has been brokered that calls for an immediate halt of all hostilities between Langaran and Meridian forces in anticipation of a permanent peace treaty. All aircraft are hereby ordered to stand down and return to base immediately."

Several seconds of stunned silence followed O'Brien's command as Joseph and his two wingmen exchanged identical looks of shock. Joseph had been expecting an order to return to base, but the possibility of a ceasefire, a complete cessation of all military activities, was so remote that it hadn't even crossed his mind. The war between Langara and Meridia had been ongoing in some form or another for decades, longer than Joseph had even been alive, and to think that it was just suddenly over… well…

It was quite frankly, unbelievable.

"Aahh, did you guys just hear that?" Tomis said, his jaw hanging open so wide it looked unhinged. "'Cause with all the missiles we were firing earlier I'm thinking that my ears must've got messed up, so—"

"Nah, dude, you heard it right," said Chester. "Either that or I'm just as messed up as you are, which I will flat-out deny until my dying day, so—"

"All right, you heard the Colonel, gentlemen," Joseph cut in, grateful that his voice didn't betray his underlying skepticism. "Time to head back."

"Yeah, I copy."

"Copy that."

Since the nose of Joseph's aircraft was facing the mountain he allowed Chester and Tomis to peel off first, intending to fly around the mountain before falling into position since the slingshot manoeuvre required less fuel than a direct about-face.

"Hey Joe, where the hell're you going?" Chester called. "Base is in the other direction!"

"Just feel like doing a mountain fly-by since my fuel's getting low," said Joseph. "You guys go on, I'll see you back at the base."

"Yeah, okay," said Tomis. "But just remember that the first round's on me today, so don't keep us waiting too long, all right? You know how cranky Phillips gets when he doesn't get his post-flight tonic water! With a lime!"

"Oh will you just shut the hell up, Syler?" Chester snapped over the comm. "Everyone knows that a tonic water isn't worth a damn thing unless it's got at least two limes in it!"

Grinning, Joseph tilted slightly as he shifted around the mountain, rechecking his fuel gauge as he dipped into a wide crevasse, skimming just above the surface. Hopefully Colonel O'Brien would be too distracted by the ceasefire announcement to notice just how low he'd managed to run the fuel again. The X-101s were the most smooth and maneuverable aircraft that Joseph had ever flown—not to mention just downright cool—and he just couldn't seem to help himself from enjoying them whenever he had the chance to take one out.

Pulling out of the crevasse, Joseph grinned as he guided the aircraft back up, preparing to complete his turn around the mountain when he caught sight of something odd out of the corner of his eye.

"What the hell is that?" he muttered as he squinted off into the distance, trying to figure out exactly what he was seeing. It had to be another aircraft, that much was clear, but it wasn't any Meridian aircraft that he'd ever seen before, nor did it have any Langaran markings that were visible, at least from what Joseph could tell.

Regardless of who the aircraft belonged to, it appeared to be making a beeline towards the massive Langaran power plant facility located in one of the neighbouring mountains, which meant that Joseph needed to take it out. Immediately.

With the quickest of glances at his fuel gauge, Joseph steered the X-101 closer until he was within firing distance of the aircraft, scanning as best he could for any identifying markings and finding nothing. He huffed in frustration, activating his comm as he clipped the oxygen mask back over his face.

"Base, this is Lieutenant Rogers. Be advised, I'm checking out what appears to be a rogue aircraft that's on a direct course for the mountain power plant. Any info you could give me on this would be greatly appreciated."

"Uhh, you sure you got enough fuel to be doing that, Joe?" asked Tomis. "Thought you said you were getting low!"

"Cut out the damn chatter, Syler!" barked Colonel O'Brien. "Rogers, I've just been informed that all enemy aircraft have been pulled from Langaran airspace and we're not picking anything up on our radars either, so as far as we know there shouldn't be anything that's anywhere near the power plant. Are you absolutely sure that you're seeing what you're seeing?"

"I'm positive, Colonel, it's right the hell in front of me," Joseph said firmly, his heart leaping as the renegade aircraft made a sudden course correction, as though it was actively trying to avoid him. "Now, maybe it's just some kind of weather balloon that's malfunctioning or something but it's definitely heading directly for the power plant, so I'm gonna check it out."

"Copy that," O'Brien said with a sigh. "However, you are under strict orders not to engage without authorisation, Lieutenant, is that understood? We just managed to broker a ceasefire after almost thirty years of war, so the absolute last thing we need to be doing is violating it before the damn ink's even dry."

"Yes sir, I understand," Joseph answered as he sharply banked right, swerving around until he had once again manoeuvred directly behind the unknown aircraft.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?" he murmured as the aircraft's back engine suddenly engaged with a near-deafening boom, causing Joseph to wince as he watched it begin to climb directly towards the sky. He quickly pulled up, swooping into a wide arc so he could backtrack his course in case it was planning to try and dive towards him.

But to Joseph's surprise the aircraft kept climbing, higher and higher until it had blended in with the bright beams from the sun. With fumbling fingers Joseph pulled down the sunshade on his helmet, grunting against the almost overwhelming brightness as he attempted to keep his eyes on the spot where it had disappeared.

Several seconds passed as Joseph waited, his eyes burning with the effort of looking into the white-hot sunlight until suddenly the aircraft appeared again, its afterburners going full-blast as it dove straight down, heading directly for the location of the power plant.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed, blinking against his watery eyes as he took off racing towards it. He could no longer imagine any scenario where its intentions could be anything other than hostile since that power plant was the main source of electricity for almost the entire continent. "Base, I have eyes on the unidentified aircraft and it appears to be on a direct kamikaze course for the power plant. Do I have permission to fire?"

The pause that followed seemed to stretch on interminably, each passing second punctuated by a thud of Joseph's heart against his ribcage.

What the hell could be taking so long?

"Base, please confirm receipt of transmission?" he barked into his comm. "The damn thing's getting really close!"

"Goddamnit, Rogers, we still can't see anything on the radar!" Colonel O'Brien shouted over the radio. "Are you absolutely positive about what you're seeing?"

"That's an affirmative!" Joseph called as he banked slightly to his left, attempting to achieve a missile lock. His thumb was trembling as it hovered over the trigger, his jaw clenched so tightly that his teeth were rattling as his display switched from red to green and the lock tone echoed throughout the canopy.

"I've got a lock, Colonel, it's now or never!"

"We're attempting to verify it now, Rogers!" O'Brien snapped. "Stand by!"

"But—!" Joseph said, the high-pitched tone reverberating throughout his head like a ping-pong ball. The attacking aircraft hadn't slowed down at all, and Joseph knew that he only had about ten more seconds until it would be past the point of no return.

"Sir, I absolutely cannot wait any longer! Do I have permission to fire?"

"Rogers, we're—"

But the Colonel was cut off as the enemy aircraft suddenly went into a full reverse-thrust, slowing its descent just in time to avoid crashing into the mountain as it released a small, square-shaped payload. Joseph gasped, running his tongue across his dry lips as he attempted to switch his lock from the aircraft to the payload.

"Colonel, the aircraft's released what appears to be a bomb of some kind!" Joseph yelled just as the lock tone sounded in his cockpit. "I'm attempting to take it out!"

Without waiting for a response Joseph pressed down on the trigger, holding his breath as the missile launched from its spot on the right wing, his eyes trained on the missile's fiery trail as it flew towards the bomb.

And the last thing that Joseph saw, just before a fireball half the size of the entire continent of Langara engulfed him in its searing heat, was the photograph of his beloved wife, Sarah, her small hands resting on top of the child she carried within her, knowing full well that he had just made her a widow.

I'm so sorry, mo stór.

Please, forgive me—

Six weeks post-Battle of the Continents

Howard flinched as the overhead lights suddenly cut out, plunging the entire house into near-pitch darkness. With a muffled curse he opened the top drawer of his desk, rummaging around until he located the small handlamp that Maria had purchased for him during her last shopping trip. The Langaran government had been issuing repeated alerts for the last two weeks, warning the continent's citizens that due to the ongoing energy crisis following the destruction of the main power plant six weeks prior that it would be instituting rolling blackouts. They had even included a schedule of the areas to be affected and when, but, as he usually did with anything government-related, Howard had simply chosen to ignore it, preferring not to be reminded of the day that his young son almost died on the operating table.

As it was, he very much hoped that Maria had been successful in getting Tony to sleep before the lights went out, as he seemed to have developed an irrational fear of the dark ever since his surgery, one that none of the doctors could seem to explain. He had been in the middle of the harrowing surgery, completely under the influence of very strong anaesthesia when the hospital suddenly lost power, and so should have been completely unaware of the chaos that had then ensued attempting to keep him alive until they could get the emergency generators online. There was absolutely no reason that Tony should've been at all aware of what was happening, or so Howard thought.

And yet, ever since he and Maria had brought Tony home two weeks after the attack, the boy had been absolutely terrified of the dark. It had gotten to the point where he was now refusing to sleep—to even close his eyes—unless there was a light on, and as he was still trying to recover from his complicated, nearly eight-hour surgery, he needed all the rest that he could get.

Pulling out the handlamp, Howard flicked it on, shining the bright beam of yellow light directly towards the door of his office just as Maria appeared in the doorway, letting out a surprised gasp as she threw her hand up to cover her eyes.

"So does this mean that you've actually located your handlamp?" she asked as she stepped inside the room, her own lamp clutched in her slender, piano-player fingers. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd remembered where you put it."

Howard scowled, jerking his head in the direction of Tony's bedroom.

"Did you manage to get him to sleep in time?"

"Just barely," Maria said, letting out a heavy sigh as she turned off her lamp. "I had to pry his fingers from my hand once he was, though."

"Mmm. Well, let's hope that it sticks," grumbled Howard. The blackout was already severely limiting his patience, leaving him unable to continue his research into a new power source that could potentially replace the destroyed power plant, and the last thing he needed at the moment was for Tony to wake up crying because he was scared. The boy was six already, it was far past the time for him to be bursting into tears every time something didn't go his way.

"How long is this blackout supposed to last anyway?" he asked.

"All night, which is what's worrying me," Maria answered. "And the batteries for the handlamps are so expensive, so it's not really feasible to keep Tony's on while he's sleeping, and yet—"

"No, don't be doing that," Howard cut in. "Maybe this'll be what he needs to finally get over all that nonsense about the dark. The boy is six, he shouldn't be still—"

"A six-year-old who's just had a major, life-threatening operation, Howard," Maria said. "And six isn't the same as sixteen, you know. There is quite a bit of difference."

"Sure there is, it's ten years. But when I was sixteen, I was already—"

"Yes, yes, my dear, I've heard that story already," said Maria. "By the time you were sixteen you were already living on your own—"

"Because I had a job—"

"A job running errands for a scientist," Maria finished, quirking an impatient eyebrow. "Who then—"

"Who then introduced me to the SHIELD science liaison to the Langaran military," Howard said firmly. "Who then proceeded to hire me to assist in the design and creation of the very aircraft that we currently have defending our skies."

"Yes, dear, I know that," Maria said softly, her fingers curling around Howard's hand. "But right now I don't really think that information is going to help Tony sleep through the night, so—"

She was cut off by a knock on their front door, a loud, rather insistent pounding that did not at all seem like someone who was just dropping by to call. Gulping, Howard drew Maria behind him, aiming his handlamp at the floor to light his path through their darkened home towards the door.

"Stay behind me," he whispered as he peered through the peephole, drawing back in surprise when he saw his SHIELD colleague Hank Pym standing between two burly Langaran Safety Officers. Howard sucked in a deep breath, attempting to school his features into his normal look of disdain undercut with just enough curiosity to not be noticeable that he wore whenever he had to deal with Pym and one of his many tantrums, outbursts that had grown even worse since the death of his wife.

"Good evening, officers," he said once he'd opened the door. "What can I do for you?"

"Are you Howard Stark, sir?" said the larger of the two Safety Officers as he pulled his ID badge from his breast pocket.

"Yes, I am," Howard said warily as he glanced at Pym, who was adamantly refusing to meet Howard's eyes. "But dare I say that I believe you knew that already, given that you're accompanied by my colleague here?"

Pym's eyes finally flicked up to Howard then, meeting them for only the briefest of moments before flitting away, but just long enough for a shiver to race down Howard's spine at the intense hatred hidden within them. Something was terribly amiss, and Howard didn't at all like it when things were amiss.

"Mr Stark, new evidence has recently been unearthed from the wreckage at the destroyed power plant, and if you don't mind, we'd like to ask you a few questions," said the officer. He stepped back, holding out his arm. "If you would come with us, please—"

"No, I will not," Howard said firmly, his eyes narrowing into a fierce glare. "As you may know, my young son is still trying to recover from nearly dying during his surgery on that fateful day, so I do not believe it would be in his best interests for me to leave the house at the moment."

"Nearly dying," Pym suddenly spoke up, his tone icy enough to freeze the blood in Howard's veins. "Nearly dying, eh, Stark? But yet your son didn't die, did he? Did he?"

"No, he didn't!" Howard exclaimed. "But you already knew that, Pym, so what's this all about?"

But Pym only shook his head, his upper lip curling into a sneer as he stepped back.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist that you come with us, Mr Stark," the officer said, all attempts at politeness gone. "Now."

"And I respectfully decline," Howard stated. "As I just stated, my son is still recovering from surgery and in case you hadn't noticed, we are currently in the middle of a blackout."

The officer frowned, glancing towards his partner who reached behind him, pulling out a pair of handcuffs.

"Howard Stark, you are hereby under arrest for conspiring with the enemy to bomb the Langaran mountain power plant," he said. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may be—"

"What?" exclaimed Howard, his jaw dropping in shock. He heard Maria gasp behind him, reaching for his arm just as the officer grabbed onto them, drawing his hands behind him. "But how can you possibly believe that I had anything to do with—?"

Suddenly a panicked shriek of "Momma!" pierced the air, causing Maria to jump back, her eyes widening in fear.

"Howard, no!" she gasped. "You can't—you can't go! Tony, he—!"

"I'm sorry Maria, but I'm afraid that Howard doesn't have a choice in the matter," said Pym, with such an air of superiority that Howard would've gladly decked him right in his abnormally large nose if his hands hadn't already been cuffed.

"But Hank, you can't possibly believe that Howard—?"

"Momma!" came Tony's cry from inside the house, piercing Howard's heart like a knife. "Momma, it's so dark! Where are you?"

"Howard!"

"Maria, go to him!" Howard ordered, pursing his lips as he regarded Pym. "And you! You know damn well that I had absolutely nothing to do with the power plant bombing! We have an alibi, Maria and I were at the hospital with Tony when it happened!"

"No, Howard, I'm afraid I actually don't know that," Pym said. "So I guess it'll be up to the courts to decide now."

"But none of this is going to bring Jan back!" cried Howard. "None of it! Pym, you know that!"

But Pym only stared back, finally giving Maria a cursory nod.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way, Maria," he said before turning and heading back down the walkway just as Tony let out another bloodcurdling scream.

"Momma, it's so dark! Too dark! Where are you?"

"Maria, I'll be all right," Howard said quickly. "Go to him!"

"Let's go, Mr Stark," the officer said, tugging on Howard's arm. Howard stumbled as his foot caught on one of Tony's many contraptions that littered the porch area of their house, wishing for nothing more than to be able to cover his ears against his son's panicked screams.

And the last thing that Howard heard before he was shoved into the backseat of the Safety Officers' car, was the sound of his wife attempting to comfort his son, trying and failing to hold back her own sobs of despair.

I'm so sorry, my dear.

Please, forgive me.

There will be a time jump in the next chapter where we will be introduce to Tony, Peter, and Steve. :)

I can't wait to see what you think! Please don't hesitate to leave me a review! I hope I was able to brighten up your Monday a bit during these scary and unsettling times.