"I need to try to get to where you are
Could it be, you're not that far?"
- Joe Jonas

  "So...where do we start ?"

  "I got a signal !" Harley said. "Look, she moved."

  Pepper had tried (and failed) to prevent Peter and Harley from coming with her. Peter was determined to bring his girlfriend home, and Harley had ran to the Stark's as soon as Peter had told him about Harper. Therefore, Pepper Potts found herself in her private jet with two teenagers who were too driven to be careful. Moreover, she couldn't help but send Happy a text every ten minutes : she felt guilty about leaving Morgan in New York, even though the girl loved spending time with Happy. Pepper sighed before she looked at the boys. They were both looking at the computer screen, following Harper's tracking device. Sam Wilson was there too, waiting for any kind of news.

  "Two hours ago, she was over there and now she's at this address," Harley said.

  "And what is is ?"

  "Well, it looks like a...bar ?"

  "A bar ? What is my daughter doing in a bar ?"

  "Hum, I don't know, Pepper..."

  "It's not really her style," Peter noted.

  "No, it isn't."

  A few minutes after their conversation, they landed in a desert field outside the town. After a comforting look from Pepper, they all started walking : they were going to find Harper and talk some sense into her.

***

  The room was dark : Harper, still dizzy, couldn't figure out whether the darkness was caused by a lack of windows or a lack of artificial light. She slowly raised her head and tried not to freak out at her blindness. She noticed two things : one, her wrists and her ankles were painful and tied to a metal chair ; two, she was still wearing her earpiece. 'Thank God,' she thought. With much difficulty, she managed to activate the device by pressing her earpiece against her shoulder.

  "Hey Nat, do you think you can figure out where I am ?"

  "It seems we haven't left town, Harper. Do you want me to scan your surroundings for you ?"

  "Yes, please."

  The A.I. did as told and despite the cruel lack of light, it managed to get some useful information.

  "There is only one floor above us. I also see another tied up silhouette at the other end of the room."

  "Bucky..."

  "I cannot determine his identity for sure."

  Harper sighed then focused on the energy running through her veins. She hadn't used her powers since the battle against Thanos : each flame coming out of her hands reminded her of the war, the mad titan and her dad... She shook those dark thoughts out of her mind and got back to work. She got rid of her bonds within a few seconds and moved around the room cautiously, guided by her A.I.'s vague indications. She knelt next to the other person's chair.

"Hey, Bucky, is that you ?"

  The only answer she got was a growling sound. Harper decided to check by herself : she ran her hands along his arms, looking for a metal one. She quickly recognised vibranium and then proceeded to slightly shake Bucky's body.

  "Harper, is that you?"

  "Yeah. We- We have to get out of here. I'll set you free, wait a sec."

  A sudden light filled the room and blinded Harper for a second; her eyes had been too used to the dark. As she looked between her fingers sprawled before her face, she could make out the face of the man who'd approached her at the charity. He was standing to a tall woman. She wore long black gloves and a classy dress. Its collar covered her neck almost entirely and her face was framed with shoulder-length cinder blond hair. Her blue iris were so dark that one couldn't have said for sure where her pupils started.

  "I'd like you to step away from him."

  The mysterious woman's voice was soft and enchanting, compelling Harper to do exactly as she said.

  "Who- who are you?"

  "You know who I am, Harper. You wouldn't have come for me last night otherwise."

  "Last night? I've been here since last night?" Harper was almost choking on her words. "And you...it's you! You're the Necromancer."

  "Precisely. Contrary to what you might think, I mean no harm to you and your friend."

  "Why tie us up, then?" It was Bucky who'd asked that, a slight hint of sarcasm tinting his voice.

  "Precaution. See, there is not a single soul on this planet who can go looking for me without me finding out, one way or another. My friend, Jack Thorne, is a very resourceful person. When he saw that you, Harper, had hacked into federal police systems to go looking for me, he warned me."

  "Very well." Harper found back some composure. "I take it you know why I'm here."

  "I am not sure. I have many powers, girl; reading minds is not one of them, unlike you."

  "It's not on purpose," she mumbled. "And how could you-"

  "I know everything about you, Harper Stark. I did my own digging."

  Her explanation came with a vague hand gesture, meaning she didn't want nor cared to elaborate.

  "You are Tony Stark's daughter, and if my reputation brought you to me, I guess it is linked to his recent demise."

  "Hem, yeah. Can you...help me?"

  Harper had projected all her hope in that very moment. If the Necromancer's name was nothing more than a name, a legend, it would mean her father would be forever lost. If, on the contrary, the myth was true...

  "Only if you promise you won't turn me in nor attack me."

  "You have my word." Harper didn't hesitated for a second.

  She would've done anything to get her father back and the Necromancer most certainly knew that. Now that there was light in the room, Harper was able to get a clearer look at her surroundings as Thorne freed Bucky of his ties. The first thing she noticed was the amount of shelves around her : there were plenty, and each one seemed to hold either food or beverages.

  "Where are we?"

  "In my bar's basement."

  "You have a- a bar?"

  "Everyone needs to earn their living."

  Once Bucky walked free, he immediately adopted a wary and cautious position. He got closer to Harper and leaned over her to reduce his voice to a whisper.

  "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

  "She can help me, Bucky."

  "Yes, but-"

  "She's my only option."

  Harper's categorical and yet pleading tone was what convinced him not to protest any further. He barely needed to talk to her to feel all her pain: she'd been through so much, and losing her father should never have been one of those disasters. He still remembered the joyful and blooming child Tony would bring at the headquarters from time to time. She was that same kid who always stared in awe at his metal arm and could always sneak a magnet on it or hide Steve's shield all around the place. He remembered that kid who always convinced Natasha and Wanda to be her guinea pigs for her hair experiments. He recalled the smile she used to wear on her face; it was long gone, and it broke his heart. He slowly faced the Necromancer.

  "If you really are going to help Harper, don't beat about the bush," he said firmly. "We didn't come here to bargain, let alone to be locked up."

  "I know all of that, Winter Soldier, and that is why I will give you precise instructions. There is a spell that shall reach your goal. You should know, girl, that magic always..."

  "Magic always comes at a price. I know, and I'm ready to pay that price because I'm not ready to lose anyone else."

  "Good. You'll need two things: your father's corpse, along with his soul."

  "I- I know where his body is but his soul? How am I supposed to find that?"

  "Her soul lies where only the souls of the bravest soldiers can rest. Only you can retrieve it."

  "I don't understand."

  "You will also need this."

  The Necromancer handed her a piece of paper, whereon she'd scribbled a few words.

  "What is it?"

  "Once you have those two things, you will read these words and I will know where to find you. Only then I'll give you your father back, for a price."

  "What will it be?"

  "I'll decide when it is time. I am asking you, Stark: do you have what it takes?"

  If she was being honest, Harper had no idea. She might as well have been running right into a brick wall. All she knew was that she would try as hard as she could. 

  "I will do whatever it takes."

  "Very good. In that case..."

  There was banging on the door. With a simple nod, the Necromancer sent Thorne to look at the source. Gun in hand, Jack walked up the stairs. A second later, he opened the door and another second later, he came falling down the same stairs.

  "Where is she?"

 Peter Parker, of all people, barged in the room, ready to rescue his girlfriend. His face fell with surprise when he finally noticed her, standing in the middle of the room, unscarred in her party dress.

  "Harper, what the-"

  The Necromancer helped Jack getting up with an exasperated look. She turned to Harper again and allowed herself a smile.

  "Next time, tell your boyfriend you are not endangered in anyway. This should avoid us another situation like this one."

  Peter looked even more confused as he stared at them. He quickly threw away all his questions, though, and ran to Harper so that he could hug her tight. Surprised by the sudden attention, the girl hugged him back. She'd felt terribly alone ever since she'd left New York.

  "We traced your speaker. Morgan found the system that your father had built so we- we went to the first address –it was your hotel– but then you moved and we knew you wouldn't have come here willingly so-"

  "Peter, Peter, breathe."

  "No, Harper. You don't even realise how scared you made us and then I just- I couldn't-"

  "Shut up."

  Harper brought her lips to his – she figured it would be more efficient. Caught by surprise, Peter held her even closer. Bucky cleared his throat.

  "I'm not saying we're in a hurry, but the sooner we leave, the sooner we get over with all of this."

  The two lovebirds got away from each other before Harper frowned as she noticed something.

  "Peter, who's 'we'?"

  "Right, I almost forgot."

  "Oh God, Harper!"

  Pepper came running in and hurried to hold her daughter close to her chest.

  "I'm so glad to see you right now, but don't let that fool you: we're having a serious talk when we get home. What you did was reckless and also-"

  "Mom, I'm fine, okay? Plus, I found what I was looking for. More or less."

  "What do you mean, 'more or less'?"

  Pepper's eyes were throwing thunderbolts that would've made Thor himself jealous and Harper couldn't help but look away. 

  "You'll tell me everything back home. Sam and Harley are waiting for us upstairs."

  "Harley's here?"

  Harper's face lit up a bit at the mention of her friend. She finally decided it was time to go. When she walked past the Necromancer, she thanked her before she simply evaporated.

  "How- How did she do that?"

  "It's one of her many, many skills," Thorne said as he rubbed his jaw.

  "Sorry about...that." Peter's apology sounded clumsy.

  Thorne shook his head and gestured them to the exit. If the Necromancer had seen them coming, Thorne most definitely didn't, and he hadn't prepared himself for backup. Upstairs, it was Harley's turn to throw himself in Harper's arms.

  "You gave us, like...a hundred reasons to be worried," he whispered as he held her close.

  "Sorry. I promise that when I explain everything, you will understand."

  Harley patted her back and pulled away in front of Peter's slightly jealous gaze. The Parker boy didn't wait any longer to get a hold of Harper's hand and linked their fingers. Standing next to Sam, Bucky looked closely at the scene and, above all, he noticed the discreet smile Harper always had on her face when that spider boy was around. For the first time since Tony had died, he could see the sketch of a genuine smile on her face, and he couldn't help but smile too.

  "Getting sentimental, Barnes?" Sam teased.

  "Nah, but look at her: don't you like seeing her like this? When he's around...it feels like she's a bit more like she used to be."

  "It's true. But she's surrounded by people who love her, right? She doesn't need to worry about that."

  "That's for sure."

  Bucky sighed before he spoke again.

  "What wouldn't we do for her and her fiery temper?"

  "I don't think there's anything we wouldn't do even if we wanted to," said the Falcon, displaying the same smile as his partner. "I know that wherever he is, Tony's proud of her. She's as reckless as he was."

  Once they were all seated in the jet, Harper chose to sit between Peter and Harley. She quickly fell asleep with her head leaning on her boyfriend's shoulder.

  "Do you know what she wants to do?" Harley asked.

  "Aside from what Steve told us, I have no idea. I just know that I'll follow her."

  And he meant it. Peter had no idea what adventure Harper was throwing herself into and he didn't even care: it was an adventure Harper needed to live and he would support her along the way, through thick and thin. He laid a kiss on her forehead before closing his eyes. Unlike her, he could fall asleep. Instead, he spent the whole trip wondering what tomorrow would hold. If he had know then what awaited them... Well, he wouldn't have been afraid; let's say he would've been expressing a little more reserve about that crazy trip. What more could you say? That's what love was about: he would have followed Harper straight to Hell if she asked. He would have even if she didn't ask. He wasn't planning to give her a break anytime soon.