Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own any of characters depicted below that you may recognize...they belong to forces higher then me, and I respect them and applaud them for their beautiful creations.


Afloat

"Eagle! Psst…Eagle! Please…please wake up!"

"Harper." Groggy, and head pounding, Harper slowly opened her eyes.

"What?" A terrified Carly, seated on Harper's right with feet and hands tied, blinked quickly, eyes bright.

"My name is Harper." Repeating herself orientated Harper quickly, and she took in the dark, long narrow hallway, and the rows of tied up people, all homeless from the looks of it, seated floor much as Harper and Carly were. "Those experiencing a kidnapping together should know each other's real names…don't you think?"

"In that case," A deep voice to Harper's left spoke up. "I'm Saul."

Harper turned to the young man, his face dirty and hazel eyes filled with dry humor. "Hello Saul." Harper inclined her head. "Mind telling me where we are?"

Saul shrugged. "Well, as far as I can figure, we're on a boat."

Harper grinned. "Insightful." She complimented, and Saul grinned.

"I try." He said modestly.

"Great." Carly interrupted dryly. "We get kidnapped and you find a boyfriend."

"I already have a boyfriend." Harper turned to Carly with an eye roll.

"Bummer." Saul said lightly, and Harper smiled at him. He returned the smile, and a dimple appeared in his left cheek. Harper's smile widened.

"Anyway…Harper," Carly said slowly. "You're working with the cops or whatever,"

"Impressive." Saul interrupted, and Carly shot him a look.

"Can you think of a way to get us out of here?" Carly finished.

Harper narrowed her eyes, and she nodded. "I have an idea." She turned to Carly and thrust her chest out. "There's a cell phone down my shirt. Do you think you can get it?"

Carly turned and leaned forward so she could get her hands, tied behind her back, high enough to reach into Harpers shirt. "I'll try." Harper leaned forward so Carly's hands made skin contact, and Carly fumbled for a few seconds.

"This is the weirdest thing I've ever seen." Saul spoke up, and both Harper and Carly huffed.

"Oh you poor sheltered boy." Harper tutted. "It's only going to get weirder from here."

Saul was silent for a moment.

"Awesome."

Carly snorted.

"Got it!" She said, pulling her hands out of Harper's shirt.

"Wonderful. Drop it." Carly released the phone, and it plopped in Charlie's lap. She fidgeted until the phone was resting precariously on her knee, and then bent her legs so that the phone was close to her face. She used her nose to navigate, and after a few moments, the phone began to ring.

"Who are you calling?" Saul asked slowly.

Harper shot Carly and her new friend a determined look. "I'm calling the best person I know to come and save the day."

"But…" Carly gathered her thoughts as Harper's phone rang. "We don't even know where we are,"

"or where we're going." Saul added.

"So how's he going to save us?" Carly finished.

Harper rolled her eyes. "He'll figure it out." She smiled. "Saving people is kind of his thing."

The phone abruptly stopped ringing and a frantic voice answered; "Harper?"

Harper's shoulders sagged in relief at the sound of Steve's voice, and she answered on autopilot.

"Dad!"


Solo

Steve nearly wept in relief at the sound of Harper's voice on the other end of his phone. He quickly turned the speaker on and handed it to Scottie, who deftly connected it to his computer, tapped a few buttons on his laptop, then nodded slowly at Steve.

"You're on speaker phone." Steve announced. "Team Two and Morris are with me."

"Thank god." Harper breathed. "Please tell me you have a location on me." Steve looked to Scottie, who held up two fingers and turned to his computer.

"We'll have one soon." Steve promised.

"Fantastic. So…what do I do in the meantime?" She asked. "Just, hold tight and wait till you guys make your grand entrance?"

Steve winced. "Harp…" He said slowly.

"I don't like that tone of voice," Harper's voice deepened with worry. "What's wrong?"

Steve rubbed his face wearily. "Even after we get your location, we have no way to get to you…not in time."

Harper was silent for a long moment.

"I don't understand." She said shortly. "What does that mean?"

"It means that the only one of us who can actually fly is unconscious and won't be waking up anytime soon." Scottie shook his head slowly.

"It means even when we know where you are, by the time we got any sort of transportation and were on our way, you would've disappeared again." Will added.

"It means we are useless, and you've got to save yourself." Avery huffed.

"It means," Steve sighed, "It means that you'll have to go violet."

The other end of the line was silent, then Harper's breathimg slowly increased.

"I can't," she said softly.

"You have to." Morris spoke up regretfully, and Harper laughed hysterically.

"No, you don't understand, I CAN'T," Harper insisted. "I know I've been training really hard, but I haven't got full control yet, Loki's always there, he helps ground me, and he told me I wasn't ready to go violet solo; that I would lose myself to the feral and this time I might not be able to come back. I can't go Violet….. I can't."

Steve closed his eyes, thinking.

"Well, maybe you're more ready than Loki thinks you are?" Will tried, scrambling. "Maybe you CAN handle going violet."

"I highly doubt that." Harper said sarcastically, and Will winced.

"What is she supposed to do if she can't go violet?" Morris muttered worriedly.

Steve's eyes snapped open. "She doesn't have to." He said breathlessly.

"Doesn't have to what?" Morris asked, confused.

"Sweetheart," Steve spoke louder, urgently. "You don't have to go violet."

"Well that's good, because I can't." Harper snapped.

Steve laughed. "No, you're not listening….Harper, you're a superhero."

"Not right now I'm not." She retorted.

"But that's the thing," Steve spoke eagerly. "You ARE. Being able to go violet and your DNA change doesn't make you a superhero…you've been one the whole time."

"Really?" Harper asked skeptically. "Me and what powers?"

"You don't need powers." Steve argued. "You never did."

"But they woudn't hurt." Harper admitted, and Steve huffed.

"But you don't need them. Harper; how did you survive with Matthews when you were younger?"

"I shut up, learned what he taught me, and laid low." Harper said bluntly.

"And how did you save that little girl?" Steve pressed.

There was a pause. "I was quiet, I used what I was taught, and I snuck away."

"And when Connors was going to use your serum on Jake?"

Harper huffed. "I took my research and fought my way out."

"And that robber in the coffee shop?" Steve added.

"Fought my way out." Harper answered grudgingly.

"And when Matthews cornered you and Clint on the Helicarrier?"

"I talked my way out." Harper finished.

"Harper." Steve said slowly. "You already know everything you need to know to get out all on your own. You're entire life you've been saving other people, saving yourself. This is no different. I'm saying you don't need to go violet….You need to go Street."

Harper's end of the phone was silent. "Scott." She said suddenly. "Give me the coordinates to a dock nearest to you."

Scott turned to the computers. "Texted to your phone." He said after a moment.

"Good. Get to that dock…I'm bringing you a present." Steve and the rest of the group smiled. "Dad?" Harper asked, and Steve's smile widened.

"Yeah?"

"I'll see you at the end of the line." She promised…and then she hung up.

Steve tilted his head. Then he shook himself, and sent the group a grin.

"Looks like we have a dock to get to."


Street

Harper hung up her phone with a grin.

"Was any of that supposed to make sense?" Saul asked.

"Nope." Harper answered brightly.

"Right…awesome." Saul nodded.

"So how are we getting out of here?" Carly pressed.

Harper looked around the long hallway they sat in, eyes narrowed.

"We're on our own." Harper said finally. "But that's not a bad thing."

"Uhhh, how is that NOT a bad thing?" Harper smirked at Saul's question.

"Because I have a plan." Harper slammed her back against the wall and used the force to help her shimmy so that she was standing up. Then she slammed herself against the wall again, the wall banging with the force of her smacking.

"Make as much noise as you can." She whispered urgently, and after a moment, Saul started to hit the wall as well. Carly rolled her eyes, but began to do the same. And somehow sensing that they seemed to know something no one else did, the others that were tied up slowly began to join in.

After a few minutes a bald headed man with an angry expression on his face burst into the room. He moved straight for Harper, who stared back defiantly.

"Sit down!" The man barked. "And shut up."

"Make me baldie!" Harper shouted back, and with a growl, the man pulled out a knife and lunged for her.

Harper bent over and rammed her head into his stomach, and he dropped the knife with an oomph. It landed by Carly's hand, and she grabbed it and motioned for Saul to sit back to back with her. She worked through both their bonds as Harper grabbled with the tall man.

Harper was thrown into the wall, nearly falling, but a few hostages helped her stay upright, and she was ready when the man lunged forward again.

Saul, having cut through his bindings, grabbed onto the back of the mans shirt and pulled him away from Harper, and Carly hurried forward to cut Harper free.

Harper caught Saul's eye and jerked her head, and he stepped back, allowing Harper to slam the man's head into the wall and then kick his legs out from underneath him. Then man threw out both hands to catch himself on the floor, and Harper neatly slid the knife under the man's chin.

"Don't move, and talk quickly." Harper hissed.

The man's eyes narrowed into slits. "What do you want, filth?"

"How many men are on board?" She demanded.

The man said nothing, and the edge of the knife dug into the man's neck. He hissed.

"About 100."

"And hostages?"

"You mean human garbage?" The man retorted and Harper growled and a thin trickle of blood appeared on the man's neck.

"I mean hostages. How many?" She bit out, and the man made a face. "Just this roomful." He finally admitted.

Harper nodded slowly, then slammed the guys head against the wall. He went unconscious and Harper let the body fall to the ground.

"Alright." Harper turned to address the room, Carly and Saul, her unlikely allies, flanking her.

Harper opened her mouth, then froze. What was she supposed to say to these people?

"Say something inspiring." Carly hissed.

"Right, I'm working on it." Harper hissed back.

"Work faster." Saul hissed as well.

Harper shot him a look, then a thought struck. "Wait." She grinned. "I got it."

"Garbage."

Harper paused.

"…That's it?" A man standing against the side of the wall blurt out. His cap was pulled low over his face. "That's all you've got? That we're garbage?"

"Exactly!" Harper pointed at the man excitedly.

Murmurs of dissent began to reverberate around the room, and Harper shook her head quickly.

"No!" She grimaced. "What I mean is…. I didn't say you were garbage. I just said the word garbage. You," Harper looked at the man, "You're the one who inferred I was calling you garbage. Why would you automatically assume that's what I was going to say? Becaues that's what you think of yourself?" She guessed.

The murmurs of dissent silenced, and Harper shot the room a look.

"You're not garbage." She said softly. "None of you are. You're not what others think of you, you're not what you think of you."

"So then…what are we?" A young woman with big blue eyes asked.

Harper smiled.

"You're New Yorkers. Straight from the island of Manhattan, you're the ones who never stop going, never give up, and do what you have to in order to survive. You don't have a house. The city is your home! You're without family? Look around you! You're surrounded by kindred spirits, by those who've been where you've been, who stand where you are. You're not alone, you're not homeless, and you're not worthless."

"We're…New Yorkers?" The woman with the big blue eyes began to smile.

"Exactly." Harper nodded. "When we have nothing, we have New York. And how dare THEY," Harper's voice went deep with anger, "How dare THEY try and take that from us?! They might not see our worth, and we might not even see it sometimes, but they think they can try and take away our home from us? The one thing we still have? No!" Harper stamped her foot. "I will not stand for it! They think," Harper lowered her voice, and the crowd in front of her leaned forward. "They think they can call us "at risk", and try to remove us from our home? Well I think we show them who exactly is "At Risk!"

The crowd nodded, faces determined, and Harper saw with satisfaction that the man with the cap pulled low over his head now stood upright, arms uncrossed. He was listening. Good. Harper beamed, taking in the room slowly, making eye contact. Then she took a deep breath.

"Who wants to go home?" She asked loudly, and the room burst into cheers.

Harper grinned.

"Well then." She sliced through the ropes of the captives that were closest to her. At her nod they began untying the others.

"Let's turn this boat around."

Most of the captives were either unable or unwilling to fight with Harper and Carly and Saul. But going into the fight, Harper still had a good group of 40 on her side, (including the guy with the hat on). Leaving the other captives to the safety of the large room, she took her team, and fought using the method most comfortable to her…street.

Forty transients grabbed pipes and tools and whatever was handy and went up against 100 trained, armed men.

…And they won.

The fight was dirty, but the transients had surprise on their side. Who would've thought that a group with nothing to their name would find the will to fight back?

The trained men went down quickly, too surprised to do much more than gape in shock. And then the transients…no, the New Yorkers, were in charge.

The captives watched silently, waiting for Harper's verdict. Her face was dirty, her hair a rat's nest, her clothes torn. She looked just like everyone else, face grim.

Then a slow smile crept across her face.

The room roared and clapped, and Harper shook her head, still smiling widely.

"Okay, but we do have a problem." She said after a moment. The room went silent.

Harper smiled sheepishly. "Anyone know how to drive a boat?"


Safe

"Steve, if you don't stop pacing, I'm going to staple your feet to the floor."

"I second that. Dude, we're all worried,"

"Except for Dave; who's still unconscious."

"Avery." Will shot his teammate a look. "Shut up."

"Sorry." Avery slumped against the side of the building, and sent Will a sheepish look. "I'm just worried."

"We all are, kid." Morris moved next to Avery with a sigh. Steve thumped his head against the radio controls. Scott scanned the small office located a few feet from the dock, at the somber faces, and looked down at his phone, grimacing.

When the phone began to ring, everyone jumped. Scott looked confused down at his still blank screen.

"Shut up, shut up!" Steve ordered frantically, bringing the phone to his ear. "Hello?!"

When Steve sagged in relief, the rest of the room did the same.

"You're safe?" Steve demanded. "You're okay?" Though they couldn't hear the answers, Steve's smile was answer enough. His fierce frown had everyone pause.

"You're where?" He shook his head. "How are we supposed to get to Washington D.C.?!"

"Well…maybe we can help with that." Steve and the others turned at the sound of the new voice.

Clint raised his eyebrows. "I know we were on vacation," He shared a look with the people at his side, Tasha, Thor, Loki, and a very tanned Tony. "But you could've called us if you needed us."

"Ah…we actually didn't need you." Will said proudly.

"But…" Steve grinned bashfully. "We do need a ride."

"Now that," Clint grinned. "Is something we can do."

Steve turned slightly. "Harp? See you soon."


Reunion

Steve and Morris were the first off the plane, running towards the large ship docked fifty feet away, frantically searching the crowd.

Morris saw her first.

She was a mess, grinning brightly and laughing, shoving a tall young man at her side and rolling her eyes in tandem with an equally dirty Carly. Morris grabbed Steve's arm and whistled loudly.

Harper's head whipped around, and she caught eyes immediately with Steve. Like two magnets, they began to approach each other, slowly gaining speed until they were collapsing in each other's arms.

Morris watched the two fondly for a moment. Then he gave the two some time and stepped towards the beautiful women he'd been in love with in high school. And for the first time since he'd found her on the streets, she didn't run from him. Instead…she smiled.

One second Harper was making fun of Saul, and the next she caught sight of Steve, and then she was in his arms, her hands around his waist. Steve hand one hand around Harper's lower back and the other fisted in her hair.

"Never." He hissed eyes bright. "Never scare me like that again!"

"No promises." Harper grinned, eyes equally bright. "But I'll do my best!"

"Good." Steve pulled her forward into his arms again.

"Are you ever going to let me go?" Harper asked, voice muffled as her face was buried in Steve's chest.

Steve thought about it…then he shook his head. "Nope."

"I'm never letting you go again."


The End!

Much love to you all, thanks for sticking with me so long!

~CLC~