Thank you for coming with us this far! We greatly appreciate your feedback. As always, we don't own HP or Marvel. This is a collaborative work between myself and Venerance. We also thank the help of Nauze and Philip Tomarys. To everyone who took time to review the previous chapters, we appreciate it so much! We hope you enjoy it and please R&R!

A/N: Venerance here,

I wanted to say this before you start reading the chapter. There is a sensitive bit pertaining to the story. Some of you may have personal experience with the event and I am so sorry if you do. But to best gauge proper responses during the event, I located different clips of ground zero to show the different responses people had to the event before fitting it into different categories. All I'm trying to do is highlight human reactions.

"Order up!" Came a shout as the expeditor began reading off a small receipt. "One fish and chips!"

"Fish and chips coming right up!" Harry shouted as he began prepping a piece of cod. A light sprinkling of freshly grounded black pepper and salt decorated the white flesh of fish on the countertop as he dredged the meat in batter. "Five minutes!"

Working in a small diner was not something Harry ever pictured himself doing. But at the same time, he didn't regret his choice. It paid the bills, helped maintain a roof over his head, and allowed him easy access to fresh food. While the hours could sometimes become lively and hectic, he always managed to push through.

Harry inwardly chuckled as he allowed his mind to drift while plating the freshly fried chips. What would the Magical World have thought of him, before his condemnation, if they'd discovered he was living in the muggle world in what many would consider a low-end occupation. It didn't speak of status like the Auror corps but he wasn't one to search for attention.

He'd been able to secure the job about six months after he had left Switzerland. That had been an interesting experience. The Swiss National Bank had investigated his claims - standard procedure he assumed, especially when dealing with such an absurd amount of pure gold. The most frustrating part of the process were his personal records. He was a ghost in this world with zero references to either of his parents or to himself. That had been an awkward hurdle to get past, but, after several Confundus charms, they had managed to progress forward.

In the end, they settled for around £700,000 after verifying that the acquisition of gold was legitimate before leaving him to his own devices. Taking a train back to London, he spent the next week looking for a place to live. Hotels were nice but what he wanted was privacy.

Harry was beyond ready to leave as he placed the finished dish on the counter for the wait staff to handle. A weak smile was tossed his way in gratitude as one of the new waitresses exercised several breathing techniques before walking out the door with the dish and a nervous smile. After cleaning his station, Harry bid the rest of the kitchen staff a quick farewell before exiting out the back door.

With a twist of his body, Harry disapparated from the shadowed parking lot.

For the past two years, Harry had been struggling with what to do with his life. He had a new beginning, devoid of anything magical, so what was his goal? What did he want to achieve? Back in his reality, he had everything paved out. Graduate Hogwarts, become an Auror, have a family. The Ministry, however, shot his plans to Sphinx shit, as if they possessed one of those muggle guns he saw Vernon use once. And now he was in some sort of ordinary, mundane, reality without anything extraordinary or supernatural in it.

His studying over the past two years did reveal snippets of history that differed from his reality. By far, the most significant was something about a scientific division for Nazi Germany called HYDRA. Apparently, they discovered a source of energy that provided them a technological advantage against the Allied Powers.

But they were extinguished by an Allied commando squad led by someone called Captain America from an SSR? While interesting, the excerpts he did find on the subject while studying for his GCSEs were brief and nonspecific. Harry didn't focus too much of his time on the subject, after all, he was more keen on studying and finishing his GCSEs. With the completion of his tests, he worked on finding an occupation that could keep him from exhausting his entire financial account, which was how Harry found himself working in a small diner as a chef.

The entire situation might have been humorous from an outside perspective. From laurels to rags, his entire life after defeating Voldemort had been a joke. Harry wasn't filled with limitless power like the Wizarding World thought. He was just a teenage boy who had loads of luck and determination in stride. It wasn't even worth mentioning the irregular meals he received while on the run. Heavens forbid, finding half-eaten food in the trash was a godsend when he couldn't risk magic in muggle-controlled areas without the Ministry becoming aware.

Idiots, the lot of them.

As if popping off insane feats of magic were normal after running off a cereal bar he stole two days prior before being captured.

But that was then and this was now. A consistent meal every day and a larger focus to his health and magic had done strides in repairing his body. While he wasn't on the level of Dumbledore, he could now fend for himself with minimal problems.

Harry flicked on the lights in his flat as he ambled to his fridge. Grabbing a bottle of water, he leaned back against the counter and smiled as he chugged down the cool, refreshing liquid. His modest flat wasn't much but Harry gladly considered it to be home. Tossing the empty bottle into the bin, Harry exited the kitchen before taking a seat at his cluttered desk.

Using his spare time to learn the intricacies of his magic from the texts he'd managed to bring from his reality proved to be quite useful. It was a shame he had no access to any sort of magical ingredients when studying potions. The potions he'd been able to create with muggle ingredients, however, were the Calming Draught and Skele-Gro. Both practical but also slightly iresome.

What irked Harry the most was a specific ingredient necessary for the Calming Draught. A crocodile heart. Wallowing about in the swamps of Africa, searching for crocodiles, had to be one of the worst experiences of his life. There was no guilty thrill of adrenaline coursing through his veins from a chase. No, instead, what Harry got was blistering heat, clouds of bugs, and ground so spongy it threatened to swallow his feet. He was an everlasting buffet to the buzzing, tireless cloud of horrors present every second he searched.

The Skele-Gro was normal by comparison, cabbage, scarab beetles, and pufferfish. Two of those being quite odd but not as difficult to acquire.

Other days, Harry would find himself attempting to decipher his mother's journal. Originally, it seemed to belong to someone named Marlene McKinnon, a friend of his mother's. However, it was only a change in handwriting and several vague references that alerted Harry to how the journal came into his mother's possession.

It was safe to say that everything in it was complete babble. At first, Harry thought it to be a diary reporting on the events of the first wizarding war. That train of thought was quickly extinguished. The first few entries were already discussing something about Enertrof's law detailing the polarity of electrical fields and its effects on the diffusion of magic. Even thinking about it gave Harry a headache. He loved his mum, or rather his impression of her, but would it have killed her to help explain everything in layman's terms?

Though, he could tell that his mum and her friend were onto something big. Something that he couldn't fully understand at that very moment. From what he could gather, it pertained to allowing magic to coexist with muggle technology. To the newer generation, a breakthrough would have been revolutionary. Unfortunately, their research was incomplete, leaving Harry to pick up the pieces. Pieces of an incomplete puzzle that he doubted he would be able to piece together even if he understood it all.

Multiple sheets of paper filled with the scribbling of notes littered the walls. Definitions of terms he didn't know, results of tests that proved unsuccessful. He was attempting to pioneer an unknown field of research with sticks and stones and he had never longed more for Hermione's help and knowledge than he did now.

Harry leaned down to pull a small Mars bar out from the drawer on his desk. He needed the comfort after all, as he prepared himself for the oncoming headache. Peeling down the wrapper, the wizard allowed himself to take a bite of the chocolate goodness before glaring hatefully at the journal innocently resting before him.

"I need two Cornish Pasties and a Steak and Kidney Pie!"

"I got twelve minutes for the pie!" Harry replied as he got to work on the latter.

The diner was absolutely packed, forcing the kitchen to work hastily. Consequently, the quality of the cuisines from the other chefs dwindled while Harry made sure every dish he served was in peak quality. He supposed it didn't hurt that he was softly pushing his magic into the food he was creating.

A commotion outside the kitchen stirred Harry's attention away from his station as he met the confused gazes of the other chefs. One of them joked about how one of the new waiters probably spilled their tray over leading for the rest of the kitchen staff to chuckle as they returned back to their assigned tasks.

Peering at the oven, Harry smiled at the flaky golden-brown crust of the pastry shining in the radiating heat of the oven. Harry slipped on a pair of oven mitts before diving his hands in to withdraw the savory delicacy.

"How long on those Cornish Pasties?" Harry called out as he carefully maneuvered the pie onto a plate before garnishing it.

"Two minutes!" Came the reply as Harry glanced over to the expeditor.

Only to discover him missing.

Shrugging, Harry used the brief window he had to clean his station. He placed his pot into the sink, scrubbing furiously with the sponge as he hosed it down with the pressurized faucet. A bell chime rang as a chef placed the Cornish Pasties onto the shelf alongside Harry's pie.

"Order up!"

There was no answer. No reply. Meeting each other's gaze, the kitchen began to grow quiet as the staff realized that all the sounds that would usually occupy the dining room had fallen silent. Harry called out for the wait staff, waiting for someone to answer only to receive nothing in response. Gesturing to the rest of the staff to wait, Harry untied his apron before heading out the kitchen door.

"Excuse me! Pardon me." Harry yelled over the commotion as he pushed past the crowds of standing people. He tapped the shoulder of a waitress standing abnormally still, only to be assaulted by the most fearful gaze. With a shaky hand, the woman pointed to the telly resting in the corner of the room.

Harry froze the moment his eyes connected to the telly in wide view of everyone.

"James… James Stubbins is there." A voice stuttered from the TV before a shaky inhale could be heard. "James, what are you hearing?"

"I… the air is…" Plumes of smoke aired throughout the screen, filling the skyline with nothing but large clouds of black, grey, and white as a man caked in tan and grey dust wavered unsteadily. "The building just exploded. I-I- I don't know how best to describe it. The police and fire departments took so long to arrive. And- people, people don't know what to do. We don't know what to do. It's hard to breathe. An-and- and, there are people… people jumping. Straight down."

"Can you tell us more?"

"I don't know what to say!" Screamed the television. "What do you want me to say? It's bad, okay? It's worse than bad. People are… terrified! They're- we need more ambulances. So many people are hurt and there is more and more appearing every second. The Earth… the Earth screamed and no one could see anything. I… I don't know why someone would have done this."

A bulge formed in Harry's throat as the man's words jumped everywhere.

"I think… I think the building fell. There were still so many people in it and it just fell… I thought it was a plane at first but it was the tower. And the other one, I can hear it. It wants to fall too. But people keep entering it and even less are leaving. I must have seen… There were two people. Police were evacuating us from the area and there were two. I don't know where they came from but… I can still hear their bodies… there weren't even any parts of them left! Someone told me to get out. I should have left like everyone else."

The camera cut away as a mechanical scream pierced the air. A sharp intake of breath echoed through the microphone before the camera panned down to the street and started shaking. Heavy breathing battered the audio as the camera bounced up and down when, what Harry could only describe as the sound of a heavy thunderstorm, burst through the speaker. Balloons of black charged through the streets, forcing the man that was holding the camera to trip and fall as all the camera's lenses were blinded by the smoke and rubble.

Silence filled both the diner and news studio as the channel switched to a secondary camera overlooking the World Trade Center from a distance. A second window appeared on screen, showing a tornado of smoke arising from something in Washington. The words from the TV began to fade into a blur as Harry stared unblinkingly at the telly. Hundreds dead. Many more unconfirmed. It struck a small chord within him that Harry thought forgotten but the only thing he was able to do at that very moment was watch what was occurring on the live feeds from the telly.

The news decided to switch to another camera where another man was laughing in a deranged sort of disbelief. From the dust and rubble caking his clothes and the beads of sweat shining on his forehead, Harry could only assume that the man was one of the survivors.

"It collapsed. The top floors collapsed down." The old man shouted, taking deep breaths in the dust filled air as he waved his arms around in a frantic motion. "I saw an abrupt blow and ran like hell. Thank God- I'm sixty-nine but I can still run."

The next few days were nothing but a blur, no one seemed to want to watch anything besides the news. To which the news channel dutifully listed the number of casualties throughout the day. The attack haunted not only the entirety of the US but those in Britain as well. People were scared to walk alone, bars saw more business. More people desired to stay home than reporting to work. Each and every day.

Harry had never seen this kind of death before. Magical Britain thought the wars against Voldemort were terrible. But even on the bloodiest days of the war against Voldemort, there was never this large of a death toll. Not throughout the entire span of the Wizarding war. Not in the entire span of both. The news approximated the death toll to be over 2,500 between all three attacks and the plane that went down in Pennsylvania.

It was several days before Harry was able to eat without regurgitating his food.

It had been two weeks since the attacks and it seemed as if a good part of the world was still frozen in the aftermath. The diner hadn't been doing well and it didn't help that the staff had taken to drinking at work from what they had recently witnessed.

"I'm gonna enlist." One of the chefs spoke as he stared woodenly at the burning flame of the stove. "Shit like that… how long till it happens to us here in Britain?"

"Ay mate." A waiter answered as he placed the dishes onto his tray. "Monsters like that… they don't deserve the gift of life given to them. Filthy fucking animals…"

Harry looked up to see the pools of rage warring in their eyes before allowing his gaze to drift downcast once more. Animals… he thought it to be too kind of a term. For people like the terrorists reported on the TV, for people like Voldemort? Harry only had one word to describe them.

Parasites.

"Name?"

"Harry Potter."

The enlistment officer's eyes flickered upwards to the kid standing in front of him. He was young, given. The plain clothes and scrawny build did nothing to appease the boy's appearance.

"Kid," the officer finally said as he placed down his clipboard. "I'm all for young men like you supporting Queen and country but do you understand what you are doing?"

"I do."

"War isn't pretty, son." The officer continued, attempting to drive his point into the boy. "We need men. I cannot, in good health, ask for you to volunteer. They would trample all over you."

The kid turned his head to the side as he shuffled his feet nervously. The man had seen it happen all the time. People loud and boisterous demanding to sign up during times of crisis only to discover that they had quit halfway through basic. Most of the time they were naive, young, full of heart and spirit. All to be finished quickly when they entered reality. Those that managed to make it through never came back the same.

"Son, I don't mean any harm. It's just what I believe I'm seeing right now is bravado."

"It's not bravado…" the kid finally spoke, refusing to reconnect their gazes. "I have a reason."

"Everyone does." The recruiter answered as he peered at the boy. "But reasons aren't reasons if it's imitation."

"You get your lazy arse off my platform and jump, Potter! Move it!"

A hand gripped Harry from behind his neck before thrusting him into the muddy pool of water sitting in front of the platform. Assaulted by the thick murky water swimming up his nose, Harry kicked himself to the surface, bursting forth as he coughed up mouthfuls of water. Wiping his eyes, Harry kicked towards the mushy earth in front of him where he could crawl onto land.

"Stop wasting my time, cadet!" Another instructor yelled as he pointed towards the low hanging barbed wire. "Show me the reason you're here or get the fuck off my obstacle course!" Cocking a pistol, he began firing blanks into the dirt as Harry scurried on his hands and knees beneath the square patterns of barbed wire. He was sure the methods these military instructors were using had to be illegal somewhere.

But it didn't matter. He had a reason for being here. And he was ready to prove it.

"Isn't that what you wanted, sir?" Harry asked as he stared at the stern visage on the head D.I.'s face. "Accomplishing the mission?"

"It's not about finishing, cadet," the instructor answered after a moment of silence. Placing a hand on Harry's shoulder, the D.I. pointed towards the panting cadets ringing the bell on top of the wooden beam "It's about how you finish. Sometimes, it's better to lose than win."

The D.I. walked away, leaving Harry to stare at the man's back in disbelief and confusion. He was sure that the man would have never said that if he understood what happened to the Wizarding World. What Voldemort did to the Wizarding World.

The team he was paired up with shot him glares filled with hate as they clambered up the wooden beam. Each ringing the bell as they came in last.

He went to bed with an empty stomach that night with a large bruise forming on his cheek.

"You lot have one objective!"

The wind howled outside the metal hull of the transport helicopter. Strapped into the seats, the cadets watched as the lead drill instructor hooked himself onto one of the railings above before taking up position near the back end of the aircraft.

"You have seventy-two hours to reach the rendezvous. If you are not there by then, you're hiking back," Harry's grip tightened against his harness as the instructor's eyes landed on him. Hazel burrowing into fern. "This is life or death gentlemen. Beneath your seats, each of you have a pack filled with supplies. Inside, each of you have pieces of a map that leads to the pickup. The rest of the gear is up to you. Is that clear?"

A chorus of "Yes sir!" reverberated through the Chinook. Throughout it all, Harry maintained eye-contact with the lead drill instructor, refusing to back down. Eventually, the grizzled turned away.

Afterwards, a surprising nudge was felt against his right side. With a sparkle in his neighbor's eyes, a silent message was communed between the two as Harry's neighbor jerked his head towards the river passing by outside before nodding further down the row. A grin slowly emerged across Harry's lips as he began passing the message along.

The helicopter lowered to the ground where it dropped off its first cadet, a young lad who still held onto a hint of baby fat within his cheeks. When the helicopter began to dust off from the forest floor, the cadet turned around and gazed upon the expecting class. A brief hesitation was all it took for the boy to turn around to eye his fellow companions. Before the boy faded away into the swallowing night, Harry managed to glimpse him giving a nervous nod to the chopper as he bounded away into the midst of the looming trees.

So on it went, the helicopter dropping off various cadets at different locations and Harry was soon dropped off at his. Making sure he had his entire pack with him, Harry stepped off of the mechanical bird. He ducked his head as the helicopter took off once more, leaving him in a small clearing. He immediately looked towards where he'd seen the river as they were coming in to land. It was just beyond a small copse of trees.

Hefting the bulky backpack against his shoulders, Harry began trekking in the vague direction he remembered the river being. The forest seemed to consume every sound emitted from Harry as he cursed the thorny bushes and shrubs in his path.

"Potter," Danbury's face was adorned with that unbearable smirk that seemed to piss off each of the drill sergeants.

"Danbury," Harry responded, nodding towards the knife. "You should put that away before you stab yourself with it."

The boy scowled at Harry but stopped twirling the knife. Out of the woods behind Harry, a few more of the cadets crawled into the clearing. They all had their packs up and Harry pulled out his map piece.

"It's a damn puzzle." Danbury snorted as he slipped his map piece out of his pocket.

"Like the D.I. said, we each have a piece." Harry replied as he laid his piece on a large boulder. "Is this everyone?"

"I think so…" His companion answered. A soundoff went through the group before Danbury turned back with a shrug.

A stream of map pieces were handed to Harry. Some didn't belong, others were replicas, but eventually Harry managed to piece together a complete map. Using their surroundings, Harry managed to point out a general location of where they were currently before pointing out the circled portion of the map.

"That's impossible." One of the cadets said as she glimpsed over Harry's shoulder. "Our packs must weigh over forty kilos! There is no way we will get to the evac zone in time."

Harry was tempted to use his wand to cast a feather-light charm on everyone's pack but it would attract too many questions. Questions that he didn't want to answer.

"Everyone unload their packs, let's see what we're working with."

The assembled group of cadets grumbled in relief as they spilled their pack's contents all over the forest floor. Piles of metal canteens, pots and pans, clothes, compasses, books, tents, cans of food, and more littered the ground. Harry could even spot the handle of a gun within the mess.

"Grab the canteens." Harry ordered as he sorted the mess into separate piles. "Compasses, lighters, first-aid kits and food."

"What about the gun?"

"Do we have ammo for it?" Harry questioned. An empty click sounded through the riverbed. Snorts of amusement broke out amongst the group as the cadet tossed the handgun to the side in annoyance.

Looking back into the pile, Harry kicked a copy of the full works of Shakespeare to the side. Why the instructors decided to include that, he didn't know. What mattered at this moment was getting to the objective area in an efficient and timely manner; that everyone got there safe and sound.

"Let's move." Harry called out as the group assembled. "We're burning daylight."

"Uh, sir? It's night…" A grimace crossed Harry's lips as he was unofficially promoted as de-facto squad leader.

"Can it, Jenkins."

Laughs echoed amongst the group as they began their hike up the river. They would get through this - together.

It wasn't till hours later did they find themselves setting up camp beneath the foliage of the forest. Several cadets patrolled the makeshift camp as guards to ward off potential wild animals. After a quick meal in which everyone ate from cans, the group at last decided to rest. The food, however, decided otherwise. A groan escaped Harry's throat as he remembered the books left behind.

He didn't know when the forest turned to mountainous terrain, but what he and the rest of the group could agree on was that their feet and legs were in agony. Whether it was the pins and needles prodding every movement or numbing ache that soared through their legs, it was Hell. The sun sinfully blared down at their unprotected faces as they reached the mountain pass. Taking lead through their journey, Harry made sure to guide his group safely through the challenges they encountered. A pack of wolves, dehydration, fatigue. Harry made sure to push his fellow cadets past their limits. He wouldn't give up on them.

As the sun set and moon rose, Harry found himself staring out at the rendezvous. He could see it. Lights flashing around a small clearing where the silhouette of a chinook waited patiently, They were all resting at the foot of the mountain pass.

But he didn't push his fellow men and women. They still had time. Cheers emanated from the group as they clinked their cans of lukewarm soup and pasta together in celebration. A can found itself being pushed into his hands causing Harry to look up in shock.

"You did it, Potter."

A smile slowly broke out across Harry's face as he watched the woman beside him. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she flashed a small grin his way.

"You should be celebrating with the rest of us. We're almost there."

"Almost." Harry pulled out as he returned his gaze to the evac zone. "We're not there yet."

"Ever the pessimist," the woman tilted her head back as she drained her can of soup. "Cheer up, unless the instructors decide to throw something unorthodox on the way down, we are all getting out of here with time to spare."

"You guys did well," a nudge against his right side caused both of them to chuckle. Taking a sip from the can, Harry caught the smirk of the woman besides him.

"We did well."

The morning after was cheery as the group quickly packed up their belongings. As they marched down the mountain trail, a cadet began to break out in a song.

Soon, the entire company joined him to pass the time as they clambered down a small ledge. Harry's throat never bayed louder as they sang about a girl waiting for her family of marines to return home.

That was until a crack mentioning something about a guy wishing he was a sailboat and ladies being the wind led to howls of laughter as the women in the group jeered and punched the laughing man. Harry couldn't help chuckling at this as they neared the end of the rocky terrain. Weaving between the large stone croppings, the group finally reached the edge of the forest where the outline of the chinook could be spotted through the trees.

"All right, let's leg it gents!" Harry hollered out to the group. "Our pickup is just past these trees. We're almost home!"

Picking up their speed, the group was able to ignore the blistering pains in their legs and feet as adrenaline and exhilaration took over. Powering through the last hurdle in their path to salvation, the group cheered when they broke through the forest into the clearing where all the drill instructors were waiting.

"About time," the head D.I. grunted as he counted the cadets entering the helicopter. "I don't believe I ever said grouping up was an option."

"You didn't say it wasn't," Harry retorted, standing at attention in front of him as he waited for his company to file in.

A glint in the D.I.'s eyes had Harry blooming with satisfaction. He did it, he belonged.

"That's almost everyone." The head D.I. spoke as he nodded to his subordinates. Harry froze as he turned to look at the ramp leading into the helicopter.

"Sir?"

"We're missing two more," the grizzled man said, answering Harry's unspoken question. "Time is almost up and if they aren't back at sunset, then they are walking back."

The D.I. stepped onto the ramp of the helicopter before gesturing Harry to follow. But Harry didn't move a single step. His head was fixated on the forest.

"Cadet!" The Senior D.I. barked out as he motioned to the chinook. "Fall in!"

"Negative, sir." Harry replied as he took several steps away from the chopper, "We still have men out there."

"Are you willing to risk graduation in hopes of finding two more out there?" The D.I. questioned in disbelief. "You realize that when you don't return in time, you will not graduate with the rest of the class."

"Yes, sir," Harry answered as he reached the tree line. "Like you said, sometimes it's better to lose than win. No man left behind."

A shout for Harry to return burst through the clearing as Harry rushed into the forest. He had no intent on returning. There was a mission and he was expected to follow. Except this time, he was going to bring everyone home. Everyone.

When he was out of sight, Harry Disapparated. Reappearing on the mountain pass, Harry cast a Homenum Revelio. The response was negative, forcing Harry to scowl. Apparating further back, Harry continued his search. It was inefficient. But if the two never managed to meet up with the rest then word must have not spread to them. The search continued on for several hours, but Harry pushed forward.

By sunset, Harry was exhausted. Perhaps it was irrational, ridiculous, to assume he could find two people in the middle of the wilderness. A final apparition had him appearing further up the river, in a fjord. Casting the revealing charm once more, a shout of triumph almost escaped when he received two short pings.

Grabbing purchase against cliff side walls, Harry shifted along the side of the fjord. Step by step he inched down the river. Rocks shifted beneath his hands and feet. Through the flow of the river, Harry could faintly hear the voices of the missing cadets. Shouts of relief echoed through the valley as the outlines of the absentees came into view.

"You both… went in the opposite direction." Harry panted as he dropped onto the white pebble beach.

Groans elicited from the two as they dusted themselves off.

"How would you know?" One of them asked as she buried her face in her hands. Dragging them downward, the woman rolled her eyes at the nod given to her before slumping down against a large boulder.

"I was at the pick-up." Harry answered slowly, drawing looks of disbelief from the two. "Can't leave any man or woman behind."

"Are you crazy?" The woman's partner finally spoke. "You missed your chance in graduating to find two people that you barely know. Two people in the wilderness that you somehow, somehow, managed to find."

"Chandar has a point," dusting her knees off, the woman steadily rose to her feet as she strode towards Harry. "You are absolutely, irrationally, insane. There was absolutely no reason for you to search for us. You jeopardized your only chance because of two people you don't even know."

"Well, I suppose I did," brows furrowed in response but Harry refused to back down. With a sigh, the woman picked up her pack before gesturing for her partner to do the same.

"Tsang." She spoke as the three began edging along the cliff walls out of the fjord. "Might as well refer to me by last name instead of 'cadet'. I doubt we will graduate, anyways."

The hike around to the mountain range took the entirety of the night. Making their way to the previous campsite of Harry's first venture, the group found their shoulders burdened with sorrow when they found the clearing clear of any military markings. It was a fleeting hope.

"I suppose the D.I. wasn't joking when he said we would be hiking back." Chandar hummed as he rubbed his fatigued eyes.

"Oh, what joy." Tsang joked sarcastically.

"It's just another test," the two looked at Harry in bewilderment as he stared out at the rising sun. "We need to head east.

"East?"

"We're making our way back to base," gripping one of the stones on the mountain pass, Harry chucked it into the horizon. "I'm not going down there to wait for someone to pick us up and tell us we failed. We're marching back so they can say it to our face."

"Ooh-rah" came the half-hearted cheer as the tired trio made their way down the mountain pass.

"I told you that you wouldn't graduate with the rest of the class when you didn't return."

Harry nodded as he watched his two partners being led away from him. The man sighed as he patted Harry on the shoulder. "I understand that the path has been difficult. Not many make it through. And not being able to graduate with the rest of your class at the end is worse."

"Are you going somewhere with this, Mendez sir?" Harry asked as he stared glumly at his feet.

"If you were still in my care, I would have you running laps until you collapse of dehydration." The D.I. continued, his grip on Harry's shoulder tightening. "Then I would pick you up and toss you back on the trail to have you run even more until you beg me for mercy."

"Ah…" Harry answered as his face flushed red with a hint of shame.

"You'll make a good leader Potter. Welcome to the British Royal Marines."

Harry's jaw dropped.

A/N: Sorry this took so long, but we hope you enjoyed it. Updates will roughly be about twice per month.

Venerance: I would have really liked to flesh out the journey back but I know that many of you would like to see us start touching the MCU. But I did put a few easter eggs in the story if you guys look closely. Some of you may get it off the spot, others may not. Otherwise, I hope you all enjoyed it!