Chapter 16-17

"I'm looking for a Henri Ducard. I'm scheduled to meet him here. He's a friend of the family." Harry said, remembering the keyword in the message.

"You found him. 'The Eagle has Landed.'" He replied, answering back with his own key phase. "Come with me." He said, leading Harry to his jeep and starting it as Harry got in.

"You wanted to learn survival training, is that correct?" He said as he drove off, expertly navigating to the sparsely populated areas of the Appalachians.

"Yes, I need to learn how to fight. Fight super soldiers." Harry said.

The man shot a hard look at him as he drove down the road.

"Interesting choice of words. It's not easy, to fight an enhanced, though S.H.I.E.L.D. does train its agents to handle enhanced individuals. Why are you interested in fighting enhanceds?"

Harry smiled. "I got a saving people problem." He answered truthfully.

"You mean you can't help but save people?" Raynor said in surprise.

"Yeah, I always put myself in the line of fire to save another. Just two days ago, I saw three men beating up a fourth and I jumped in without any hesitation. Got my ass handed to me. If I'm going to do this, I need to learn how to fight properly."

"How old are you kid?" He asked.

"I'm almost twenty."

"Aren't you a little young to be saving the world?"

"Well the world ain't saving itself." Harry shot back.

"Smart mouth, aren't you. You sure you can handle this? I only train the best."

"I can handle it. I need to be put through hell so that I can become stronger."

"Good, we're here." The man said as he pulled into a campsite.

"It's a campsite."

"It's where S.H.I.E.L.D. used to train their specialists. They abandoned it. I've made it my home for the time being. It's where your training will begin. Are you ready?"

"What do we start with?"

"With your life!" He said as he fired off a front kick at Harry, causing him to stumble backwards as a roundhouse kick connected with his arm. Harry brought his arms up to block the haymaker, only for a sudden kick to his knee to cost him his balance and bring him to one knee. A sudden knee in the jaw nearly knocked his lights out.

Harry landed on the ground and shook his head as he tried to shake the cobwebs out of his head. He was close to blacking out.

"You are truly inexperienced. I've trained experienced men and women, who still didn't make it through my training. Are you sure you're up for this?" He asked.

Harry got up and could literally feel himself healing.

"Give me hell." Harry replied, steel in his voice.

…

Chapter 17: Mind Games

Harry brought his hands up to block the kick before returning one of his own. He nearly lost his step as he was fighting on pillars several feet off the ground. Henri Ducard wasn't having trouble at all. It was clear he knew the strength and location of every pillar perfectly.

Harry was supposed to fight for an hour without falling; Ducard was trying to make him fail.

Harry took a step back to dodge a tripping kick before returning with a front kick that he transformed into a side kick. Ducard managed to block his kicks before attempting another leg sweep at the teen. Harry quickly jumped above the attempt and landed gracefully, bringing his hands back up in a ready defense.

One of the fighting styles he had learned how to use was Savate, the French Kick Boxing. The style depended on strong kicks, being quick on your feet, and quick reflexes. It was one of the first styles Ducard had wanted him to learn, since it was excellent for perfecting balance, an absolute must for any real sort of combat. Fighting on twelve wooden pillars, though, seemed to be a bit extreme.

Ducard shot him an appraising look before shifting subtly and throwing a quick series of punches at Harry, which were dodged handily before the teen launched a counterstrike of his own.

Western Boxing was most useful for dodging and punching. Harry threw a quick pair of jabs at his teacher, but they had merely been feints to get Ducard into position for a surprise uppercut. The ruse worked perfectly and the haymaker sent the older man tumbling off of the pillars.

Harry waited patiently, never leaving his ready-stance as Ducard rose and shook his head to remove the cobwebs.

He waited until the man was back up and steady before asking. "You want to continue?"

"You damn Enhances. I'm running out of things to teach you." He said as he wiped his mouth with a grin.

It has been almost three months since Harry began his training. He had done everything he could to absorb every kind of fighting style Ducard was able to impart. He'd mastered marksmanship, hand to hand combat, stealth and espionage. His morning workouts would've made a hundred average men throw in the towel, and that wasn't even counting his minimum 15-mile, 30-minute daily run. Ducard had told him how vital it was to stay in shape at all times, and that meant the morning routine needed to be followed religiously.

The idea of daily intense workouts weren't new to Harry. Oliver Wood's fanaticism had seen to that in his Hogwarts years. He had, however, dismissed the need to training after he'd been enhanced by the ritual. Ducard had quickly disabused him of that notion. He'd felt monumentally foolish for ever having it in the first place.

Ducard hadn't just focused on the physical, however. He'd also taught him valuable computer skills, something he would need in the future in this high-tech world. He learned everything from basic word-processing to the ever-useful skill of hiding his IP address to full-blown government-level hacking.

"Focus. Don't get lost in thought." Ducard said as he punched Harry, bringing him from his reminiscence. Damn, he hadn't even noticed the man remount the poles. "Remember, your reaction has to be second nature. You can't think, you have to react. You need to know how to react. Predict my moves, then you can counter them."

Harry nodded and threw several lightning-fast punches followed by a powerful side kick.

Ducard nearly lost his balance as he backed away from the assault. He quickly recovered his footing and stood tall.

"Okay, you're getting better. Or I'm just getting old." He said with a laugh.

A 'caw' sound filled their ears as they both turned to see a large raven on a tree branch.

"A raven." Harry said as he observed the bird. The raven turned its head to look at Harry, almost as if it was measuring him.

The raven opened its mouth again and gave a couple more 'caw's' before it hopped towards the teen, as if it was trying to get closer to him.

"Smart birds. They're not only intelligent, they're tricksters. I've seen these birds outsmart people for their food. It's also said to be bad luck if a raven crosses your path." Ducard said.

"Some legends speak of a raven's caw being a harbinger of death." Harry said as the raven caws once more.

Harry stared at the magnificent bird before returning to his assigned task. Ducard brought his hands up and the two began exchanging blows. Meanwhile, the raven watched them with interest.

After nearly fifteen minutes of sparring, Ducard climbed down from the posts as Harry took the more direct dismount and jumped.

"Kid, I've train a lot of people, but I never seen them adapt as quickly as you." Ducard said as he wiped the sweat off his face.

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