Part 1: Reflections of Ash
Location: Avengers Tower, Riven's Quarters Time: Night, After Training
Steam clung to the mirror as Riven stepped out of the shower, towel around his waist, water still dripping from his shoulders. He wiped the glass slowly with one hand and stared at his reflection.
The man staring back wasn't the same one who had woken up screaming in a Hydra lab four years ago.
His body was strong now. Sharpened. Hardened.
But his eyes—those hadn't changed.
The same haunted weight. The same quiet rage.
He touched the edge of the sink, knuckles whitening. The silence in the room was a scream he'd learned to live with.
Images flickered behind his gaze. The cell. The restraints. The burn of the shock. The screams of children who never made it. Who were never meant to make it.
Hydra hadn't paid for that.
Not all of them.
Some were still out there. Still operating. Still hiding in shadows. Free.
The thought made his jaw clench. His hand curled into a fist against the porcelain sink.
He wouldn't allow that. Not anymore.
He threw on a shirt and pants quickly and stepped into the hallway with deliberate pace.