Part 2: Echo Room
Location: Riven's Assigned Room, Avengers Compound
The door slid open with a whisper, revealing a space that didn't feel like a lab or a cage.
Riven stepped in cautiously. The room was simple but warm—clean walls of soft gray, a bed neatly made, a narrow window overlooking the training fields. There was a desk, a small dresser, a closet. Across from the bed, a screen embedded in the wall waited silently for input.
No cameras. No restraints. No surveillance glass.
He didn't move for a long time.
Eventually, he stepped forward and touched the bed, pressing down slightly. It sank beneath his hand. Soft. Real.
He sat down slowly, staring at the floor. His body still ached from wounds and tension, but this... this was unfamiliar in a way that hurt.
He leaned back and let himself fall onto the mattress. The ceiling above was bare, unbroken. No metal arms. No blinking lights. No pain.
Just silence.
His breathing slowed. For the first time in years, he was alone in a room with no fear of screaming.
But silence could be cruel too.
He rolled onto his side, facing the wall. A memory flashed—a boy crying in a cold chamber, the sharp smell of burnt skin, the echo of a guard's laugh.
Riven clenched his eyes shut and gritted his teeth.
"Not now," he whispered.
He sat up, the weight in his chest still there. Standing again, he walked to the wall-mounted panel. A soft light blinked to life as he touched it. A layout of the floor appeared. Down the hall: the gym.
Something to burn through the silence.
He left the room, letting the door slide shut behind him.