Part 3: Iron and Ghosts
Location: Avengers Compound Gym
The gym was nearly empty, quiet except for the rhythmic whir of overhead vents and the occasional hum of machines on standby. Riven stood just inside the doorway, uncertain.
This wasn't like the Hydra facility. No clamps. No wires. No observers whispering into radios. Still, he hesitated. The mirrored walls and polished floors felt too clean, too quiet.
He stepped inside. Dumbbells lined the far wall, weights sorted with meticulous order. Punching bags hung silently from their mounts.
Riven walked past them and stood before one of the reinforced bags. He stared at it.
Then he hit it.
The sound was dull, heavy. He hit it again. And again. The movement felt right. Familiar. His knuckles burned, but it wasn't pain. It was proof.
He shifted to bodyweight drills, then strength tests. His muscles moved with frightening ease. Joints locked with precision. Power rippled through his body in a way that felt... unnatural. Not like before. Not like when he was human.
He stopped.
A faint shimmer reflected in the glass wall behind him. Riven turned.
Vision stood there, silent.
The synthezoid approached slowly, his red cape whispering behind him. He didn't speak right away.
"You are not using your telekinetic ability," Vision said, voice smooth.
Riven nodded once. "It's not stable."
Vision tilted his head. "That is precisely why it must be explored."
Riven looked away. "If it lashes out, someone gets hurt. I get hurt."
"Fear of yourself is natural," Vision replied. "But fear left unchecked becomes a prison."
Silence stretched between them.
Riven finally asked, "How do you control something that doesn't listen?"
Vision paused. "You learn to listen first. Even chaos has a rhythm."
Then, with a nod, Vision turned and left.
Riven stood alone again. But the silence no longer felt so hollow.