Part 1: Blood Echoes
Location: Park Trail Near Avengers Tower Time: Afternoon
The sun filtered gently through the thinning canopy of trees as the dirt path crunched beneath their boots. Riven walked beside Logan in quiet steps, Wanda lingering just far enough behind to give space, yet near enough to be a silent witness.
For a while, neither man spoke.
Then Logan broke the silence with a low grunt. "You probably already know this, but... I wasn't born with claws."
Riven glanced at him.
Logan exhaled smoke from his cigar, eyes fixed ahead. "They did things to me. People like the ones who held you. They broke me down to see what they could make. Called it Weapon X. And what they made was something even they couldn't control."
Riven's gaze hardened slightly. That sounded... familiar.
"I don't remember all of it," Logan continued, voice gravel and regret. "But I remember enough. Screams. Cold rooms. The sound of drills. And the bastards smiling through the glass."
"They always smiled," Riven muttered. "Like it was a game."
"Yeah," Logan said. "That's when I stopped caring what their smiles looked like. Started caring what their screams sounded like."
Another stretch of silence.
Finally, Logan asked, "So... what are you gonna do now, kid?"
Riven didn't answer right away. He watched a breeze stir the leaves above them.
"Tony said he'd pull together some files. Locations. Names. I'm going to finish cleaning up what they left behind."
Logan stopped walking and looked at him. His grin was small, tired, but genuine.
"Figured you'd say something like that."
He dropped the cigar and crushed it under his boot.
"Good. Because I got some unfinished business with those bastards too. If you need someone to cut a path—I'm your guy."
Riven studied him for a moment, then gave the smallest nod.
"Alright."
Wanda blinked at the words, her brow tightening slightly as she processed what she just heard.
From behind, Wanda said nothing, but her eyes stayed on Riven.
And something in her expression darkened with worry.