Part 2: Below the Ashes
Location: Lower Levels, Hydra Lab Subsection Time: 1:15 AM
The flickering emergency lights gave the underground hallways a blood-washed glow. Pipes groaned in the walls, leaking steam that hissed like whispers. The deeper they went, the more the place felt like a grave.
Riven walked ahead of Logan, his steps slow but deliberate, his fists clenched and blood-slicked. The rage still simmered under his skin. His telekinesis trembled like a beast gnashing its teeth in a cage.
Every door they opened was worse than the last.
Observation rooms lined with restraints. Tables stained with dried blood. Child-sized clothes discarded like waste. There were no survivors here—not in the way that mattered.
"They ran experiments here," Logan muttered, knuckles whitening around his claws. "Some of these rooms were for sensory deprivation. Others... conditioning. Mindbreaking."
Riven didn't respond. His eyes had gone glassy. Focused. Dangerous.
In one chamber, they found a wall lined with names—first names only, hand-scratched into concrete.
"They remembered each other," Riven murmured, running his fingers across a name. "They tried to hold on."
A monitor on the far wall buzzed to life unexpectedly, grainy footage flickering across it. A camera feed, time-stamped from months ago.
The footage showed a small girl, maybe six, curled in a corner while a guard screamed at her to comply. Riven watched in silence as the man kicked her twice, then dragged her out.
The screen went black.
He didn't blink.
His voice was low. Cold.
"I'm burning this whole place."
Logan nodded. "Good. Let me help."
They rigged the lab with explosives from the dead guards' belts and scavenged equipment. Riven moved like a machine—precise, unshaking.
Before they ascended the stairs, he took one last look at the chamber of names. He closed his eyes and let the silence settle in.
Then they left.
Minutes later, fire consumed the freight hub. The explosion shattered windows across the dockyard and lit the sky orange.
From a rooftop across the water, Riven watched the flames rise. Logan stood beside him, arms crossed.
"One down," Logan said.
Riven nodded. His jaw was tight, but his eyes didn't waver from the inferno.
"How many more?"
Riven's answer was quiet.
"Twenty-nine."