Part 1: The North Field
Location: Northern Testing Grounds, Avengers Compound Time: Midday
The wind moved gently across the open field. Grass swayed. The sky above was clear and wide.
Riven stood alone at the center of the North Field, a flat expanse of reinforced earth designed for stress testing and experimental trials. Beyond the perimeter, Tony, Steve, Wanda, and Natasha watched from a remote outpost, eyes fixed on the feed.
On the field itself, Sam Wilson hovered in the air nearby, ready for support. Vision stood silently near the edge, arms folded behind his back.
But Riven didn't move.
Not for minutes. Maybe more.
He stood with his eyes closed, breathing slow, hands at his sides.
Inside his mind, he searched.
He focused. Not with force, but with clarity.
He let the anger come. The memories. The cages. The blood. But this time, he didn't drown in them. He didn't let them break him.
He let them fuel him.
The ground rumbled.
Sam blinked. "Uh... guys?"
Then it happened.
A violent shockwave burst outward in a ring of dust and pressure as Riven launched skyward.
He didn't float. He rocketed.
Grass flattened for thirty meters. The sky tore open as he climbed higher and higher, the clouds breaking apart from the force of his ascent.
"Jesus," Tony muttered, watching the feed spike. "He's not lifting anymore. He's flying."
Riven tore through the clouds like a missile, wind roaring past his ears. Trees below became a blur. Hills, rivers, everything reduced to color and motion.
He banked sharply, turned mid-air with a controlled arc, and shot across the horizon, trailing invisible force behind him like ripples through the air.
Sam tried to follow, but his HUD flashed red. "I lost him," he said. "I can't keep up."
Vision ascended, eyes glowing. "I have him."
From their vantage point, Steve watched a faint streak move across the sky like a comet.
"Is he in control?" he asked.
Vision's voice returned calmly. "Completely. He's not running. He's learning."
Riven soared past mountaintops, over lakes, carving through valleys like gravity had ceased to apply. The air trembled with every pass, but he felt no resistance. His mind sharpened with each turn, each breath.
He wasn't just flying.
He was freeing himself.
After what felt like an hour, he began his descent.
It wasn't slow or heavy. He dropped like a meteor, then adjusted, easing into a smooth landing just outside the North Field.
His boots struck the earth.
Dust swirled around him.
He breathed deeply.
His muscles burned, but there was a calm behind his eyes.
His body felt light.
And his mind... sharper than ever.