THE RAVEN | avengers

[11]

ACT 1
Chapter 11
Tech Genius

Caelan lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling, the weight of the past pressing down on him. Sleep was elusive, slipping through his grasp no matter how hard he tried to relax. His mind kept drifting back to Raven. No — Alexia. He knew who she really was.

Alexia Orlova.

He could still remember the day she had been brought into the facility, just a terrified girl, so far removed from the cold, lethal force she had become.

Caelan had known her father. He'd seen him around the facility, working alongside Viktor and the doctor, always with a sharp focus, always meticulous. The man had been instrumental in developing the program, though he probably never fully understood the extent of what his work would lead to. And Dimitri, her brother, was often there too — not because he was of any real use, but because Viktor had wanted to keep an eye on him. To see if the boy had the potential to undergo the experiment as well.

Caelan had watched it all unfold, had been there when the decisions were made, when lives were destroyed. He had seen Dimitri when he was sold to Hydra. Viktor had deemed it too risky to keep both siblings at the facility, fearing that their bond might cause complications. There was always something unsettling about keeping family members so close in a program like this. They were unpredictable. Too... familiar.

No one had much faith that Alexia could survive the experiment. None of the others had. She had been one of many, another test subject among the sea of failures. Caelan had been the one tasked with dumping and burning the bodies of those who didn't make it — the ones whose minds or bodies had been pushed too far by the process. He had watched them all fall apart, one by one, their bodies giving out or their minds shattering under the strain.

But not Alexia.

She had pulled through. Somehow, against all odds, she had survived the experiment. She had become something more. Something terrifying.

Yet, as he thought about the nightmare she had woken from earlier that night — the way she had screamed, clutching her head — he couldn't help but wonder if the experiment had truly worked. Maybe her mind was still fighting it. Maybe the girl who had been so scared, so vulnerable, was still in there, clawing her way out. Or maybe it was something worse. Maybe whatever they had done to her had fractured her mind, leaving cracks that would only grow with time.

Caelan closed his eyes, the weight of his thoughts pressing down on him like a heavy blanket. He knew too much about this program, about Viktor's methods. He had seen the best and the worst of it. And now, Alexia — or Raven — was in the center of it all.

Did she know? Did she remember who she used to be?

He doubted it.

As he lay there, he could still hear the echo of her screams in his mind, and he couldn't shake the feeling that this was far from over. Whatever was happening to her — it wasn't just nightmares.

꧁ ༺ ༻ ꧂

"Here to ask me out on a date?" Raven asked, her voice playful as she glanced up from her book. She was sitting on her bed, one leg crossed over the other, a well-worn Latin text cradled in her hands. The title was Mortem et Animas: De Profundis Rituals, an old, obscure volume detailing ancient rituals of death and the soul.

Caelan, standing in the doorway, looked as unflappable as ever, his expression unreadable. "No," he said, his tone flat. "I'm here to take you to your training."

Raven smirked, setting the book aside and rising to her feet. "Will I be fighting you?" she asked, her voice laced with amusement as she sauntered towards him, her movements slow, deliberate. There was a seductive grace in the way she walked, her body radiating confidence. She stopped just short of him, her head tilted slightly as she looked up at him. He towered over her — he had to, being at least six foot four compared to her five foot eight.

Caelan felt a flicker of something — she was undeniably attractive. He could see the sharpness in her eyes, the curve of her lips, the way she held herself. There was an intensity about her, a magnetic pull that made it hard not to notice. But he didn't allow it to show.

"You wouldn't want to," he said calmly, his voice steady despite her proximity.

Raven's smirk widened, her eyes gleaming with amusement. She stepped even closer, so close now that Caelan could feel the faint warmth of her breath on his chest. "You're right," she murmured, her voice low. "I'd be sad to have you leave me so soon."

For a moment, the tension between them thickened. Caelan's jaw tightened, his eyes focused on hers, but he maintained control. He took a step back, putting distance between them. "Come on," he said, his voice taking on a more stern edge.

Raven let out a soft laugh, her smile breaking through as she stepped past him. She walked with the same deliberate grace as before, her movements fluid and confident. Caelan quickly fell into step beside her, his usual stoic demeanour restored as they made their way down the corridor.

The facility felt quieter at this hour, the hum of machinery and the distant echoes of footsteps the only sounds accompanying them. They turned a corner, heading into a part of the building Raven hadn't yet explored. The walls here were sleeker, the air cooler, humming with an energy she couldn't quite place.

They stopped in front of a door. Caelan, without a word, pushed it open, stepping aside to let Raven enter first.

She walked in, her eyes immediately scanning the room. It was spacious, filled with various pieces of advanced technology — monitors lined the walls, cables snaked across the floor, and sleek workstations stood arranged with precision. The air smelled faintly of metal and electricity, and the glow of screens bathed the room in an eerie blue light.

"Raven," a British voice spoke from somewhere in the room.

Raven's eyes darted around, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from, but she saw no one. Her gaze swept across the room, her curiosity piqued. Then, from behind a curtain of wires and cables, a woman stepped forward.

She was tall and willowy, her dark hair tied back in a loose bun. She wore a fitted gray jumpsuit, the kind that clung to her slender frame, and a pair of well-worn black combat boots. Her sharp, angular features were softened by the hint of a smile playing on her lips. Around her neck, a pair of tech glasses hung like an accessory, though Raven could tell they were more than just decoration.

"A woman," Raven said, her eyes lighting up like a kid in a candy store.

The woman let out a soft chuckle as she approached, her steps confident, almost leisurely. "Surprised?" she asked, her British accent smooth, her voice carrying a subtle hint of amusement.

Raven nodded, her smile widening. "Yeah, haven't seen any other woman around here aside from me."

The woman extended her hand, her eyes sparkling with a mix of intelligence and amusement. "Sloane Harding," she said, her grip firm as she shook Raven's hand. "Tech genius. I handle all the fun stuff."

Raven raised an eyebrow, glancing between Caelan and Sloane. "And I'm here because...?" she asked, clearly confused by the turn of events.

"Mr. Dimitri wants you to excel in any area you can," Caelan said, his tone as steady as ever. "Tech is one of them."

Raven's eyes shifted back to Caelan, her expression skeptical. "Tech?" she repeated, her eyebrows raising slightly.

The idea of her sitting in front of a computer, working with circuits and codes, seemed absurd given her usual preferences for more... physical activities.

Sloane let out a soft chuckle, stepping forward. "You'll love it," she reassured Raven, her tone playful but sincere. "There's more to tech than you think. You'd be surprised at how much power you can have from behind a screen."