THE RAVEN | avengers

[63]

ACT 1
Chapter 63
New Project

Of course, after Strucker saw her off, complimenting her with more of his smooth, almost rehearsed words and expressing how he hoped they'd work together again in the future, Raven was escorted by a few Hydra soldiers to the airstrip. It was a familiar routine by now— another mission wrapped up, another base behind her.

Strucker had been particularly insistent with his praise this time, which only made her more eager to leave. Compliments from men like him were never without motive. As she walked, her mind drifted to everything she was leaving behind: the Night Blades, the Winter Soldier, the tangled mess of feelings she hadn't asked for but had found herself in.

The cold morning air bit at her as they neared the jet, but it wasn't the chill that was bothering her. It was the nagging thought that part of her didn't want to leave. Maybe it was the recruits, or maybe it was the quiet understanding she shared with Winter, but the mission had stirred something.

The roar of a plane engine brought her back to reality, and her eyes focused on the familiar sight of Mikhail standing by the aircraft, waiting for her. His expression was one of relief mixed with amusement as she approached.

"About time," Mikhail said, flashing her a lopsided grin. "Was starting to think you liked it here too much."

Raven scoffed lightly, rolling her eyes. "Not a chance."

"Everything wrapped up?" Mikhail asked, giving a nod to the soldiers who were trailing behind her.

"Yeah," she muttered, glancing back at them. "All good."

With a quick salute, the Hydra soldiers turned and climbed the truck, leaving Raven alone with Mikhail. He took her bag and tossed it into the jet before gesturing for her to follow.

"Ready to head home?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as she climbed into the plane.

Raven gave him a small, tired smile as she settled into her seat. "More than ready."

꧁ ༺ ༻ ꧂

The plane ride had been quiet. Mikhail, ever the professional, didn't ask questions about what had happened at Hydra's base, for which Raven was grateful because her thoughts kept drifting, almost against her will, back to him.

She hadn't said goodbye to Winter, not properly. Their shared moment, tangled in something neither of them fully understood, had been a strange kind of farewell. A silent one. But now, sitting in the plane with nothing but time to think, she wondered how he'd taken it. Would he be angry? Sad? Would he miss her? It was hard to say with him. Yet, she knew what was waiting for him now. The training, the missions, the expectations. Hydra would push him until there was little left of the man she had seen flashes of — the one who had smiled shyly when she called him 'Winter,' the one who danced with her and didn't seem to want to let go. Raven clenched her jaw, her fingers tightening against the armrests of her seat.

She could only hope he'd pull through, that whatever piece of himself he had left would survive what Hydra had in store for him. But she wasn't naive. She knew how these things worked — how they'd break him down, piece by piece, until he was nothing but a weapon. It was the same way they'd tried to control her, the same way Viktor had tried to manipulate her into becoming what she was today. But by some miracle, she managed to not lose herself entirely.

As the plane touched down, the familiar sight of Kronos base snapped her back to reality. The hum of the jet's engine quieted, and Mikhail gave her a nod as he stood to open the door.