THE RAVEN | avengers

[71]

ACT 1
Chapter 71
Not Cool

For reasons known only to Strucker and Viktor, it seemed that the Winter Soldier and Strucker would be staying at Kronos for a while, their purpose a mystery to everyone else.

Winter lay in the room he had been given, his eyes fixed on the ceiling, but his thoughts a tangled mess. It had been a tough few years, harder than most could imagine. Between the missions, the treatments, and the endless training, he had been turned into the perfect weapon. He'd spent time in the ice, undergone Hydra's so-called 'necessary' treatments, and each time he came out, he was sharper, stronger — more lethal.

An unstoppable force.

But no matter what Hydra did to him, no matter how much Strucker tried to shape him, through the haze of conditioning and the cold detachment that came with it, one thing had always stayed with him.

Raven.

She was the only thing that made him feel like he hadn't lost himself completely, the only thing that gave him a strange sense of normalcy. His memories of her were always clear, not fragmented or blurred like so much else in his fractured mind.

He could remember everything. He remembered their introduction vividly, the early days of their training together. Raven had been relentless, always pushing him, never allowing failure to be an option. But it wasn't just the intensity of their sessions — it was the way she'd lighten the mood, throwing in a joke or a sarcastic remark at just the right moment. She had a way of making everything more bearable, even when they were both being pushed to their limits.

And then there was that night.

She'd appeared at his door in that red silk dress, eyes burning with something he couldn't quite name, but something that made the air between them crackle. They hadn't spoken much, words weren't needed. The moment when their lips finally met, it was like everything else fell away, full of fire and intensity. They moved in sync, like they had been made for that moment, fitting together like two pieces of a puzzle that had been waiting to be solved.

But after that night... she left.

When he found out that he and Strucker would be visiting Kronos, his mind went straight to her. And he was angry — angrier than he could bear.

He remembered waking up the morning after that night, the cold emptiness of the room hitting him immediately. He had known she was leaving. They both had their paths, their own missions, and he didn't expect her to stick around. He wasn't foolish enough to think she'd transfer to Hydra or make some grand gesture. But the fact that she hadn't even bothered to wake him, to say goodbye, stung deeper than he ever expected. It gnawed at him, that feeling of abandonment. She had made him feel, something Hydra had been trying to strip away, and then left him to deal with the aftermath alone.

Winter clenched his fists, the tension in his body rising as the memories continued to circle in his mind. He didn't expect her to explain herself, but there was no denying the fury that bubbled under his skin.

The past had caught up to them both, and now, there was no avoiding it.

꧁ ༺ ༻ ꧂

Winter's fists slammed into the punching bag, each hit harder than the last, the sound echoing through the gym. He moved with precision, controlled but relentless, his mind swirling.

The door creaked open, but Winter didn't stop. He barely registered the footsteps until they were close enough for him to sense the familiar presence from yesterday.