Project Raven

Mission

Harley's POV

We trained for weeks. Noah and I greatly improved, and we got to the point where we needed to practice with people. He took on a SHIELD agent that was still fresh in training. I ended up with Steve. "This is it, huh? I'm finally going into the end game of training?" Steve laughed. "Yeah, but can you handle it?" I took that as a challenge. I dove at him, taking out his knees. He fell on his bottom and laughed. I helped him up and our fists flew. Our fight took hours, until I put my foot on his chest. We were both panting. I removed it and helped him up. I had to help Noah pick his jaw up off the floor. "Nice," Steve commented, "But would you be able to do it again?" He asked, and I laughed. "I think we've both had enough for now." We made our way over to the seating area and chugged about ten water bottles. A dark-haired woman entered the room. "News on your wing people." I studied her for a minute. "Do I know you?" I asked. She looked at me for a minute. "You don't look particularly familiar, but you do look like someone I used to know.." I stood. "What's the news? And, what's your name?" I asked. She led me into the room of commands. "We've located a facility to the west that might contain the new experiments." She turned to me. "Maria Hill." She shook my hand. The name sounded like I'd known it. "Harley Viennant." She paled. "Was your mother Elina Hill?" I thought back to faint memories of my mother. I winced at the only clear memory I had of her: Death. "Her name was Elina, but her last name was Viennant." Maria brought up some old records. "Elina Viennant, formerly Elina Hill. Died 2002 in an armed robbery of her workplace, Cascade Laboratories." I stepped back.

"C-Cascade?" I said shakily.

Maria nodded.

"It seems your mother worked with the same people who did this to you. Oh, and if this makes any difference to you, Elina was my sister. We lost contact after she got married, even after I told her not to. It wasn't long after that she found out Endric had terminal cancer. It's a shame, really. They were both so young. I was just trying to look out for her." I exhaled. "Well, of course this matters to me! I've been alone for thirteen years, and you never thought to find me? You never noticed I had been kidnapped for four years, and even when I emerged as the lone survivor of a series of deadly experiments you never thought, 'Oh, this girl looks like my sister and her husband and has my sister's husband's last name! She must be my niece!' Did it ever occur to you that I was alive? Breathing? Dying?" Maria looked at me with pain on her face. Tears flew down my cheeks. A hint of moisture appeared on her eyes. "Oh, Harley.. I didn't know you'd ever been born. When I finally found out, it was too late. I had assumed you'd died on the streets. I'm sorry.." I hugged her. When we let go, both of us were pretty much tear-free and back to the mission. "A small town next to a big city in Illinois. Here," She said, handing me an earpiece which I quickly put in. "We'll keep track of the mission on these. We're also sending down a team for assistance, led by the Avengers and I." I nodded and put some stuff into my pouches. "You'll probably be stationed down there for a while. You should say your goodbyes to that kid, as you're leaving tomorrow." I nodded and turned to the door. "And Harley," She started. I turned back to her. "Stay safe."